Fuels Higher Calorific Values
Reference data and engineering information about fuels higher calorific values for combustion applications.
fuelshighercalorificvalues
Overview
Calorific value (heat of combustion) quantifies the energy released when a unit mass of fuel undergoes complete combustion. Two conventions exist:
- Higher Calorific Value (HCV) — also called Gross Calorific Value (GCV) or Higher Heating Value (HHV). All water in the combustion products is condensed, so the latent heat of vaporization is recovered.
- Lower Calorific Value (LCV) — also called Net Calorific Value (NCV) or Lower Heating Value (LHV). Water remains as vapor in the flue gas, so latent heat is not recovered. LHV is the practical value for most industrial combustion calculations where exhaust exits above 100 °C.
The difference between HHV and LHV depends on the hydrogen content of the fuel. Hydrogen-rich fuels such as methane and hydrogen show the largest gap.
Key Formulas
Calorific value is determined experimentally by burning a known fuel mass inside a calorimeter and measuring the temperature rise of a known water mass:
The energy content per unit fuel mass is then:
Variables
| Symbol | Description | Typical Value / Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Heat released by combustion | J | |
| Mass of water in calorimeter | g | |
| Specific heat capacity of water | 4.18 J/(g·°C) | |
| Temperature rise of water | °C | |
| Mass of fuel burned | g | |
| Heating value (energy content) | J/g |
Gaseous Fuels
Properties at 0 °C / 32 °F, 1 bar.
6 rows
Fuel | Density(kg/m^3) | HHV(MJ/kg) | HHV(Btu/ft^3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acetylene | 1.097 | 49.9 | 1468 |
| Hydrogen | 0.09 | 141.7 | 341 |
| Methane | 0.716 | 55.5 | 1069 |
| Natural gas (US) | 0.777 | 52.2 | 1090 |
| Ammonia | — | 22.5 | — |
| Town gas | — | — | 483 |
Source: engineeringtoolbox.com
Liquid Fuels
Properties at 15 °C / 60 °F.
16 rows
Fuel | Density(kg/l) | HHV(MJ/kg) | LHV(MJ/kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (petrol) | 0.737 | 46.4 | — |
| Kerosene | 0.821 | 46.2 | — |
| Diesel fuel | 0.846 | 45.6 | — |
| Light fuel oil | 0.96 | 44 | — |
| Heavy fuel oil | 0.98 | 41.8 | — |
| Butane | 0.601 | 49.1 | — |
| Ethane | 0.572 | 51.9 | — |
| LNG | 0.428 | 55.2 | — |
| Ethanol (100%) | 0.789 | 29.7 | — |
| Methanol | — | — | — |
| Acetone | 0.787 | 31.8 | — |
| Butanol | 0.81 | 37.3 | — |
| Dimethyl ether (DME) | 0.665 | 31.7 | — |
| Diethyl ether | 0.716 | 43 | — |
| Glycerin | 1.263 | 19 | — |
| Gas oil (heating oil) | 0.84 | 43 | — |
Source: engineeringtoolbox.com
Solid Fuels
12 rows
Fuel | HHV(MJ/kg) | LHV(MJ/kg) |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon | 32.8 | — |
| Anthracite coal | 32.6 | — |
| Petroleum coke | 31.3 | 29.5 |
| Bituminous coal | 30.2 | 29 |
| Semi anthracite | 29.5 | — |
| Charcoal | 29.6 | 28.4 |
| Coke | 26 | — |
| Sub-bituminous coal | 24.4 | — |
| Wood (dry) | 16.2 | 15.4 |
| Peat | 17 | — |
| Lignite (brown coal) | 14 | — |
| Sulfur | 9.2 | 9.2 |
Source: engineeringtoolbox.com
Unit Conversion Factors
4 rows
From | MJ/kg | kWh/kg | Btu/lb |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 MJ/kg | 1 | 0.2778 | 429.9 |
| 1 kcal/kg | 0.004187 | 0.001162 | 1.8 |
| 1 Btu/lb | 0.002328 | 0.000646 | 1 |
| 1 kWh/kg | 3.597 | 1 | 1547.7 |
Source: engineeringtoolbox.com
Restored Original Source Tables
The following tables are restored from the original source page to preserve the complete reference data.
