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0 OBJECTIVES
 To determine specific gravity of oil using hydrometer and density meter.
 To compare specific gravity and API gravity of different oils.

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2.0 SUMMARY

The purpose of this experiment is to determine the specific gravity of oils and compare it
with the API gravity. The specific gravity are measured by using the hydrometer and density
meter are used for the measurement of the density of each oils. Thus, these two value will be
used to calculate the API gravity. The specific gravity for petrol, lubricating oil, diesel, and
kerosene are 0.735, 0.85, 0.84, and 0.8 respectively. Meanwhile, for the API gravity are 61,
35, 37, and 45 respectively. This show that the lubricating oil has the highest value for
specific gravity but the value for API gravity is the lowest among the other three type of oils.
From the experiment, the specific gravity is inversely proportional towards the API gravity.
Therefore, the experiment conducted prove to be theoretically correct. In conclusion, both of
the objectives of this experiment are achieved.

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3.0 INTRODUCTION & THEORY
Determining the density, specific gravity and API gravity of the fluid is very important
to classify the fuel. Density is defined as mass per unit volume or a characteristic property of
a substance. The density of a substance is the relationship between the mass of the substance
and how much space it takes up (volume). Meanwhile, specific gravity (ϒ) is the ratio of the
density of any substance to the density of some other substance taken as standard, water being
the standard for liquids and solids, and hydrogen. Basically, the most commonly methods
used for determining density or specific gravity of a liquid are by using hydrometer and
density meter.

The hydrometer is usually used for determining oil gravity in the oil field. When the
hydrometer is placed in oil, it will float with its axis vertical after it has displaced a mass of
oil equal to mass of hydrometer. The hydrometer can be used at atmospheric pressure or at
any other pressure in a pressure cylinder. Furthermore, the portable density meter is an
accurate tool to determine the density of sample where the density is measured by a hollow,
oscillating U-tube. The frequency of vibration of the U-tube is directly related to the density
of the liquid sample. Temperature is measured at the same time, and the instrument
automatically performs the temperature correction. Shown below are the hydrometer and

(a) (b)

density meter used to determine the density and specific gravity of a liquid.

Figure 1: Hydrometer (a) and Density Meter (b)

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 API Gravity, or The American Petroleum Institute gravity, is a measure of how light
or heavy a petroleum liquid is compared to water. If a product has an API gravity of less than
10, it sinks. If the product has an API gravity greater than 10, it floats (Awadh & Al-Mimar,
2013). API gravity is referred to as being in "degrees" (o ) and can be determined by
hydrometer or a digital density meter. The American Petroleum Institute (API) has adopted a
hydrometer for oils lighter than water for which the scale referred to as the API scale:

API = – 131.5 Eq 1

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4.0 RESULT

Table 1: Data for different types of petroleums

Types of Oil Specific Gravity, ϒ Density, ρ API Gravity

Petrol 0.735 0.733 61

Lubricating oil 0.85 0.848 35

Diesel 0.84 0.837 37

Kerosene 0.8 0.802 45

SG vs API Gravity
70

60 Petrol

50 Kerosene
API gravity

40 Diesel
Lubricating Oil
30

20

10

0
0.72 0.74 0.76 0.78 0.8 0.82 0.84 0.86 0.88
Specific gravity

Figure 1: Graph of Specific Gravity vs API Gravity of different petroleum products

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TUTORIAL

1. Calculate the API gravities of each sample.

The formula of API gravity:

API = 131.5

4 different oils/samples:
a) Petrol
API =
= 61.02

b) Lubricating oil
API =
= 34.97

c) Diesel
API =
= 36.95

d) Kerosene
API =
= 45.38

2. What does the specific and API gravities indicate?

API stands for the American Petroleum Institute, which is the major United States trade
association for the oil and natural gas industry. The API represents about 400 corporations in
the petroleum industry and helps to set standards for production, refinement, and distribution
of petroleum products. They also advocate on behalf of the industry. One of the most
important standards that the API has set is the method used for measuring the density of
petroleum. This standard is called the API gravity. Specific gravity is a ratio of the density of
one substance to the density of a reference substance, usually water. The API gravity is
nothing more than the standard specific gravity used by the oil industry, which compares the
density of oil to that of water through a calculation designed to ensure consistency in
measurement. Less dense oil or “light oil” is preferable to more dense oil as it contains greater
quantities of hydrocarbons that can be converted to gasoline.

