Solid fuel is the various forms of solid material that can be burnt to release energy, providing heat and light through the process of combustion.
The solid fuels find little practical application at present because of the problems in handling the fuel as well as in disposing of, the solid residue or ash after combustion.
Solid fuels compared to gaseous and liquid fuels, solid fuels are quite difficult to handle and storage and feeding are quite cumbersome. Let us have a deep insight into the pros and cons of solid fuels in this article.
The solid fuels find little practical application at present because of the problems in handling the fuel as well as in disposing of, the solid residue or ash after combustion.
Solid fuels compared to gaseous and liquid fuels, solid fuels are quite difficult to handle and storage and feeding are quite cumbersome. Let us have a deep insight into the pros and cons of solid fuels in this article.
Advantages of solid fuels :
- They are easy to transport.
- They are convenient to store without any risk of spontaneous explosion.
- Their cost of production is low.
- They possess moderate ignition temperature.
Disadvantages of solid fuels :
- Their ash content is high.
- They burn with clinker formation.
- They combustion operations cannot be controlled easily.
- Their cost of handling is high.
- Their large proportion of heat is wasted during combustion.
- Their thermal efficiency is low.
- Their calorific value is lower as compared to that of liquids fuels.
- They require a large excess of air for complete combustion.
- They cannot be used as internal combustion engine fuels.