Characteristics of Cetane index of traditional

diesel oil in Wonocolo district, Bojonegoro

Cite as: AIP Conference Proceedings 2223, 040003 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0000823
Published Online: 06 April 2020

Heni Fidyayuningrum, Rois Fatoni and Kun Harismah

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AIP Conference Proceedings 2223, 040003 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0000823 2223, 040003

© 2020 Author(s).
 Characteristics of Cetane Index of Traditional Diesel Oil in
Wonocolo District, Bojonegoro
Heni Fidyayuningrum, a) Rois Fatoni,b) and Kun Harismah c)

Chemical Engineering Department, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta,

Jl. Ahmad Yani Tromol Pos No. 1 Pabelan, Surakarta 57102, Jawa Tengah, INDONESIA
a)
heni.fidya83@gmail.com
b)
Corresponding author: rois.fatoni@ums.ac.id
c)
kun.harismah@ums.ac.id

Abstract. There are many old oil wells in Indonesia which are no longer operated by the state-owned oil company
Pertamina. Those wells have no longer a sufficient amount of oil to be extracted continuously. One such oil field is
located in Wonocolo district, Bojonegoro in East Java Province. Local miners are allowed to operate oil mining by using
very simple equipment. Currently, there are around 235 wells. Each well produces 300 to 350 barrels of crude oil per day
and was operated two times a week. The crude was sold to Pertamina, but some of the crudes were processed by the
miners by using a traditional distillation system called pawon. At least there are 190 pawon in the Wonocolo district. The
crude is processed into diesel oil. The oil is sold to the market with a price of IDR 2,750. It is almost half of the price of
the regular diesel oil sold by Pertamina, IDR 5,500 per liter. The objective of this study is to increase the quality of
traditional diesel oil by applying simple blending operations. To achieve this objective, diesel oils produced by different
pawon are treated as feedstock with different grades. This study aims to determine the characteristics of traditional diesel
oil based on the Cetane Index value. The characterization was done by grouping the diesel oil based on its density.
Traditional diesel oil is divided into 3 (three) grades based on its density. To obtain the Cetane Index value, the density
and the distillation profile of diesel oil is needed. The ASTM D1298 ASTM D86 methods were used to obtain the density
and distillation profile of the diesel oil. Cetane Index calculation was carried out by using ASTM D976 and ASTM
D4737. The calculation results of the Cetane Index ASTM D976 are 50.66, 47.59, and 45.24 for Grade 1, Grade 2, and
Grade 3, respectively. The calculation results of the Cetane Index ASTM D4737 are 47.04, 45.08, and 43.47 for Grade 1,
Grade 2, and Grade 3, respectively. This information can be used to optimize the quality of the traditional diesel oil by
diesel blending optimization.

BACKGROUND
The oil field Wonocolo is located in Bojonegoro, East Java Province, Indonesia. During the Dutch colonization,
the oil mining in Wonocolo was operated by Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij (BPM), a part of giant oil company
De Koninklijke Shell (SHELL). After the nationalization of BPM assets by The Indonesian Government, the mining
was taken over by state-owned oil company, Pertamina. After it was no longer economically feasible due to the
minimum production of oil, Pertamina terminates the operation. Local residents are then allowed to extract the oil.
Local people extract oil by using traditional machinery. With the help of a sling or steel wire, this machine hoists
the pipe to a depth of about 300 meters and this pipe then carries oil and pulls it to the surface of the earth. The
crude oil produced by the traditional miners must be sold to Pertamina. In 2017 there are around 235 wells still in
operation, where the production of these old wells is around 300-350 barrels per day. Most wells are operated 2
(two) times a week.
However, not all produced crudes were sold to Pertamina. Some crudes were processed by the miners by using a
traditional, simple distillation system called pawon. The distilled crude was used to fuel the machine to operate the
mining. There are also miners who sell their processed products to local customers. Most of the customers are
fishermen who use diesel oil to fuel their boat machine. The fishermen prefer to use this traditional diesel oil

International Energy Conference ASTECHNOVA 2019

AIP Conf. Proc. 2223, 040003-1–040003-5; https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0000823
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-1982-7/$30.00

