Liquid Fuels

Unit II

CHE 231: Energy Resources and Utilization

Dr. Sanjay Katheria

1
 Plate Tectonic Theory

Plate tectonic theory explains the movement of Earth's

lithospheric plates, which float on the semi-fluid asthenosphere
beneath them. This movement shapes Earth's surface and
drives geological processes.

Key Concepts:

• Lithospheric Plates: Earth's crust and upper mantle are

divided into rigid plates.
• Asthenosphere: A semi-fluid layer beneath the lithosphere
that allows plates to move.

2
 Plate Tectonic Theory

Types of Plate Boundaries:

• Divergent Boundaries: Plates move apart, forming new crust

(e.g., mid-ocean ridges).
• Convergent Boundaries: Plates collide, leading to subduction
zones or mountain building.
• Transform Boundaries: Plates slide past each other, causing
earthquakes (e.g., San Andreas Fault).

Driving Forces:
• Convection Currents: Heat from the Earth's core causes
mantle material to move, driving plate motion.
• Ridge Push and Slab Pull: Gravity and plate interactions
contribute to movement. 3
Plate Tectonic Theory

4
 Continental Drift Theory

Definition:
Proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912, the Continental
Drift Theory suggests that continents were once a
single supercontinent called Pangaea, which gradually
broke apart and drifted to their current positions.

Key Points:
Pangaea: A supercontinent that existed around 200-
300 million years ago.
Drift: Continents "float" on the Earth's mantle and
slowly move over geological time.

5
 Origin of Oil/Petroleum

The Organic theory is the most widely accepted

theory about the origin of petroleum. According to
organic theory, oil and gas were formed from the
remains of prehistoric plants and animals.

These remains were settled into seas and lands

along with sands and silts, mud, and other minerals.

Over a few million years, the layers of the organic

material were compressed under the weight of the
sediments above them.

The increase in pressure and temperature with the

absence of oxygen changed the mud, sand, silt or
sediments into rock and organic matter into
Kerogen.

After further burial and heating, the kerogen transformed via cracking into petroleum and natural gas.
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 Origin of Oil/Petroleum

There are three necessary components in the

generation and accumulation of oil: source rock,
reservoir rock, and cap rock.

Source rock is a rock with high concentration of

organic material that can be transformed into oil
under the action of high temperature.

Not every organic material can be transformed into oil, for example, wood can form only coal and methane.

The remains of algae can transform into oil and, at higher temperatures, into natural gas.

Oil window (temperature range):

Geologists often refer to the temperature range in which oil forms as an "oil window". Below the minimum temperature oil
remains trapped in the form of kerogen. Above the maximum temperature the oil is converted to natural gas through the
process of thermal cracking. 7
 Kerogen

Kerogen is solid, insoluble organic matter in sedimentary rocks. It consists of a variety of organic materials, including dead
plants, algae, and other microorganisms, that have been compressed and heated by geological processes

https://petroshine.com/source-rocks/3/ Sci Rep 7, 12530 (2017). 8

 Oil migration and accumulation

The transport of petroleum from the source rock to the

reservoir rocks is called migration which occurs along
permeable carrier beds.

There are two types of migration when discussing the

movement of petroleum, primary and secondary. Primary
migration refers to the movement of hydrocarbons from source
rock into reservoir rock and it is this type that the following
discussion refers to.

Secondary migration refers to the subsequent movement of hydrocarbons within reservoir rock; the oil and gas has left the
source rock and has entered the reservoir rock. This occurs when petroleum is clearly identifiable as crude oil and gas although
the gas may be dissolved in the oil. Buoyancy of the hydrocarbons occurs because of differences in densities of respective fluids
and in response to differential pressures in reservoir rock. https://www.dnr.louisiana.gov/assets/TAD/education/BGBB/3/
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 World Petroleum Reserve

10
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2013/ph240/malyshev2/
 Petroleum Production

Oil Extraction
Oil and gas extraction is a process that refers to the exploration and production of petroleum and natural gas from wells.

1. Oil Exploration
There are three common ways to explore the land for onshore oil and gas
exploration.

Seismographic methods, such as seismic prospecting, which use sound waves or

seismic waves to create a map of the rock formations underground.

Gravity and magnetic surveying, which work with the help of a gravimeter to pick
up gravitational force in the earth, or a magnetometer attached to an aircraft or
aquatic vessel to assess rock formations based on their response to the magnetic
fields around them.