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 API gravity is calculated using the specific gravity of an oil, which is nothing more
than the ratio of its density to that of water (density of the oil/density of water). Specific
gravity for API calculations is always determined at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. API gravity
moves inversely to density, which means the denser an oil is, the lower its API gravity will
be. An API of 10 is equivalent to water, which means any oil with an API above 10 will float
on water while any with an API below 10 will sink.

The API gravity is used to classify oils as light, medium, heavy, or extra heavy. As the
“weight” of an oil is the largest determinant of its market value, API gravity is exceptionally
important. The API values for each “weight” are as follows:

 Light – API > 31.1

 Medium – API between 22.3 and 31.1

 Heavy – API < 22.3

 Extra Heavy – API < 10.0

3. Compare the findings of API results for each sample with the flash point, RVP and
other properties.

Petrol have higher API gravity compared to others. The flash point is the lowest temperature
at which vapours of volatile material will ignite, when give an ignition source. The petrol has
the lowest flash point compared to diesel, kerosene and lubricating oil. Besides, petrol has the
higher Reid Vapor Pressure compared to diesel, kerosene and lubricating oil.

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5.0 DISCUSSION

This experiment was carry out to determine specific gravity of oil using hydrometer and
density meter. It was also to compare specific gravity and API gravity of different oils.
Different types of oils used in this experiment were petrol, lubricating oil, diesel and
kerosene. Starting with the determination of specific gravity of oils by hydrometer. The
sample was pour into dry measuring cylinder by filling until ¾ full. The bubbles present that
are deep in liquid was allow rising to the surface. The hydrometer was lower and rise gently
into the sample, and stirred. Then, the hydrometer was let to rest, with no touch the side of
cylinder. Moved it back to the centre of liquid when it moves to the side. The density reading
was record when the hydrometer is freely floating in rest state with the nearest scale division.
Next, the determination of specific gravity by using density meter. The sample was introduce
into the instrument in about 2 to 5ml by pushing and releasing the pump button. Noted that,
between changing to different oil from previous oil, there are need to purify by release a pump
of a new oil used (that are mix with some amount of previous oil) and pump in again a new
oil to ensure the instrument are measuring the latest oil to avoid error reading. The density
reading was record from the digital display on the instrument after a few seconds. There were
no bubbles present.

Theoretically, specific gravity is also known as relative density. It is a ratio of the density
of a substance to the standard substance. Specific gravity is dimensionless due to the ratio of
two quantities with the same unit (mass per unit volume). Buoyancy is the ability of an object
to float in air or water. It is related to specific gravity. For example, if a substance has lower
specific gravity from a certain type of fluid, that substance will float on the fluid such as lead
that float on mercury. Besides, specific gravity also be use in identifying unknown substances
(The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2018). Meanwhile, American Petroleum Institute
gravity or known as API gravity, is the inverted scale for determining the ‘heaviness’ or
‘lightness’ of crude oils and also others hydrocarbons. API gravity also can help in
determining the oil paraffinic crude amount, the yield of gasoline, and the sulphur contents.
Oil with higher API gravity value is high desirable, also can be categorized as a lighter crude.
It contains high paraffinic crude, high yields of gasoline and less content of sulphur.
Moreover, API gravity value is directly proportional for their market value. The higher the
API gravity, the higher the market value. Furthermore, the relationship between the API

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gravity and the specific gravity is inversely proportional. Higher the API gravity, thus, lower
the specific gravity, as a preferable oils (API gravity, 2018).