040003-1
because the machine is running well with it, while the price is much cheaper when compared to the price of diesel
oil available in the market.
Currently, there are about 190 pawon which are used to distill the produced oil from 235 wells. The traditional
refined diesel oil is sold to the market with a price of Rp. 2,750. It is almost half of the price of the regular diesel oil
sold by Pertamina, Rp. 5,500 per liter.
A brief investigation shows that the produced diesel oil varies in physical appearance from one pawon to
another. The appearances in color usually represent the quality of the diesel oil. The lighter the color, the lower the
density of the oil will be. A higher density is strongly associated with higher cetane number of diesel oil.
Cetane Index is used to estimate the value of Cetane Number diesel oil. Cetane Number is used to determine the
quality of diesel fuel for self-ignition or ignition delay of the diesel fuel. Ignition delay is the period of injection start
until the beginning of the ignition process (ignition) of the diesel fuel. The diesel fuel used in diesel engines if they
have a high Cetane Number value will experience a short ignition delay when compared to diesel fuel with a low
Cetane Number value. The higher the cetane number, the diesel oil will be more combustible, so vehicles that use
diesel oil with a high cetane number can run more smoothly, the vehicle becomes smoother, and vehicles run
quieter. This Cetane Number value depends on the composition of the diesel fuel.
A higher cetane number also has advantages from the environmental point of view. Nasikin et al. (2002)
conducted a study of an increase in the amount of diesel fuel which is synthesized from coconut oil by adding
additives to diesel fuel. This additive is made from coconut oil by nitration method using HNO3 and H2SO4.
Increasing cetane numbers can reduce the content of NOx, SOx, HC, and other particulates produced from the use of
diesel fuel.
Estimating the cetane index by using physical properties is one of the simple techniques in diesel oil
characterization. Research conducted by Araby et al (2016) is to investigate the characteristics of fuel such as
viscosity, density, and calorific value of methyl esters by transesterification using jatropha biodiesel mixed with
diesel oil. Empirical correlation is proposed to predict the viscosity, density, and calorific value of a mixture of
castor oil and diesel oil. The developed equation can be used as a universal formula to predict the viscosity, density,
and caloric value of castor oil with a mixture of diesel oil for various applications. Mixing castor oil with diesel oil
with a ratio of 20% castor oil does not affect the specifications of diesel oil.
Based on the above introduction, the investigators wanted to conduct research to improve the quality of this
traditional diesel oil. The product design approach was used to achieve an objective. In this approach, diesel oil from
different pawon needs to be graded to obtain different grades of feedstock. The different feedstock is then can be
blended to produce diesel oil with different target of specifications. As a result, diesel oil can be sold at different
prices according to its quality. The first step to carry out the research is to perform cetane index characterization of
the traditional diesel oil of the Wonocolo district. From this research, it is expected to create/make new products of
diesel oil that have better quality, that is, the quality of products that are in accordance with the standard
specifications.

Formulation of the Problem

Based on the background, two problems can be formulated.

1. How do we do the grading of traditional diesel oil produced by the miners of the Wonocolo oil field?
2. Based on the physical properties of the density and distillation specifications, what is the Cetane Index value
in the traditional diesel oil blending process?

METHODOLOGY

Distribution of Diesel Oil Density

The density of diesel oil is strongly associated with the cetane number. It has been collected randomly 12 diesel
oil products from 190 pawon. The density of each sample was measured by using ASTM D1298. Statistical tests
will be conducted to disprove the hypothesis that the diesel oil samples have the same densities. Furthermore, the
sample will be classified into three grades based on their densities. Again, statistical tests will be carried out to
disprove the hypothesis that the three groups have the same densities.
After grading the diesel oil into three groups has been finished, the characterization of the cetane index can be
performed efficiently because all 12 samples have been pooled into three groups.

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 Calculation of Cetane Index
To calculate the Cetane Index using ASTM D976 (Equation 1) and using the ASTM D4737 equation (Equation
2).