Surface methods, which is about observing either the geological features of the
area to understand the rock formations there, the hydrocarbon seeping into the
ground, or both.

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 Petroleum Production

2. PREPARING THE RIG SITE

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 Petroleum Production

2. Drilling

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 Petroleum Production

2. Drilling

CONVENTIONAL OIL

Conventional oil is a term used to describe oil that can be produced

(extracted from the ground) using traditional drilling methods. It is liquid
at atmospheric temperature and pressure conditions, and therefore flows
without additional stimulation. This is opposed to unconventional oil,
which requires advanced production methods due to its geologic
formations and/or is heavy and does not flow on its own.
Pumpjack
A pumpjack is the overground drive for a reciprocating piston pump in an
oil well. It is used to mechanically lift liquid out of the well if there is not
enough bottom hole pressure for the liquid to flow all the way to the
surface. The arrangement is often used for onshore wells. Pumpjacks are
common in oil-rich areas. 14
https://www.capp.ca/oil/extraction/
 Petroleum Production

2. Drilling

UNCONVENTIONAL OIL

Unconventional oil cannot be recovered using

conventional drilling and pumping methods. Advanced
extraction techniques, such as oil sands mining and in situ
development, are used to recover heavier oil that does
not flow on its own

Oil found in geological formations that make it more

difficult to extract, such as light tight oil (LTO), is also
called unconventional oil because non-traditional
techniques are needed to extract the oil from the
underground reservoir. 15
https://www.capp.ca/oil/extraction/
 Petroleum Production

2. Drilling

UNCONVENTIONAL OIL

Unconventional (oil & gas) reservoirs, or

unconventional resources (resource plays)
are accumulations where oil & gas phases
are tightly bound to the rock fabric by
strong capillary forces, requiring specialized
measures for evaluation and extraction.

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 Petroleum Production

2. Drilling

2014 Oil Price Decline

17
Factors Behind the 2014 Oil Price Decline Bank of Canada Review • Autumn 2017
 Petroleum Production

2. Drilling

Hydrofracking

Fracking is an extraction technique for oil and gas wells in which

rocks are fractured artificially using pressurized liquid.

The process involves drilling down into the earth and injecting a
highly pressurized mixture of water, sand, and thickening agent, also
called "fracking fluid," into a wellbore to create cracks in rock
formations.

Once the hydraulic pressure is removed from the well, the remnants
of the fracking fluid hold the fractures open, making it easy to extract
the oil and gas inside. 18
 Petroleum Production

STEP 3: CEMENTING AND TESTING

STEP 4: WELL COMPLETION

STEP 5: FRACKING

STEP 6: PRODUCTION AND FRACKING FLUID RECYCLING

STEP 7: WELL ABANDONMENT AND LAND RESTORATION

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 Crude Oil Pretreatment

Demulsifying

Crude oil emulsion is formed as dispersed water phase in an oil medium. The water globules are protected by an oil layer which
prevents their coalescence. This protective oil layer increases in mechanical strength with time (aging) due to long storage, thus
stabilizing the emulsion.

Chemical demulsifiers or emulsion breakers are used to break the crude oil emulsion into oil and water phases. They destroy
the interfacial film and enhance the coalescence of the water droplets. Some chemical demulsifiers include amines, polyhydric
alcohols, acids, and polymers.

Deasphalting

Heavy oils contain significant amounts of asphaltenes which, if not removed, will decrease the efficiency of the refining process
and reduce product quality. Asphaltenes comprise a dark brown to black solid with no definite melting point but foams and
swells when heated leaving a carbonaceous residue. Their molecular weight can span from 1000 to 100,000.
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 Crude Oil Pretreatment

Demetallization

Most crudes, especially heavy oils, contain various metals in different concentrations ranging from 1000 to a few million ppm
depending on the origin of the crude. These metals are mainly sodium (Na), potassium (K), lithium (Li), calcium (Ca), strontium
(Sr), iron (Fe), cupper (Cu), silver (Ag), manganese (Mn), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), cobalt (Co), titanium (Ti), gold (Au), chromium (Cr),
vanadium (V), and nickel (Ni).

