ANALYSE THE PROPERTIES OF FURNACE OIL AND

TO COMPARE IT WITH BIO-LDO

Presented by – Under the guidance of-

Mr Aditya Shinde Mr S. Chandra Sekhar

SRM University, DGM Metallurgy
Chennai
Mr Bajirao Patil
Manager(HTM)
Training Period Mr Vishwas Patil
30th May, 14- 10th June, 14 Senior Executive(HTM)
Mr Dheeraj Misra
Senior Executive(MNT)
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 Objective
• To Compare and contrast the properties of
Bio-LDO(Light Diesel Oil) and Furnace Oil.

2
Contents:
• Introduction
• Process Flow
• Schematic representation of heat treatment cycle:
• Comparison
• Advantages and Disadvantages
• Additive
• Benefits
• Savings
• Conclusions and Suggestions

3
 Introduction:
• Definitions
a. Bio-LDO (methyl ester)
Bio-LDO is a blend of distillate fuel with a small proportion of residual fuel.
The average chemical formula for common diesel fuel is C12H23, ranging
approximately from C10H20 to C15H28. LDO consists of the above strucurture
with blends of vegetable oil or lipids.

b. Furnace Oil:
Furnace oil is a Dark, viscous residual fuel oil which is obtained by blending
residual products from various refining processes with suitable diluents usually
middle distillates to obtain the required fuel oil grades.

Ref: Wikipedia
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Process flow of heat treatment:
 Schematic representation of
heat treatment cycle:
A continuous heat treatment furnace (Bofco 2T/hr.) is used in MCIE for hardening and
tempering. The burner type is Continental 52 forward flame excess air oil burner. The furnace
used consists of 10 burners with 5 burners on either side of the furnace. The furnace is further
divided into 3 zones marked with the positioning of the burners. The first six burners form the
zone1, next two forming the zone 2, followed by two more forming the zone3.
Tempering furnace
Water Pusher
tank
Mechanism for
4 3 2 1 loading tray into
the furnace

Polymer Polymer
Pusher Zone 1 2 3 Quenching Quenching
Mechanism for Tank 1 Tank 2
loading tray into
the furnace

Bofco 2T/hr
Hardening furnace • Continuous-cycle Heating Furnace
Comparison:
Sr Characteristic Bio-LDO Furnace Oil
No. RE-100 IS 1448
1. Kinematic Viscosity in 15.8 80-370
400C to 500C in CST
2. Calorific Value (Kcal/kg) 9720.9 9800-10200
3. Pour Point (0C) 120C-winter 380C
210C-summer
4. Flash Point 660C 660C
5. Water, content percent 0.042 1
by volume
6. Sulfur, percent by mass 0.045 3.5-4.5
7. Sediment, percent by 0.05 0.25
mass
8. Ash, percent by mass 0.093 at 7500C 0.1
9. Carbon Residue, percent 1.5 12-20%
by mass
Advantages and Disadvantages(Furnace oil):
Sr Property Advantage Disadvantage Remarks
No.
1. Kinematic FO-High Kinematic Viscosity
Viscosity at 400C Higher resistance to flow
2. Calorific FO-Similar to LDO hence good
Value in combustion
3. Pour Point FO-Lower Pour Point
Flow problems
4. Water FO-Higher water content
Content Affects the combustion
5. Sulfur FO-Higher sulfur content
Causes furnace chamber
deposits, pipe corrosion and
wear
6. Flash Point FO-Same as LDO
 Advantages and Disadvantages(Furnace oil):
Sr Property Advantage Disadvantage Remarks
No.
7. Sediment FO-Higher sediment content
Clogs filters and build up deposits
in tanks and piping.
8. Ash FO-Higher ash content
Leads to abrasion, malfunctioning
of injectors and high temperature
corrosion in fuels.
9. Carbon FO-Higher carbon residue
Residue Poisonous in nature.

Note- The sediment, ash and carbon residue can be reduced by adding ethanol as additive.
The kinematic viscosity and sulfur content can be brought down by using additive SK-5L.
ADDITIVE IN FURNACE OIL (SK-5L)
(Suggestion)
Additive name: SK-5L
SK-5L Fuel additive is added in 1: 1000 proportion to FO for best results. When we
add the additive in above mentioned proportion the additive cracks the longer
carbon chain of above fuels to smaller sizes hence increasing the surface area of
combustion resulting in best possible combustion with stable exhaust.