CCI = 454.74 – 1641.416 D + 774.74 D 2 – 0.554 T50 + 97.803 (log T50)2 (1)

Where:
 CCI = Calculated Cetane Index
 D = Density at 15 ⁰C, g/cm3
 T50 = mid – boiling temperature, ⁰C

CCI = 45.2 + 0.0892 T10N + [0.131 +0.901 B] T50N + [0.0523 – 0.420 B] T90N (2)
+ 0.00049 [(T10N)2 – (T90N)2 + 107 B + 60 B2
Where:
 CCI = Calculated Cetane Index
 D = Density at 15 ⁰C, g/ cm3
 DN = D – 0.85
 B = (e (-3.5) (DN)) – 1
 T10 = Distillation temperature 10 %, ⁰C
 T10N = T10 – 215
 T50 = Distillation temperature 50 %, ⁰C
 T50N = T50 – 260
 T90 = Distillation temperature 90 %, ⁰C
 T90N = T90 – 310

The Cetane Index calculation above requires the data of density and distillation temperature. The density
measurement is conducted by using ASTM D1298 method. The distillation profile is carried out by using the ASTM
D86 test method, Standard Test Method for Distillation of Petroleum Products at Atmospheric Pressure.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Distribution of Diesel Oil Grade

Traditional diesel oil samples were collected from 12 (twelve) wells randomly. Each sample of traditional diesel
oil is tested for physical density using ASTM D1298. In the ASTM D1298 density test, a minimum of 3 (three)
times of testing is performed for each sample of traditional diesel oil until a density value is almost close. Table 1
shows the results of density testing for 12 (twelve) traditional diesel oil samples.
A brief statistical analysis of variance shows that the variability value of the density between samples
significantly differs from those of within samples. In other words, there is strong evidence that diesel oil produced
by each pawon is not the same from one pawon to another.
The samples are then pooled into three groups based on the measured densities. Grade #1 consists of samples
with a density value of 0.8600 gr/cm3 or below. Grade #2 consists of samples with the density 0.8600 gr/cm3 to
0.8700 gr/cm3. Grade #3 consists of samples with a density greater than 0.8700 gr/cm3. The complete members of
the groups are presented in Table 2.

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 TABLE 1. Density measurement results of diesel oil sample (15⁰C ASTM D1298)
Density 15⁰C ASTM D1298, gr/cm3
Sample I II III Average
Diesel_Oil 1 0.86783 0.86799 0.86805 0.86796
Diesel_Oil 2 0.83975 0.8398 0.83983 0.83979
Diesel_Oil 3 0.86148 0.86151 0.86154 0.86151
Diesel_Oil 4 0.85128 0.85131 0.85133 0.85131
Diesel_Oil 5 0.84604 0.84607 0.84608 0.84606
Diesel_Oil 6 0.87875 0.87879 0.87881 0.87878
Diesel_Oil 7 0.87626 0.87628 0.87630 0.87628
Diesel_Oil 8 0.87586 0.87588 0.87589 0.87588
Diesel_Oil 9 0.88083 0.88086 0.88088 0.88086
Diesel_Oil 10 0.87193 0.87196 0.87197 0.87195
Diesel_Oil 11 0.84036 0.84045 0.84047 0.84043
Diesel_Oil 12 0.86344 0.86348 0.86350 0.86347
TABLE 2. Distribution of Traditional Diesel Oil Grade
Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3
(<0.86000 gr/cm3) (0.86000 to 0.87000 gr/cm3) (>0.87000 gr/cm3)
Diesel_Oil 2 Diesel_Oil 1 Diesel_Oil 6
Diesel_Oil 4 Diesel_Oil 3 Diesel_Oil 7
Diesel_Oil 5 Diesel_Oil 12 Diesel_Oil 8
Diesel_Oil 11 Diesel_Oil 9
Diesel_Oil 10

Statistical Analysis between Diesel Oil Grades

The statistical analysis used in this study is ANOVA (Analysis of Varian). Where this analysis is a multivariable
comparative analysis used to compare population averages. ANOVA used this time is One Way ANOVA, which is
an analysis based on observing one factor that causes variation. Table 3 is the data used for ANOVA analysis.
TABLE 3. Analysis of variance data for diesel oil density grades
Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3
0.83979 0.86796 0.87878
0.85131 0.86151 0.87628
0.84606 0.86347 0.87588
0.84043 0.88086
0.87195