Currently, demetallization is most commonly achieved during hydrotreating, deasphalting, and hydrocracking

Denitrogenation

Nitrogen is one of the major heteroatoms but is also present in crudes as nitrogen-containing compounds which need to be
removed from crude oil to avoid downstream problems. Common nitrogen-containing compounds are mainly in form of
complex structures such as porphyrins and quinolines as well as simple ones such as pyridine (C 5H5N) and pyrrole (C4H5N),
which are prone to free radical addition reactions to form gums and amines. These react with acid catalysts and cause
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deactivation.
 Crude Oil Pretreatment

Denitrogenation

Hydrodenitrogenation removes nitrogen by forming other compounds such as ammonia, which are then separated from the
oil.
Deoxygenation

Desulfurization

Desalting

https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/69325 22
Petroleum Refinery

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 Petroleum Refinery

Petroleum crude oils are complex mixtures of hydrocarbons, chemical compounds composed only of carbon (C) and hydrogen
(H).

Petroleum includes not only crude oil, but all liquid, gaseous and solid hydrocarbons.

Under surface pressure and temperature conditions, lighter hydrocarbons methane, ethane, propane and butane exist as
gases, while pentane and heavier hydrocarbons are in the form of liquids or solids.

When crude oil is input into a fractional distillation tower, there is an overall increase in volume of product. If a single barrel of
crude oil - equal to about 159 liters - were refined, the volume of the final products is actually greater than the volume of the
initial crude oil. In fact, 170 liters of refined petroleum products can be obtained from 159 liters of crude oil. There is an
increase in volume through the refining process as a result of an effect known as processing gain.

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 Petroleum Refinery

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum

Fire Debris Analysis 2008, Pages 199-233

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti
cle/abs/pii/B9780126639711500117)
https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/In_a_barrel_of_oil

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Refinery Operations

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 Basic Refinery Operations

Fractional distillation

Fractional distillation is the process by which oil refineries separate crude oil
into different, more useful hydrocarbon products based on their relative
molecular weights in a distillation tower.
Light distillate is one of the more important fractions, and its products have boiling points
around 70-200°C. Useful hydrocarbons in this range include gasoline, naphta (a chemical
feedstock), kerosene, jet fuel, and paraffin. These products are highly volatile, have small
molecules, have low boiling points, flow easily, and ignite easily.
Medium distillate are products that have boiling points of 200-350°C. Products in this range
include diesel fuel and gas oil - used in the manufacturing of town gas and for commercial
heating.

Heavy distillate are the products with the lowest volatility and have boiling points above 350°C. These fractions can be solid or
semi-solid and may need to be heated in order to flow. Fuel oil is produced in this fraction. These products have large
molecules, a low volatility, flow poorly, and do not ignite easily. 27
 Basic Refinery Operations

Vacuum distillation

Temperature constraint of Atmospheric distillation (less than 370 to 380 °C) yields a residual oil from the bottom of the
atmospheric distillation column consisting entirely of hydrocarbons that boil above 370 to 380 °C.

To further distill the residual oil from the atmospheric distillation column, the distillation must be performed at absolute
pressures as low as 10 to 40 mmHg / Torr (About 5% atmospheric pressure) so as to limit the operating temperature to less
than 370 to 380 °C.

Standard petroleum fractions withdrawn from the vacuum distillation column include lube distillates, vacuum oil, asphalt
stocks, and residual oils.

The vacuum in the vacuum distillation column is usually maintained by the use of steam ejectors but may be maintained by
the use of vacuum pumps.
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 Basic Refinery Operations

Vacuum distillation

Clausius-Clapeyron Equation
Clausius-Clapeyron Equation allows us to estimate the vapor pressure at another temperature, if the vapor pressure is
known at some temperature, and if the enthalpy of vaporization is known.

where P1 and P2 are the vapor pressures at two temperatures T1 and T2 .

The Antoine equation is a class of semi-empirical correlations describing the relation between vapor pressure and temperature
for pure substances. The Antoine equation is derived from the Clausius–Clapeyron relation.

August equation

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry_Textbook_Maps/Supplemental_Modules_(Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry)/Physical_Properties_of_Matter/
States_of_Matter/Phase_Transitions/Clausius-Clapeyron_Equation
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 Basic Refinery Operations
Hydrodesulfurization

Hydrodesulfurization is a high-pressure (150 to 250 psig) and high-temperature (200 to 425°C) process that uses hydrogen gas
to reduce the sulfur in petroleum fractions (particularly diesel) to hydrogen sulfide, which is then readily separated from the
fuel.

https://www.e-education.psu.edu/fsc432/content/hydrodesulfurization 30
 Basic Refinery Operations
Hydrodesulfurization

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrodesulfurization
 Basic Refinery Operations

Catalytic reforming is a chemical process used to convert petroleum refinery naphthas distilled from crude oil (typically having
low octane ratings) into high-octane liquid products called reformates, which are premium blending stocks for high-octane
gasoline.