Features of SK-5L:
1. Copper strip corrosion of fuel after adding additive becomes negative indicating
protection of storage tanks & conduit pipes from corrosion. It acts as corrosion
inhibitor.
2. SK-5L has specific gravity of 0.8 hence it is easily miscible in all the above oils
once added before tank unloading will serve the purpose.
3. Easy to applicant, any other capital investment not at all required.
4. Density 0.8 at 29°C, Color yellow with greenish appearance, Flash Point 31°C,
Calorific value – 10880 K Cal / Kg. Copper strip corrosion negative in proportion 1 in
3000 ltrs F.O.
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Advantages when SK-5L additive is added:
 Due to dissolving of sulfur in SK-5L, sludge problem gets solved.

 Due to more Fluidity Nozzle chocking also reduces considerably.

 Due to lowering of sulfur percentage, 50% less corrosive gasses are evolved and
can be verified by monitoring Exhaust gases. Hence metal chimney life also doubles.

 Due to atomizing spray is very fine so 15 to 20% lesser oil inlet pressures can be
maintained Hence initial firing problem is reduces considerably.

 Due to better atomization spray improves. Hence due to complete combustion

deposits on radiant tubes Reduces by 50%.

 So periodic maintenance can be brought down by 50%.

 Purging of Nozzles can be eliminated altogether since Oil Inlet Pressure can by
reduced by up to 20% depending on dosage i.e. Improved fluidity.

Note- The present burners being used in the Bofco furnace to fire LDO can also be
used in Furnace Oil combustion provided it is pre-mixed with an additive. 11
Cost calculation for Bio-LDO and Furnace oil

Cost of Bio-LDO in rupees= 55Rs/liter

Amount of Bio-LDO Consumed in liters= 80liters/hour
Hence,
Total cost of Bio-LDO for one hour= 55*80
= Rs 4400

Cost of Furnace Oil in rupees= 46Rs/liter

Amount of Furnace Oil Consumed in liters= 95liters/hour (As per theoretical calculation
@10-15% increase in consumption than Bio-LDO)
i.e. 10.4liters+80liters= 90.4liters
Hence,
Total cost of Furnace Oil for one hour= 46*90.4
= Rs 4158.4
Hence we see that Furnace Oil is Rs 241.6/hour cheaper as compared to Bio-LDO.
Note- As we do not have additive cost hence additive cost cannot be considered during calculation.

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SUGGESTIONS:

 Emulsification

 Gear Pump

 Electromagnetic Valve
1. Emulsification
Emulsification is blending of furnace oil and about 10 % of water with emulsifying
agent(water-in-oil). The primary spray fuel droplets are further divided as a result of the
explosive vaporization caused by rapid heating of the water dispersed within the
individual fuel droplets. The internal water droplets undergo spontaneous nucleation of
steam bubbles at a temperature well above 100°C, causing a violent conversion of the
water droplet to steam. The vaporization, in turn, produces a rapid expansion of the
surrounding oil droplets, fragmenting the oil into a vast number of smaller fuel droplets.
For proper blending, Emulsified water in furnace oil can be separated with the help of de-
emulsifying agent only.
This Emulsified furnace oil can be used directly to any burner without any changes in
existing system, to increase the combustion efficiency of the fuel, resulting in reduction
of F.O. Consumption by approximately 5 to 7%, reducing the fuel cost. It also decreases
the kinematic viscosity of furnace oil.
2. Gear Pump
The pump used in the LDO pump is a pressure pump.
This pump can be replaced by a gear pump. This sucks the oil and increases the pressure
in the nozzles to 15 bar maximum. Usually a gear pump of the sickle type is used. This
type of pump is a simple and therefore cheap pump consisting of one or more radical
pairs of gears and with a very small space between the gears and the pump casing. Gear
pumps are used frequently in oil burners because of their simplicity, stability and low
price.

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3. Electromagnetic Valve:
As the fuel supply is continuous many a times the fuel is supplied to the sprayer when
not required for combustion.
Also sometimes the time taken for switching off the fuel supply is more. As a result a
few liters of the fuel go waste.
The fuel is not evenly purged inside the furnace during startup of the furnace.
This can be solved using an electromagnetic valve. It enables fuel to be shut off from
the sprayer by electrical control. This helps avoid drips when it is inactivated. It also
eases the purging of the burner of fuel mist, during start up, or while restarting after
a misfire. If the burner were not purged the oil/air mixture could explode
dangerously.

4. Coil /
1. Valve Body 7. Plunger
Solenoid
5. Coil
2. Inlet Port 8. Spring
Windings

3. Outlet Port 6. Lead Wires 9. Orifice

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Conclusion:
Hence we can conclude that Furnace Oil can be used to replace LDO provided it is
combined in proper proportions with additive SK-5L. The exact cost can be calculated
based on trials.
The suggestions made can be applied and installing them in the furnace will be a one
time investment.

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