The analysis of variance was performed, and the calculation is summarized in Table 4. It can be seen that the
calculated F value is much greater than a critical value. That means the variations of density value between the
groups of diesel oil statistically differ from those within the groups. In other words, grading the diesel oil into those
categories is statistically correct.
TABLE 4. Analysis of variance test results for diesel oil density grading
Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit
Between Groups 0.002334 2 0.001167 68.03095 3.69E-06 4.256495
Within Groups 0.000154 9 1.72E-05
Total 0.002489 11

Calculation of Cetane Index

Traditional diesel oil after being divided into 3 (three) grades is then calculated by the Cetane Index value.
Calculation of the Cetane Index of diesel oil can be done by using the Equation ASTM D976 and ASTM D4737
(can be seen in Equations 1 and 2). This calculation can be done if the values of the density and distillation
temperature in each of the traditional diesel oil are known in advance. Density testing was performed using ASTM

040003-4
D1298 and physical distillation testing using ASTM D86. Following are the results of measurements made in the
laboratory:
TABLE 5. Distillation testing results of traditional diesel oil, ASTM D86
Grade Density, gr/cm3 T10, 0C T50, 0C T90, 0C
1 0.84267 156 271 352
2 0.86453 210 292 378
3 0.87524 230 297 367

Changes in density values from this study still meet the requirements of diesel density according to Pertamina.
Large density values indirectly affect the calculation results of CI. This is due to the functional relationship of the
two as shown in the equation from the CI calculation formula above.
Cetane Number (CN) values can be determined using the ASTM D631 test method. Besides CN can be predicted
using the results of CI calculations. CN calculation is done by reducing the CI results by number 2. The results of CI
and CN calculations can be seen in Table 6 below.
TABLE 6. Calculation results of Cetane Index and Cetane Number
ASTM D976 ASTM D4737
Grade Density, gr/cm3
CI CN CI CN
1 0.84267 50.66 48.66 47.04 45.04
2 0.86453 47.59 45.59 45.08 43.08
3 0.87524 45.24 43.24 43.47 41.47

The smaller the density of diesel oil and the lower the distillate temperature of diesel oil, the calculation of CI is
also higher compared to other CI values.

CONCLUSIONS
Grading diesel oil produced by local miners in the Wonocolo district has been done. Based on the density, the
diesel oil collected from pawon can be pooled into three grades. There was an interaction between traditional diesel
oil from 3 (three) grades to the value of the Cetane Index ASTM D976 and ASTM D4737. The difference in density
affects the value of the Cetane Index. The calculation results of the Cetane Index ASTM D976 are 50.66, 47.59, and
45.24 for Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3, respectively. The calculation results of the Cetane Index ASTM D4737 are
47.04, 45.08, and 43.47 for Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3, respectively. This information can be used to optimize
the quality of the traditional diesel oil by diesel blending optimization.

REFERENCES
1. R. Araby, A. Amin, A. K. El Morsi, N. N. El-Ibiari, and G. I. El-Diwani et al. 2018, Egypt. J. Pet. 27(2), 187-
194 (2016).
2. Standard Test Method for Distillation of Petroleum Products at Atmospheric Pressure, ASTM D 86-07
(ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2007).
3. Standard Test Method for Cetane Number of Diesel Fuel Oil, ASTM D 613-05 (ASTM International, West
Conshohocken, PA, 2005).
4. Standard Test Method for Calculated Cetane Index of Distillate Fuels, ASTM D 976-06 (ASTM International,
West Conshohocken, PA, 2006).
5. Standard Test Method for Density, Relative Density, or API Gravity of Crude Petroleum and Liquid Petroleum
Product by Hydrometer, ASTM D 1298-99, (ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 1999).
6. Standard Test Method for Calculated Cetane Index by Four Variable Equation, ASTM D 4737-10 (ASTM
International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2010).
7. M. Nasikin, R. Arbianti, and A. Aziz, A, Makara J. Tech. 6 (2), 83 – 88 (2002).
8. W. L. Nelson, Petroleum Refinery Engineering, (McGraw – Hill Book Co., New York, 1968).
Wildan and Abu, Perhitungan Calculated Cetane Index ASTM D4737 (2016), Available at www.sampling-
analisis.com/2016/01/perhitungan-calculated-cetane-index.html#.XC8z1nkqiUk. (accessed at January 5, 2019)

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