Crude Oil Properties

Crude Classification
Paraffinic base
Mixed or intermediate
Naphthenic base

 The majority of crude oil is alkanes,

cycloalkanes (naphthenes), aromatics,
polycyclic aromatics, S-containing compounds,
etc.
Gasoline: branched alkanes
Diesel: linear alkanes

 Heavier crude contains more polycyclic

aromatics
Lead to carboneceous deposits called
coke

 Some crudes contain a lot of sulfur, which

leads to processing considerations

Mallisons method
Classification based on residue left after
distillation
>5% paraffins..paraffinic base
2-5 % paraffins.mixed base
<2% paraffins. Naphthenic base

US bureau of mines classification

Two key fractions chosen
Key fraction no.1....
Boiling range 250-2750C

Key fraction no.2

Boiling range 389-4220C
.At normal pressure

Crude Assay
The crude assay is a compilation of
laboratory and pilot plant data that defines
the properties of the specific crude oil.

Contents of assay
True boiling point
curve
Specific gravity curve
Sulphur content
Viscosity
Pour point
EFV curve

True Boiling Point curve (TBP)

It is a plot of the boiling
points of almost pure
components, contained
in the crude or fraction
of the crude oil.

ASTM Distillation
Liquid is boiled and vapours are
condensed
Vapour temperatures are noted and
plotted against the distillate recovered
These are employed as routine tests to
measure quality of refinery products

Equilibrium Flash Vaporisation

(EFV)
The apparatus restricts the vapour and the
liquid together until the required degree of
vaporization is achieved.

The percentage vaporized is plotted

against temperature for several runs to
give the EFV curve.

API gravity (American Petroleum Institute)

The density of petroleum oils is expressed in
terms of API gravity rather than specific gravity
An increase in API gravity corresponds to a
decrease in specific gravity.

Specific gravity and API gravity refer to the

weight per unit volume at 60F as compared to
water at 60F.

Flash Point
The flash point of an oil is the temperature
at which the vapour above the oil will
momentarily flash or explode.
Type of apparatus
Pensky Marten(PM) apparatus for middle
distillates and fuels
Abel apparatus for kerosene

Flash point
Empirical correlation
Flash point 0F = 0.77(ASTM 5% 0F-1500F)

Aniline Point
The minimum temperature for complete
miscibility of equal volumes of aniline and
the test sample.
The test is considered an indication of the
paraffinicity of the sample.
The aniline point is also used as a
classification of the ignition quality of
diesel fuels.

Reid Vapour Pressure

The vapor pressure at 100F of a product
determined in a volume of air four times the
liquid volume.
Reid vapor pressure is an indication of the ease
of starting and vapor-lock tendency of a motor
gasoline as well as explosion and evaporation
hazards
It is usually expressed in kPa or psig.
The true vapour pressure is about 5-9% greater
than this.

Octane Number
It is a measure of gasolines resistance to
knock or detonate in a cylinder of a
petroleum engine.
The higher the resistance the higher is the
efficiency of the fuel to produce work.

Octane Number (contd.)

The octane number of gasoline is that
percentage of iso-octane and normal
heptane which exactly matches the
knocking behavior of the gasoline.
Two types of octane numbers (to
determine the sensitivity of gasoline to the
severity of operating conditions)
Research Octane number (RON)
Motor Octane number (MON)

Research Octane Number (RON)

The percentage by volume of iso-octane in a
blend of iso-octane and n-heptane that knocks
with the same intensity as the fuel being tested.
A standardized test engine operating under
standardized conditions (600 rpm) is used.
Results are comparable to those obtained in an
automobile engine operated at low speed or
under city driving conditions

Motor Octane Number (MON)

A measure of resistance to self-ignition
(knocking) of a gasoline under laboratory
conditions
which
correlates
with
road
performance during highway driving conditions.
The percentage by volume of iso-octane in a
mixture of iso-octane and n-heptane that knocks
with the same intensity as the fuel being tested.
A standardized test engine operating under
standardized conditions (900 rpm) is used.
This test approximates cruising conditions of an
automobile

Cetane Number
The percentage of pure cetane in a blend
of cetane and alpha-methyl-naphthalene
which matches the ignition quality of a
diesel fuel sample.
This quality, specified for middle distillate
fuels, is synonymous with the octane
number of gasolines.

Viscosity
It is a measure of liquids resistance to
internal flow and is an indication of its
lubricating properties.
Common viscosity scales
Saybolt Universal
Saybolt Furol
Poise
Kinematic (Stokes or centistokes)

Cloud Point
The temperature at which solidifiable
compounds present in the sample begin to
crystallize or separate from the solution
under a method of prescribed chilling.
Cloud point is a typical specification of
middle distillate fuels

Pour Point
The lowest temperature at which a
petroleum oil will flow or pour when it is
chilled without disturbance at a controlled
rate.
Pour point is a critical specification of
middle distillate products used in cold
climates.

Sulphur Content
Crude is classified based on sulphur content.
Sour crude: A crude which contains sulfur in
amounts greater than 0.5 to 1.0 wt%, or which
contains 0.05 ft3 or more of hydrogen sulfide
(H2S) per 100 gal
Sweet crude: As evident from the above
definitions, a sweet crude contains little or no
dissolved hydrogen sulfide and relatively small
amounts of mercaptans and other sulfur
compounds.

Salt Content
The salt content is expressed as sodium
chloride equivalent in pounds per
thousand barrels (PTB) of crude oil.
Typical values range from 1 to 20 PTB.
1 PTB is roughly equivalent to 3 ppm.

Carbon Residue
Carbon residue is a measure of the cokeforming tendencies of oil.
It is determined by destructive distillation in the
absence of air of the sample to a coke residue.
The coke residue is expressed as weight
percent of the original sample.
There are two standard ASTM tests,
Conradson carbon residue (CCR)
Ramsbottom carbon residue (RCR).

Conradson Carbon Residue

Characterization Factors
An index of feed quality, also useful for
correlating data on physical properties.
An indication of carbon-to-hydrogen ratio.

Characterisation Factors (contd.)

The Watson (UOP) characterization factor
(Kw) is defined as the cube root of the mean
average boiling point in degree Rankine divided
by the specific gravity.
1
3
B

01/ 3
B

T
T
Kw

G 0.827
TB is the mean avg boiling point in 0R
T0B is the mean avg boiling point in K
G is the specific gravity at 600F

Watson Characterisation Factor

<10 ..highly aromatic
10-15..mixed
>15highly paraffinic

Characterisation Factors (contd.)

Correlation index (CI) The U.S. Bureau
of Mines factor for evaluating individual
fractions from crude oil.
The CI scale is based upon straight-chain
hydrocarbons having a CI value of 0 and
benzene having a value of 100.
87552
CI
473 G 456 .8
TB

Correlation index
Lower the CI value
composition of paraffins

greater

is

the

Higher the CI value greater is the

composition of naphthenes and aromatics

Nitrogen Content
Nitrogen causes severe poisoning of
catalysts used in processing and corrosion
problems such as hydrogen blistering.

Crudes containing nitrogen content above

0.25% by weight require special
processing.

Metal content
Metal contents affect
the activities of catalysts
Corrosion of turbine blades
Refractory furnace linings and stack

Metal content can be reduced by solvent

extraction with propane or similar solvents.