Gaseous Fuels - Higher and lower calorific values (heating values)
6 rows
Gaseous Fuel | kg/m3(kg/m3) | g/ft3(g/ft3) | kWh/kg(kWh/kg) | MJ/kg(MJ/kg) | Btu/lb(Btu/lb) | MJ/m3(MJ/m3) | Btu/ft3(Btu/ft3) | kWh/kg(kWh/kg) | MJ/kg(MJ/kg) | Btu/lb(Btu/lb) | MJ/m3(MJ/m3) | Btu/ft3(Btu/ft3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acetylene | 1.097 | 31.1 | 13.9 | 49.9 | 21453 | 54.7 | 1468 | |||||
| Ammonia | 22.5 | 9690 | ||||||||||
| Hydrogen | 0.09 | 2.55 | 39.4 | 141.7 | 60920 | 12.7 | 341 | 33.3 | 120 | 51591 | 10.8 | 290 |
| Methane | 0.716 | 20.3 | 15.4 | 55.5 | 23874 | 39.8 | 1069 | 13.9 | 50 | 21496 | 35.8 | 964 |
| Natural gas (US market)* | 0.777 | 22 | 14.5 | 52.2 | 22446 | 40.6 | 1090 | 13.1 | 47.1 | 20262 | 36.6 | 983 |
| Town gas | 18 | 483 |
Source: engineeringtoolbox.com
Liquid Fuels - Higher and lower calorific values (heating values)
28 rows
Liquid Fuel | kg/l(kg/l) | kg/gal(kg/gal) | kWh/kg(kWh/kg) | MJ/kg(MJ/kg) | Btu/lb(Btu/lb) | MJ/l(MJ/l) | Btu/gal(Btu/gal) | kWh/kg(kWh/kg) | MJ/kg(MJ/kg) | Btu/lb(Btu/lb) | MJ/l(MJ/l) | Btu/gal(Btu/gal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acetone | 0.787 | 2.979 | 8.83 | 31.8 | 13671 | 25 | 89792 | 8.22 | 29.6 | 12726 | 23.3 | 83580 |
| Butane | 0.601 | 3.065 | 13.64 | 49.1 | 21109 | 29.5 | 105875 | 12.58 | 45.3 | 19475 | 27.2 | 97681 |
| Butanol | 0.81 | 10.36 | 37.3 | 16036 | 30.2 | 108359 | 9.56 | 34.4 | 14789 | 27.9 | 99934 | |
| Diesel fuel* | 0.846 | 3.202 | 12.67 | 45.6 | 19604 | 38.6 | 138412 | 11.83 | 42.6 | 18315 | 36 | 129306 |
| Dimethyl ether (DME) | 0.665 | 2.518 | 8.81 | 31.7 | 13629 | 21.1 | 75655 | 8.03 | 28.9 | 12425 | 19.2 | 68973 |
| Ethane | 0.572 | 2.165 | 14.42 | 51.9 | 22313 | 29.7 | 106513 | 13.28 | 47.8 | 20550 | 27.3 | 98098 |
| Ethanol (100%) | 0.789 | 2.987 | 8.25 | 29.7 | 12769 | 23.4 | 84076 | 7.42 | 26.7 | 11479 | 21.1 | 75583 |
| Diethyl ether (ether) | 0.716 | 2.71 | 11.94 | 43 | 18487 | 30.8 | 110464 | |||||
| Gasoline (petrol)* | 0.737 | 2.79 | 12.89 | 46.4 | 19948 | 34.2 | 122694 | 12.06 | 43.4 | 18659 | 32 | 114761 |
| Gas oil (heating oil)* | 0.84 | 3.18 | 11.95 | 43 | 18495 | 36.1 | 129654 | 11.89 | 42.8 | 18401 | 36 | 128991 |
| Glycerin | 1.263 | 4.781 | 5.28 | 19 | 8169 | 24 | 86098 | |||||
| Heavy fuel oil* | 0.98 | 3.71 | 11.61 | 41.8 | 17971 | 41 | 146974 | 10.83 | 39 | 16767 | 38.2 | 137129 |
| Kerosene* | 0.821 | 3.108 | 12.83 | 46.2 | 19862 | 37.9 | 126663 | 11.94 | 43 | 18487 | 35.3 | 126663 |
| Light fuel oil* | 0.96 | 3.634 | 12.22 | 44 | 18917 | 42.2 | 151552 | 11.28 | 40.6 | 17455 | 39 | 139841 |
| LNG* | 0.428 | 1.621 | 15.33 | 55.2 | 23732 | 23.6 | 84810 | 13.5 | 48.6 | 20894 | 20.8 | 74670 |
| LPG* | 0.537 | 2.033 | 13.69 | 49.3 | 21195 | 26.5 | 94986 | 12.64 | 45.5 | 19561 | 24.4 | 87664 |
| Marine gas oil* | 0.855 | 3.237 | 12.75 | 45.9 | 19733 | 39.2 | 140804 | 11.89 | 42.8 | 18401 | 36.6 | 131295 |
