Int. J. Chem. Sci.

: 14(3), 2016, 1307-1316

ISSN 0972-768X
www.sadgurupublications.com

BLENDABILITY AND PROPERTY OF TURPENTINE OIL

WITH PETROL AND DIESEL
J. KISHORE KUMARa, C. SUNDAR RAJb, P. GOPALc and
P. SATHISH KUMARc*

a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Padmavathi College of Engineering,
KANCHEEPURAM – 602105 (T. N.) INDIA
b
A. V. C. College of Engineering, Mayiladuthurai, NAGAPATTINAM – 609305 (T. N.) INDIA
c
Department of Automobile Engineering, BIT Campus, TRICHY – 620024 (T. N.) INDIA

ABSTRACT
Pollution from the petroleum oil is increasing day by day in terms of CO2, CO, NOX, and many
other gases and particles. Price difference and economy leads people toward the use of alternative fuels.
To overcome this problem turpentine oil is mixed with petrol and diesel and taken as different samples.
Then the properties like flash point, fire point, cloud and pour point, calorific value, carbon content test,
ash content test, copper corrosion test are analyzed at various proportions of turpentine oil (5%, 10%, 15%,
20% of 100 mL sample) blended with petrol and Diesel fuels. Any other type of substance, can be
assigned some physical and chemical properties (e.g. density, thermal capacity, vapour pressure, chemical
formula, etc). However, most of the times, combustion properties are also assigned to blended fuels, in
spite of the fact that these properties depend on the oxidizer (e.g. air, pure oxygen) and the actual process
(e.g. the explosion limits depend on the boundary conditions for a given fuel/oxidizer pair). Fuel price,
availability, risk, and so on, could also be considered fuel properties (attributes).

Key words: Petrol, Diesel, Turpentine oil.

INTRODUCTION

The single largest source of energy of energy in India after coal is petroleum. About
two-third of which is imported. The petroleum derived fuel, i.e. motor gasoline and diesel
are being used almost by the entire road transport vehicles. The diesel fuel is also being used
in agriculture operations. The high dependence on important outside source of energy is an
issue related to energy security of the country. In the recent time, the combustion of these
fossil fuels has been recognized as a major cause of air pollution in Indian cities. We
therefore need to look for cleaner alternatives, which could not only reduce pollution but
________________________________________
*
Author for correspondence; E-mail: [email protected]
1308 J. K. Kumar et al.: Blendability and Property of….

also reduce our dependence on imports. In order to overcome the disadvantages of using
petrol and diesel, we can go for an alternative fuel blends with petrol and diesel at various
proportions.

10% ethanol blends can be effectively used without modification in air/fuel system.
CO, HC emissions can reduce by using different % of blends of ethanol in gasoline. Among,
which 10% is the best one to be used in multi cylinder engines without any alteration to
reduce exhaust1. This study provides a comprehensive assessment on LPG enrichment of
petrol and its blends in terms of their performance and emission aspects. The review shows
that the LPG using in IC engines reduces the emissions, which is the most important
criterion for the current environmental norms2. In the process for the extraction of rosin from
resinous wood, there are also recovered substantial quantities of pine oil and turpentine3.
Based on the exhaustive engine tests, it can be concluded that biodiesel can be adopted as an
alternative fuel for the existing conventional diesel engines without any major modifications
required in the system hardware4.
Turpentine oil

Turpentine is oil obtained from pine trees, and is different from the mineral
turpentine that can be bought in the supermarket. It is a very important substance with many
applications as a solvent, in the pharmaceutical industry and in the production of oils, resins
and varnishes. It is also used as the starting material to manufacture a variety of other
products, including pine oil and turpentine. Turpentine is initially separated from wood chips
after they have been "cooked" in the kraft paper-making process. It is separated off as a
mixture of water and turpentine vapors, which separate out when left to separate in a tank, as
turpentine is much lighter than water. This turpentine is then distilled into "heads" (volatile
compounds with no commercial value), and α - and ß-pinene. Of these, ß-pinene is sold as is
and α-pinene is further processed to make pine oil by reacting it with phosphoric acid. A
further, less valuable, solvent, dipentene, is produced as a by-product of this process.

