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Fuel Oil Quality

B 11 00 0 General

General Considerations
The quality of a fuel oil is stated, in analysis data, in terms of physical and chemical properties, which are decisive to the suitability of the fuel oil for different applications. For diesel engine fuels the combustion quality, the content of impurities and the handling properties are the main quality criteria. Since residual fuels are traded and designated according to viscosity, it has become common practice to associate viscosity with quality. This practice can be very misleading, especially with modern residual fuels, as a fuel oil of low viscosity can often be just as bad, or even worse, than other fuel oils of very high viscosity. The quality of refinery residues is dependent on the origin of the crude oil, the grade of utilization when refining the crude oil, and the refinery technique used. Some of the residues used in fuel oil production are of a viscosity requiring visbreaking, a process which will reduce the viscosity without improving the quality at all. When producing residual fuels from visbreaked, cracked residues and from "straight run" residues, the final adjustment of viscosity to fulfil the requirements of the different grades of intermediate fuels is achieved by adding gas oil. However, it must be noted that considerable reduction of the viscosity is achieved by adding a relatively small amount of gas oil, which will give only a minor improvement of the quality of the blend. This means that the quality to a major extent depends on residues present in the blend. Therefore the quality also depends on the density.
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Combustion Quality
Combustion quality is the ability of the fuel oil to ignite and burn in a proper way. The ignition quality, combustion intensity, and length and completeness of combustion are properties influenced by the chemical composition and structure of the fuel oil. Ignition quality relates to ignition delay, i.e. the time elapsed between the start of injection and the start of combustion. Ignition quality is expressed by the cetane number, diesel index or cetane index. In all cases the higher the value, the better the ignition quality. For diesel oil the ignition quality is expressed by the cetane number determined by a specified method in a standard engine running under standard conditions. For residual fuels the ignition quality can be expressed by the diesel index or cetane index, both to be calculated from physical properties such as the aniline point, specific gravity and mid-distillation temperature. The cetane number, diesel index or cetane index of a certain fuel oil will show reasonable correlation between the numerical values. A FIA cetane number test is also good for evaluation of the combustion quality. The combustion condition of the fuel oils is normally evaluated from Conradson Carbon residue and the asphaltene contents.

Content of Impurities
The content of impurities of diesel engine fuels should be kept as low as possible, and harmful and unwanted impurities should, to the greatest possible extent, be removed in the pre-treatment system in order to minimize wear and corrosion of engine components. Impurities derive from the crude oil itself, from refinery processes and from handling and storage of oils. Some impurities, such as sulphur and vanadium, are oil soluble and therefore impossible to remove in a conventional mechanical fuel oil treatment system, while the amount of water and solid impurities can be reduced by centrifuging and filtration.

As a consequence of the possible variations in the quality of residues and the influence of adding gas oil, the quality of blended fuels can vary, even for fuel oils of equal nominal viscosity.

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B 11 00 0 General

Fuel Oil Quality

1693520-5.1 Page 2 (2)

Sand, rust, metal oxides and catalyst particles can be found as solid particles in fuel oil. Fuel-related wear and corrosion in diesel engines take the form of mechanical wear and chemically induced corrosion, the latter in the form of high and low temperature corrosion. The solid impurities and particles produced during combustion, collectively known as ash, cause mechanical wear of engine components. Especially catalyst particles, silicone and aluminium oxides and silicates in the form of sand are very abrasive. From vanadium and sodium corrosive ash in the form of oxides, carbonates and sulphates, is created during combustion. The sulphur content of a fuel oil may lead to low temperature corrosion of combustion chamber components and the formation of deposits on these. The corrosive effect is due to the formation of sulphuric acid. Water in the fuel oil may lead to several detrimental effects to the fuel system and to the diesel engine in general by giving rise to mechanical and corrosive wear, as well as fouling.

The flash point is related to the volatility of the amount and nature of lighter fractions in the fuel oil, and might thus be used to estimate the propensity of gasification in non-pressurized parts of the fuel system. The pour point defines the temperature at which wax crystallization will take place and prevent the fuel oil from flowing and from being pumped. Therefore, the pour point must be taken into account when deciding the presence and capacity of heating coils in bunker tanks.

Quality Criteria

Fuel Oil Characteristics

Main Effects

Combustion Conradson carbon Ignition ability. quality asphaltenes + Combustion condition. FIA test Fouling of gasways. Sulphur Corrosive wear. Cold corrosion. Formation of deposits on exhaust valves and turbochargers. High temperature corrosion. Disturbance of combustion process. Increased heat-load of combustion chamber components, fouling of gas ways, mechanical wear and cavitation of fuel injection system. Mechanical and corrosive wear of combustion chamber components. Formation of deposits. Mechanical wear of fuel injection system, cylinder liners and piston rings. Temperatures, pressures, and capacities of fuel oil systems for storage, pumping and pre-treatment. Safety requirements.
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Vanadium Sodium

Water

Handling Properties
Handling of the fuel, i.e. storage, pumping and treatment, is affected mainly by physical properties such as viscosity, density, flash point and pour point, but other fuel oil properties such as stability, emulsification tendency, viscosity index and the nature and amount of water and solid impurities will also influence the handling system. The nominal viscosity is decisive for the preheating temperature necessary to achieve adequate viscosity for pumping, settling, centrifuging and injection. The density influences the gravitational settling of water and solid contaminants in settling tanks. Specific gravity is also an important parameter in the centrifuging process. The flash point is, for safety reasons, limited to a minimum of 60C (140F) by classification societies and other authorities.

Content of impurities

Ash

Catalyst fines

Handling properties

Viscosity Density Pour point

Flash point

Table 1. Fuel properties affecting diesel engine and fuel systems.

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