| Methanol | 0.791 | 2.994 | 6.39 | 23 | 9888 | 18.2 | 65274 | 5.54 | 19.9 | 8568 | 15.8 | 56562 |
| Methyl ester (biodiesel) | 0.888 | 3.361 | 11.17 | 40.2 | 17283 | 35.7 | 128062 | 10.42 | 37.5 | 16122 | 33.3 | 119460 |
| MTBE | 0.743 | 2.811 | 10.56 | 38 | 16337 | 28.2 | 101244 | 9.75 | 35.1 | 15090 | 26.1 | 93517 |
| Oils vegetable (biodiesel)* | 0.92 | 3.483 | 11.25 | 40.5 | 17412 | 37.3 | 133684 | 10.5 | 37.8 | 16251 | 34.8 | 124772 |
| Paraffin (wax)* | 0.9 | 3.407 | 12.78 | 46 | 19776 | 41.4 | 148538 | 11.53 | 41.5 | 17842 | 37.4 | 134007 |
| Pentane | 0.63 | 2.385 | 13.5 | 48.6 | 20894 | 30.6 | 109854 | 12.6 | 45.4 | 19497 | 28.6 | 102507 |
| Petroleum naphtha* | 0.725 | 2.745 | 13.36 | 48.1 | 20679 | 34.9 | 125145 | 12.47 | 44.9 | 19303 | 32.6 | 116819 |
| Propane | 0.498 | 1.885 | 13.99 | 50.4 | 21647 | 25.1 | 89963 | 12.88 | 46.4 | 19927 | 23.1 | 82816 |
| Residual oil* | 0.991 | 3.752 | 41.8 | 150072 | 10.97 | 39.5 | 16982 | 39.2 | 140470 | |||
| Tar* | 10 | 36 | 15477 | |||||||||
| Turpentine | 0.865 | 3.274 | 12.22 | 44 | 18917 | 38.1 | 136555 |
Source: engineeringtoolbox.com
Solid Fuels - Higher and lower calorific values (heating values)
12 rows
Solid Fuel* | kg/dm3(kg/dm3) | kWh/kg(kWh/kg) | MJ/kg(MJ/kg) | Btu/lb(Btu/lb) | kWh/kg(kWh/kg) | MJ/kg(MJ/kg) | Btu/lb(Btu/lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthracite coal | 9.06 | 32.6 | 14015 | ||||
| Bituminous coal | 8.39 | 30.2 | 12984 | 8.06 | 29 | 12468 | |
| Carbon | 9.11 | 32.8 | 14101 | ||||
| Charcoal | 8.22 | 29.6 | 12726 | 7.89 | 28.4 | 12210 | |
| Coke | 7.22 | 26 | 11178 | ||||
| Lignite (brown coal) | 3.89 | 14 | 6019 | ||||
| Peat | 4.72 | 17 | 7309 | ||||
| Petroleum coke | 8.69 | 31.3 | 13457 | 8.19 | 29.5 | 12683 | |
| Semi anthracite | 8.19 | 29.5 | 12683 | ||||
| Sub-Bituminous coal | 6.78 | 24.4 | 10490 | ||||
| Sulfur (s) | 2.56 | 9.2 | 3955 | 2.55 | 9.2 | 3939 | |
| Wood (dry) | 0.701 | 4.5 | 16.2 | 6965 | 4.28 | 15.4 | 6621 |
Source: engineeringtoolbox.com
Engineering Notes
Heating Value Unit Converter
- Fuels that are mixtures (natural gas, gasoline, coal) can vary 5–10 % in heating value between sources, seasons, and markets. The values above are representative for stated densities.
- Solid fuels are particularly sensitive to moisture and ash content. Higher moisture or ash fractions reduce the effective heating value delivered per unit mass.
- HHV is appropriate for condensing-boiler or fuel-cell analysis where water vapor is condensed. LHV is the standard basis for conventional boiler, gas-turbine, and internal-combustion-engine efficiency calculations.
- Gaseous fuel densities depend on temperature and pressure; the table values are at standard conditions (0 °C, 1 bar). Adjust using the ideal gas law for other conditions.