different types of fuels used in ic engines

While combined cycle gas turbines can take over 30 minutes to start, combustion engine power plants can start and reach full load in less than 10 minutes – providing flexible, quick-start capability.įorget the conventional wisdom that “bigger is better” – molecularity in power plant design enhances flexibility and reliability. The generating technology affects the time required for a power plant to startup and reach full load.

Power plants that can be dispatched within minutes are important assets for balancing electric system loads and maintaining grid reliability. Reciprocating internal combustion (IC) engines are characterized by the type of combustion: spark-ignited (SG) or compression-ignited, also known as diesel. Combustion engines employ the expansion of hot gases to push a piston within a cylinder, converting the linear movement of the piston into the rotating movement of a crankshaft to generate power. Combustion occurs continuously in gas turbines, as opposed to reciprocating IC engines, in which combustion occurs intermittently.Ĭombustion engines are a well-known technology used in automobiles, trucks, construction equipment, marine propulsion, and backup power applications. Gas turbines can utilize a variety of fuels, including natural gas, fuel oils, and synthetic fuels. It is the production of hot gas during fuel combustion, not the fuel itself that the gives gas turbines the name. Gas turbines are a type of internal combustion (IC) engine in which burning of an air-fuel mixture produces hot gases that spin a turbine to produce power. Today, gas turbines are one of the most widely-used power generating technologies. The use of gas turbines for generating electricity dates back to 1939.

Different types of fuels used in ic engines