Crude Oil - Introduction

FUEL OIL

Petroleum Process Engineering, 2010-2011

Introduction
Strictly speaking, the term Fuel Oil or
Mazot refers to a furnace fuel that is
obtained as a residual petroleum fraction
coming from the bottom of the
atmospheric tower (AD tower)
Such fraction is also known as the long
residue

Petroleum Process Engineering, 2010-2011

Introduction

Refineries deal differently with such

fraction as follows:
Taken as a product from the
the AD tower
Supplied to the Vacuum
tower for further
fractionation

For this part well

deal with Fuel Oil as an AD tower
product

Petroleum Process Engineering, 2010-2011

Uses/Applications
1.

Domestic: Central Heating, where the

most common method of heat generation
involves the combustion
of fossil fuel in a furnace.
The resultant heat then
gets distributed in which
the central heating system provides
warmth to the whole
interior of a building
Petroleum Process Engineering, 2010-2011

Uses/Applications
2.
3.

4.

Industrial: steam generation in which the

fuel oil is used in heating furnaces
In Transportation: Used in Ships and
known as Bunker fuel which stands for
the heaviest type of fuel oil
Cracked to produce
more valuable products

Petroleum Process Engineering, 2010-2011

Refining Processes
Fuel oil is a heavy cheap fraction that has
limited uses, thus it is not economic to
invest in refining the oil to improve its
properties. Consequently, it is:

Sold as it is
Or blended with other species of fuel oil
having better specifications (like blending a
high sulfur content oil with another having a
low sulfur content)
Petroleum Process Engineering, 2010-2011

Specifications
Viscosity

1.

Fuel oil is highly viscous, that it is difficult to

pump throughout a fuel system and fuel
nozzles
In order to fix such problem, some fuel
systems contain steam that is used to heat
fuel oil and thus reduce its viscosity

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Specifications
Viscosity

1.

Typical viscosities for different types of fuel oil

over a range of temperatures is shown below

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Specifications
Viscosity

1.

Other mechanical or intergrated

mechanical/thermal techniques are used to
push (Atomize) the oil through nozzles to
make it easily and smoothly burnt.
Atomization occurs by forcing fuel through a
small jet (opening) under high pressure to
break it into a fine misted spray

Petroleum Process Engineering, 2010-2011

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Specifications
Viscosity

1.

There is a number of atomization techniques;

Blast Burner
Rotary Cup Burner

Viscosity specs for fuel oil:

1500 sec. Red I in winter
2000 sec. Red I in summer

Would these numbers be different in another

country? Why?

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Specifications
Carbon Residue

2.

Measures the liable extent of deposits

remaining upon burning
A high carbon residue is not appreciated
since it deposits on burner nozzles and might
eventually result in plugging such nozzles
Since fuel oil is not to be
refined, such property is
enhanced by blending with
other species having lower
carbon residues
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Specifications
Carbon Residue

2.

The Conradson apparatus is used to measure

the carbon residue (we shall experience such
experiment in the lab.)
The principle is based on simply weighting a
sample of the oil, then burning the sample to
complete combustion, the %weight remaining
is the carbon residue

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Specifications
Pour Point

3.

In many cases, the pour point spec for F.O is

determined based on the minimum weather
conditions.
Yet, although it is a heavy fraction, it is not
important for fuel oil.
Bonus Question; Why?!
Because fuel oil is heated anyway throughout its
paths to reduce viscosity
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Specifications
Flash Point

4.

By default, flash point is a property for

light fractions, yet it is measured for F.O,
where it should commonly be > 150 F
Bonus Question: Why do you think it is
important to measure it for F.O.?
Because if the distillation process is not proper,
some lighter fractions might escape with the F.O.
cut, and since these fractions are of a higher
value, it will not be economic to lose it with the
cheap F.O. fraction
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Specifications
Calorific Value

5.

Calorific Value is an important property for

F.O. since it is used as a fuel
Generally, the heavier the fuel, the higher the
C/H ratio and the lower the calorific value
and the price
Consequently, F.O -being heavy- has a low
calorific value ranging from18000 to 19000
Btu/lb

Petroleum Process Engineering, 2010-2011

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Specifications
Calorific Value

5.

Calorific Value is measured using a

calorimeter, and the table below shows how
it graduates as the C/H ratio increases
Type of fuel

Calorific value Btu / lb

Hydrogen

61,000

Gasoline

20,000

Diesel

19,300

Fuel oil

18,000

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Specifications
Sulfur Content

6.

Sulfur content is an important spec for all

fossil fuels, why?
As a rule of thumb; For straight run fractions,
the heavier the fraction, the higher the sulfur
content. And since fuel oil comes from the
bottom of the AD, it is expected to have a
higher sulfur content compared to other
lighter fractions
The specification for the F.O. sulfur content is
4%
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