Calorific value measures heat produced during combustion. It is used to determine fuel efficiency and energy content in food. Hydrogen has the highest calorific value, but is not stable. Engineers must consider calorific values when designing systems using combustion as an energy source.
The calorific value represents the amount of heat produced during combustion. People use calorific values to determine how efficient and effective fuels are, looking for fuels with high calorific values to use in power generation. These values can also be found in the world of nutrition, where they are used to determine how much energy can be found in food. The higher the calorific value, the more energy one can get from food, which is why people such as athletes are encouraged to eat high calorie meals to fuel their bodies during training and competition.
Calorific value is determined in a device called a calorimeter. A certain amount of the object under investigation is burned under controlled conditions and the combustion products are measured to find out how much heat was released during combustion. The resulting calorific value is expressed in energy per unit, such as kilocalories per gram in the case of food.
Two different measures can be used. Net calorific value, also known as gross calorific value (HHV), assumes that the water produced during combustion remains in liquid form. The lower calorific value or gross calorific value (LHV) is calculated assuming that the water produced turns into steam. These two different values are used to determine how calorific values apply in the real world with different types of systems.
Of the fuels, hydrogen has the highest calorific value, which would appear to make it an excellent source of energy. Unfortunately, hydrogen is not very stable and requires very special handling. This makes it a potentially expensive fuel, leading people to turn to alternative fuels that are easier to handle. Some other fuels with high calorific values include natural gas and gasoline. Graphs giving the calorific values of well known fuels are readily available, for people interested in topics such as the calorific value of coal or the calorific value of natural gas.
When designing systems that use fuel combustion as an energy source, engineers need to think about the calorific values of the different fuels they can choose from and evaluate the costs and benefits of each fuel. System efficiency is an important design value, but engineers also need to think about issues such as fuel storage, how polluting a fuel can be, and how readily commercially available it is. Sometimes compromises need to be made to make a system more accessible to potential buyers who may face problems such as limited fuel availability.
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