Table 1: Properties of Fuels

S. No. Properties Diesel Petrol Turpentine oil

3)
1 Density (kg/m 830 750 854
o
2 Flash point ( C) > 52 – 43 35
3 Calorific value (kJ/kg) 44800 48000 44000
4 Specific gravity 0.83 0.82 0.85
2 -6 -6
5 Viscosity (m /s) 3 × 10 0.5 × 10 1.5
Int. J. Chem. Sci.: 14(3), 2016 1309

Turpentine oil blended with diesel and petrol

Petrol and diesel is blended with turpentine oil with volume fractions of 5%, 10%
15% and 20% of turpentine oil. The volumetric composition detail about the samples
prepared is listed in Table 2. These blended samples are tested for various property values
that state whether they can be used in the engine as regular fuel or not.

Table 2: Samples at different volume fractions

Samples Diesel and petrol (%) Turpentine oil (%)

I 95 5
II 90 10
III 85 15
IV 80 20

EXPERIMENETAL

Transesterification process of biofuel

The transesterification process is a procedure followed to convert virgin oils into a

fuel suitable to use in automobiles. The process begins with the heating of raw oil along with
100 mL of methanol and potassium hydroxide to a temperature of about 135oC. This will
create a mixture blended within all the components and allowed to get settled for 24 hrs.

100 ml methanol Mixture is Glycerol &

Raw oil +3.5KOH heated up set for 24 Biofuel
to 135°C Hrs Formed

Heated up
to 60˚C Distilled water
Biofuel + hot Distilled water
heated up to 110°C

Extraction of pure
biofuel

Fig. 1: Flow chart of the transesterification process

1310 J. K. Kumar et al.: Blendability and Property of….

The component will undergo chemical deterioration and form biofuel along with
glycerol. The mixture is then heated with distilled water for a known time period such that
the glycerol reacts with water. The water with glycerol is further heated up to 110oC to
extract pure biofuel.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Variation of flash and fire point

Flash point of the oil is the temperature at which the oil starts forming vapors but not
sufficient enough to sustain a flame. Fire point of the oil is the temperature at which the oil
has started producing enough vapors to sustain a flame. The flash point and fire point of the
given sample oil is measured using Abel’s Open cup Apparatus. It is evident from the Fig.
2(a), that the flash point and the fire point for the blended samples of diesel is decreased as
the concentration of turpentine oil on the sample is increased.

70
o
Flash point ( C)
o
65 Flash point ( C)
Temperature ( C)

60
o

55

50

45

40
1 2 3 4
Samples

Fig. 2: Flash and fire point graph for diesel blends

Variation of cloud and pour point

The cloud and pour point temperature of samples are determined using cloud and
pour apparatus. The cloud point of a fluid is the temperature at which dissolved solids are no
longer completely soluble, precipitating as a second phase giving the fluid a cloudy
appearance. Whereas, the pour point of a liquid is the lowest temperature at which it
becomes semi solid and loses its flow characteristics. From Fig. 3(a), the cloud point shows
a decreasing nature of cloud point with the increase in concentration of turpentine oil on the
diesel. However, the pour point shows a varying nature of increasing and decreasing
Int. J. Chem. Sci.: 14(3), 2016 1311

alternately. As for the petrol samples are concerned, values of both cloud and pour points
show an increasing trend with increased concentration of blending oil. It is shown clearly in
the Figure 3(b).