Experimentally, as the first objectives, the determination of the specific gravity for
different petroleum products was shown in Table 1. Specific gravity for petrol, lubricating oil,
diesel and kerosene were determined by using hydrometer. As the comparison, petrol have the
lowest specific gravity at 0.735 followed by kerosene, diesel and lubricating oil that have the
highest value of the specific gravity at 0.85. While for their API gravity, petrol shows the
highest value at 61 followed by kerosene, diesel and lubricating oil that have the lowest value
of API gravity at 35. This proved that, the specific gravity was inversely proportional to the
API gravity of the petroleum product. The result can be clearly explained in Figure 1, that
shows the slope of inversely proportional according to specific gravity and API gravity for
each types of petroleum products. It can be conclude that, the higher the specific gravity, the
lower the API gravity value of the petroleum product. The lower the API gravity value, the
lower the market value which contains high aromatic crude, high content of sulphur, heavier
the product and low yield of gasoline, thus make it undesirable compared to high API gravity
value petroleum products. So, the experiment have achieved to meet their objectives.

The experiment conducted may face some problems. There are several
recommendation in order to improve the way in running this experiment. First of all, label
each beakers that contains different types of petroleum product to avoid confusion while
taking the reading. Next, handle with care such as prepare tissues and wear gloves because
there will be some spills of the oil when running the experiment. If there is any spillage,
immediately clean it up to avoid any accident to occur. In addition, handle the apparatus
carefully, such as the hydrometer, because it is quite small and fragile apparatus, keep in the
box provided. Besides, the need in purify the sample when using density meter before taking
the reading as mentioned above to ensure the reading taken was the latest sample test.
Moreover, experimenter itself need to be well-prepared such as read and follow the
procedures from the lab manual to ensure the smooth run of the conducted experiment. Lastly,
housekeeping before leaving the lab to ensure the apparatus and equipment is well-organized,
make the laboratory clean and safe.

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6.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMENDATION
In conclusion, this experiment was carry out to determine specific gravity of oil using
hydrometer and density meter and to compare specific gravity and API gravity of different
oils. There were several types of oils that had been used while conducting the experiment
which is petrol, lubricating oil, diesel and kerosene. First of all, specific gravity is also known
as relative density whereby it is a ratio of the density of a substance to the standard substance.
Specific gravity is dimensionless due to the ratio of two quantities with the same unit (mass
per unit volume). Buoyancy is the ability of an object to float in air or water. It is related to
specific gravity. The specific gravity for different petroleum products was shown in Table 1.
Specific gravity for petrol, lubricating oil, diesel and kerosene were determined by using
hydrometer. It can be seen that petrol have the lowest specific gravity while lubricating oil
that have the highest value of the specific gravity. While for their API gravity, petrol shows
the highest value and lubricating oil have the lowest value of API gravity. This is because the
specific gravity was inversely proportional to the API gravity of the petroleum product.
Figure 1 shows that the slope of inversely proportional according to specific gravity and API
gravity for each types of petroleum products. Thus, the higher the specific gravity, the lower
the API gravity value of the petroleum product. The lower the API gravity value, the lower
the market value which contains high aromatic crude, high content of sulphur, heavier the
product and low yield of gasoline, thus make it undesirable compared to high API gravity
value petroleum products.Overall, the experiment that had been carried out have achieved
their objectives.

In order to improve the results obtained, there are several recommendation can be
implemented in this experiment. First of all, ensure that the appratus used to fill in the oils
samples been label. Next, the gloves and mask should be wear to avoid any chemical reaction
with our health while running the experiment. Besides, purify the sample first when using
density meter before taking the new reading of new sample. Lastly, ensure that the procedure
of the experiment being followed step by step based on the manual.

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7.0 REFERENCES
API gravity. (2018). Didapatkan dari Business Dictionary:
www.businessdictionary.com/definition/API-gravity.html

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2018). Specific Gravity. Didapatkan dari Encyclopaedia
Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/science/specific-gravity

Petroleum.co.uk. (2018). Petroleum - Classification - API. [online] Available at:

http://www.petroleum.co.uk/api [Accessed 3 Apr. 2018].

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