Preface

About twenty years ago I wrote a short book, The Chemistry of Hydrocarbon Fuels*, that was based on lectures I had been giving at Penn State University for a course on Chemistry of Fuels. In the years since, that book has long been out of print, and the energy community has seen a significant increase in interest in biofuels, and concern for carbon dioxide emissions from fuel utilization. It seemed time, therefore, for a new book in the area. While this present book owes much to the earlier one, the changes are so extensive that it is not simply a second edition of its predecessor, but merits a new title and new organization of chapters.

The life cycle of any fuel begins with its formation in nature, followed by its harvesting or extraction. Many fuels then undergo one or more processes of refining, upgrading, or conversion to improve their properties or to remove undesirable impurities. Finally, the fuel is put to use, usually in a combustion process, but sometimes by further conversion to useful materials such as carbon products or polymers. Chemistry of Fossil Fuels and Biofuels focuses primarily on the origins of fuels, their chemical constitution and physical properties, and the chemical reactions involved in their refining or conversion. Most fuels are complex mixtures of compounds or have macromolecular structures that are, in some cases, ill-defined. But that does not mean that we throw away the laws of chemistry and physics in studying these materials. The composition, molecular structures, and properties of fuels are not some curious, random outcome of nature, but result from straightforward chemical processes. Any use of the fuels necessarily involves breaking and forming chemical bonds.