-2 (a) Cloud point (b)

Cloud point
Pour point Pour point
-4 -45

Temperature ( C)
Temperature ( C)

o
o

-6

-50
-8

-10
-55
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Samples Samples

Fig. 3: (a) Variation of cloud and pour point for diesel blends (b) Variation of cloud
and pour point for petrol blends

Variation of carbon residue

12
D+T.OIL
11
P+T.OIL
10
Carbon residue (%)

9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1 2 3 4
Samples

Fig. 4: Carbon residue test plot

The residue of carbon present in the samples is determined from the carbon residue
test apparatus. It is the amount of carbon residue left after evaporation of given samples in
the test apparatus, which is heated in the furnace for a known period of time and cooled in
desiccators. Any foreign particle adhering to the bulb is brushed off with the piece of sized
1312 J. K. Kumar et al.: Blendability and Property of….

paper or camel hair brush. The left out is weighed to the nearest 0.1 mg value accurately.
The Figure 4 shows, that the carbon residue of the blends with petrol and diesel are
decreasing with increasing volume of turpentine oil in the sample. For petrol blends there is
steep fall in the carbon residue value but only a gradual decrement in the diesel samples.
Variation of ash content test

The crucible weighing method is used to determine the amount of ash content in the
given fuel sample. The weight of the crucible is noted before and after the fuel sample is
filled. Then it is fired in open air inside a furnace to a temperature of 550 - 600 0C
(Depending on the sample). After complete burning, the crucible is removed from furnace
and weight is noted. By simple calculation, the ash content of the samples are estimated and
plotted as shown in Figure 5. The ash content of the diesel blends show a gradual fall in
value whereas there is steep rise for blends formed of petrol.

1.6 D+T.OIL
P+T.OIL
1.4
Ash content (%)

1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
1 2 3 4
Samples

Fig. 5: Ash content test graph

Variation of vapor pressure

The vapor pressure of each sample is determined by using the Reid vapor pressure
gauge. The sample is placed in the chamber and pressure gauge is connected to it. It is then
heated to 37.8°C for not less than 10 min by immersing it in the hot water bath. Finally, the
vapor pressure is measured at different time intervals and results are plotted in the Fig. 6.
Variation of corrosion property

The method of detecting the corrosiveness to copper of aviation given samples

having Reid vapor pressure no greater than 18 lb is followed. Carefully slide the sample tube
Int. J. Chem. Sci.: 14(3), 2016 1313

into the test bomb which is filled with known amount of sample. It is then heated to
100 ± 1oC for about 120 ± 5 min and is cooled. Now, the test tube is withdrawn and
examined with respect to the standard chart shown in Fig. 7. The corrosion property of each
sample is listed in Table 3.

Table 3: Corrosion property of samples

Sample Diesel + Turpentine oil Petrol + Turpentine oil

1 1b (slight tarnish) 1a (slight tarnish)
2 2c (moderate tarnish) 1b (slight tarnish)
3 3a (dark tarnish) 2c (moderate tarnish)
4 3a (dark tarnish) 3b(dark tarnish)

45
D+T.OIL
40 P+T.OIL
Pressure (m.bar)

35

30

25

20

15
1 2 3 4
Samples

Fig. 6: Reid vapor pressure test graph

Fig. 7: Copper strip corrosion standards

1314 J. K. Kumar et al.: Blendability and Property of….

CONCLUSION

Petrol and diesel with 5%, 10% 15% and 20 % of turpentine oil blends are prepared.
These samples exhibit different properties and posses different chemical properties.
Therefore, the properties of the samples are observed and investigated and the properties of
the samples vary from the original and some of the values increase and decrease.

(i) The flash point and fire point of the diesel samples decreases.
(ii) Also cloud point pour point, calorific value, carbon content, ash content, vapor
pressure decreases when compared to standard values of petrol.
(iii) The cloud and pour point, ash content increases for the petrol sample.
(iv) Whereas the carbon content, calorific value, vapor pressure is decreased when
compared to standard values of petrol.

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Revised : 15.06.2016 Accepted : 19.06.2016