The process converts low-octane linear hydrocarbons

(paraffins) into branched alkanes (isoparaffins) and cyclic
naphthenes, which are then partially dehydrogenated to
produce high-octane aromatic hydrocarbons.

The most valuable byproduct from catalytic reforming is hydrogen to satisfy the increasing demand for hydrogen in
hydrotreating and hydrocracking processes.

Most reforming catalysts contain platinum as the active metal supported on alumina, and some may contain additional metals
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such as rhenium and tin in bi- or tri-metallic catalyst formulations.
 Basic Refinery Operations

Catalytic Reforming Reactions Catalytic Reforming Feedstock and Product

• Dehydrogenation: naphthenes → aromatics

the conversion methylcyclohexane (a naphthene) to toluene (an aromatic)

• Paraffins are isomerized: the conversion of normal octane to 2,5-

Dimethylhexane (an isoparaffin)
aromatization of paraffins to aromatics (commonly called
dehydrocyclization) as exemplified in the conversion of normal heptane
to toluene

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• aromatics are unchanged
 Basic Refinery Operations

Catalytic Reforming Reactions Catalytic Reforming Feedstock and Product

• Aromatization of paraffins to aromatics (commonly called
dehydrocyclization) as exemplified in the conversion of normal
heptane to toluene

• The hydrocracking of paraffins into smaller molecules as exemplified by

the cracking of normal heptane into isopentane and ethane

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalytic_reforming
 Basic Refinery Operations

Octane ratings

Octane ratings are measures of fuel stability. These ratings are based on the pressure at which a fuel will spontaneously
combust (auto-ignite) in a testing engine.

The octane number is actually the simple average of two different octane rating methods—motor octane rating (MOR) and
research octane rating (RON)—that differ primarily in the specifics of the operating conditions. The higher an octane number,
the more stable the fuel.

In broad terms, fuels with a higher octane rating are used in

higher-compression gasoline engines, which may yield higher
power for these engines. Such higher power comes from the
fuel's higher compression by the engine design, and not
directly from the gasoline.
https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/gasoline-octane-ratings-explained#:~:text=Regular%20(the%20lowest
%20octane%20fuel,fuel%E2%80%93generally%2091%E2%80%9394) 35
 Basic Refinery Operations

Alkylation

Alkylation is a chemical reaction that entails transfer of an alkyl group.

The alkyl group may be transferred as an alkyl carbocation, a free radical,
a carbanion, or a carbene (or their equivalents)

The alkylation process combines light iso-paraffins, most commonly

isobutane, with C3–C4 olefins, to produce a mixture of higher molecular
weight iso-paraffins (i.e., alkylate) as a high-octane number blending
component for the gasoline pool.

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 Basic Refinery Operations

Isomerization

Isomerization processes have been used to isomerize n-butane to iso-butane used in alkylation and C5 /C6 n-paraffins in light
naphtha to the corresponding iso-paraffins to produce high-octane number gasoline stocks after the adoption of lead-free
gasoline

Catalytic isomerization processes that use hydrogen have been developed to operate under moderate conditions.

Polymerization

The polymerization process combines propenes and butenes to produce higher olefins with high-octane numbers (97 RON and
83 MON) for the gasoline pool.

The polymerization process was used extensively in the 1930s and 1940s, but it was replaced to a large extent by the
alkylation process after World War II.
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https://www.e-education.psu.edu/fsc432/content/polymerization
 Petroleum products

Gases

Gaseous refinery products include hydrogen, fuel gas, ethane, propane, and butane.

Most of the hydrogen is consumed in refinery desulfurization facilities, which remove hydrogen sulfide from the gas stream and
then separate that compound into elemental hydrogen and sulfur; small quantities of the hydrogen may be delivered to the
refinery fuel system.

Refinery fuel gas varies in composition but usually contains a significant amount of methane; it has a heating value similar to
natural gas and is consumed in plant operations. Periodic variability in heating value makes it unsuitable for delivery to
consumer gas systems.

