Choosing fuels

Petrol, kerosene and disel oil are non-renewable fossil fuels. They are all obtained from crude oil. Methane is non-renewable fossil fuel found in natural gas.

Hydrogen is also used as a fuel. In rockets, hydrogen is burnt to release energy. Hydrogen can also be used in cars and other vehicles by using a fuel cell.

Fuel cell: A fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to form water without burning. This reaction releases energy in the form of electricity.

A good fuel...
 * Should burn easily
 * Should not produce ash or smoke
 * Should release a lot of heat energy
 * Should be easy to store and transport.

Investigating fuels
If you are given a range of fuels you can work out which one gives off most heat by measuring the time taken for each fuel to raise the same volume of water by 50*c. Don't forget to measure the mass of the fuel before and after the experiment to find out how much you have used. There are lots of other variables to control, such as volume of water.

Hydrogen versus petrol
Key: AD = Advantages

DA = Disadvantages