Fuel prices

Fossil copal Fossil flour Fossil-fuel furnaces Fossil fuel prices Fossil fuels Fotoform/Fotoceram Fougere Royal Foundry alloys Foundry core binders Foundry furnaces Foundry resins Fountains Fourcault process... 

Several important generalizations can be made. The first is that fossil fuel prices are primary competition for biomass energy. Table 28 summarizes 1990 U.S. tabulations of average, consumption-weighted, deflvered fossil fuel prices by end-use sector (90). The deflvered price of a given fossil fuel is not the same to each end user ie, the residential sector normally pays more for fuels than the other sectors, and large end users pay less. 

Table 28. U.S. Delivered Fossil Fuel Prices to End Users, 1990, /GJ ...

Low-excess-air firing (LEA) is a simple, yet effective technique. Excess air is defined as the amount of air in excess of what is theoretically needed to achieve 100% combustion. Before fuel prices rose, it was not uncommon to see furnaces operating with 50 to 100% excess air. Currently, it is possible to achieve full combustion for coal-fired units with less than 15-30% excess air. Studies have shown that reducing excess air ft-om an average of 20% to an average of 14% can reduce emissions of NO, by an average of 19%. 

In the unit price of electricity (Kk) derived in Section B.2, the dominant factors are the capital cost per kilowatt (CJW), which generally decreases inversely as the square root of the power (i.e. as the fuel price the overall efficiency tjq, the utilisation H hours per year) and to a lesser extent the operational and maintenance costs (OM). 

In the future, if the criterion for selecting new generating capacity was solely fuel cost, coal will be the number one choice. But the much greater costs of coal-fired plants (primarily to meet local and federal emission standards), as well as the potential of tighter standards, will make gas more attractive in many cases. And although natural gas prices may rise, the fuel costs per kilowatt-hour for gas-fired power plants should remain unchanged as efficiency gains offset the rise in fuel prices. 

A motorist fills his tank at a Union 76 service station where two out of three grades of gasoline cost more than 2 per gallon (March 7, 2000). West Coast fuel prices on the spot market shot up in reaction to the highest oil prices in nearly a decade. (Corbis-Bettmann)... 

Trucks line North Capitol Street in Washington, D.C., as they convoy toward the U.S. Capitol on February 22, 2000. Hundreds of trucks entered the district to protest a steep rise in diesel fuel prices. (Corbis Corporation)... 

This is very common nowadays to allow bargaining on fuel price or to arrange an interruptible gas tariff, which is backed up at times of peak demand with a stored oil supply. Most types of oil and gas burner are available in dual-fuel form, normally with gas burner design wrapped around the arrangement for oil firing. This is usually the more difficult fuel to burn, particularly in the case of residual heavy oils. Fuel selection is normally by a switch on the burner control panel after isolation has taken place of the non-fired fuel. To avoid the cost and complexity of the fuel preheating on oil firing, smaller systems use gas oil as the standby fuel. 

Economizers for boilers have been available for over 150 years, almost as long as boilers themselves. For shell boilers, increasing efficiencies have made it increasingly difficult to justify the use of an economizer, the final decision being based in terms of payback period, which is also heavily dependent on fuel prices. Watertube boilers, on the other hand, need an economizer section in the gas passes in order to obtain satisfactory efficiency. For this reason, the economizer is integrated into the overall design, normally between the convective superheater and the air heater if fitted. 

Many Lancashire boilers were still in use in the 1970s, but the industry saw their demise at this time as a result of increasing fuel prices... 

All modem, packaged horizontal FT boilers are basically descended from the SM internally fired, FT boiler design. They became immensely popular during the early 1960s because of their versatility, cost-effectiveness, and relative efficiency (this last factor became very important following the fuel price crises of the early to mid-1970s). 

Natural gas has replaced coal to a great extent for domestic and industrial heating. This is a consequence of installation of very large pipelines from producing to consuming places, the rise in solid fuel price, convenience, cleanliness, controllability and versatility as a fuel. The by-product gaseous fuels, coke oven gas and blast furnace gas are well-known important fuel for the ferrous industry, and require no further elaboration. 

Certainty over emissions No. Regulating the rate of No. Emissions vary with Yes, in its traditional form. No, emissions, the level uncertain prevailing energy demand and with the use of additional cost leaves fuel prices containment mechanisms ... 

All of these three usually consist of a number of partial costs. Investments, operation management costs, fuel prices, labour costs, solvent costs, and in some cases waste disposal costs are all common costs that has to be taken into account. 

As for Ukraine, it has Renoks, an antidetonation modifier developed by Prof. Yu. Merezhko of the Ukrainian State University of Chemical Engineering in Dnepropetrovsk. It offers a 1.5 to 2-fold reduction in pollutant emissions and an 8 % cut in fuel consumption at the cost of 1.0 to 1.5 % of fuel price. Also available are Remol-2 and Remol-2A produced by Remol in Odessa. These oil additives can be recommended for both carburetor and diesel engines after 40,000 km run to recover and stabilize compression, save up to 8 % fuel, protect engine components and reduce hazardous substances in exhaust gases. 

Labor costs experience inflation just as do capital costs as Figure B.5 demonstrates. Raw materials and fuel costs are subject to considerable erratic fluctuations as demonstrated by oil and metals prices, which have rapidly risen and fallen several times over the last five decades. For example, Figure B.6 shows the changes in refinery fuel price index since 1955. Prediction of refinery fuel prices in the future is clearly much more difficult than predicting capital costs. 

EUBIONET (2003). Various reports, e.g., Fuel Prices in 2002/2003. www.eubionet.net. 

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