Ethane may be recovered from the refinery fuel system for use as a petrochemical feedstock.

Propane and butane are sold as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is a convenient portable fuel for domestic heating and
cooking or for light industrial use.
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 Petroleum products

1. Liquefied petroleum gas

Liquefied petroleum gas or LPG is a type of hydrocarbon gas that is obtained by refining crude oil or processing natural gas.
This gas is composed of either propane and butane by themselves or as a mixture of the two.

LPG is used as a fuel gas in heating appliances, cooking equipment, and vehicles. It is increasingly used as an aerosol propellant
and a refrigerant.

Varieties of LPG that are bought and sold include mixes that are mostly propane (C 3H8), mostly butane (C4H10), and, most
commonly, mixes including both propane and butane.

CNG, PNG and LNG

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 Petroleum products

2. Gasoline
A volatile, flammable liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, obtained from petroleum, and used as fuel for internal-combustion
engines, as a solvent, etc.

The bulk of a typical gasoline consists of a homogeneous mixture of small, relatively lightweight hydrocarbons with between 4
and 12 carbon atoms per molecule. It is a mixture of paraffins (alkanes), olefins (alkenes), and napthenes (cycloalkanes). The
use of the term paraffin in place of the standard chemical

Octane rating
Experimental studies led to the determination that, of the standard fuels available at the time, the most extreme knock was
produced by a fuel composed of pure normal heptane, while the least knock was produced by pure isooctane.

This discovery led to the development of the octane scale for defining gasoline quality. Thus, when a motor gasoline gives the
same performance in a standard knock engine as a mixture of 90 percent isooctane and 10 percent normal heptane, it is given
an octane rating of 90. 40
 Petroleum products

Octane rating
There are two methods for carrying out the knock engine test. Research octane is measured under mild conditions of
temperature and engine speed (49 °C [120 °F] and 600 revolutions per minute, or RPM), while motor octane is measured under
more severe conditions (149 °C [300 °F] and 900 RPM).

3. Kerosene
Kerosene is a flammable liquid mixture of chemicals that are produced in the distillation of crude oil. To produce kerosene,
crude oil is distilled in a distillation tower in a process similar to that used to produce diesel and gasoline

It is a medium weight distillate in the refining process, and can be produced by distilling crude oil (here it is known as straight
run kerosene) or by hydrocarbon cracking heavier petroleum (here it is known as cracked kerosene). The chemical composition
of kerosene is fairly complex, and it is a complex mixture of paraffins (55.2%), naphthenes (40.9%), and aromatic hydrocarbons
(3.9%).
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 Petroleum products

3. Kerosene
The chemical composition depends on its source, but it usually consists of about 10 different hydrocarbons, each containing
10 to 16 carbon atoms per molecule. Liquid kerosene fuels contain potentially harmful compounds, including hexane and
benzene.

Kerosene is less volatile than gasoline. Its flash point (the temperature at which it will generate a flammable vapour near its
surface) is 38 °C (100 °F) or higher, whereas that of gasoline is as low as −40 °C (−40 °F). This property makes kerosene a
relatively safe fuel to store and handle.

With a boiling point between about 150 and 300 °C (300–575 °F), kerosene is considered to be one of the so-called middle
distillates of crude oil, along with diesel fuel.

It can be produced as “straight-run kerosene,” separated physically from the other crude oil fractions by distillation, or it can be
produced as “cracked kerosene,” by chemically decomposing, or cracking, heavier portions of the oil at elevated temperatures.
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 Petroleum products

3. Petroleum diesel
Petroleum diesel, also called petrodiesel, fossil diesel, or mineral diesel, is the most common type of diesel fuel. It is produced
from the fractional distillation of crude oil between 200 and 350 °C (392 and 662 °F) at atmospheric pressure, resulting in a
mixture of carbon chains that typically contain between 9 and 25 carbon atoms per molecule.

Diesel is composed of saturated hydrocarbons (primarily paraffin including n, iso, and cycloparaffins), and aromatic
hydrocarbons (including naphthalenes and alkylbenzenes).

The principal measure of Diesel fuel quality is its cetane number. A higher cetane number indicates that the fuel ignites more
readily when sprayed into hot compressed air.

Diesel engines do not use high-voltage spark ignition (spark plugs) and burn the fuel in more air than is required for the
chemical reaction. Diesel-cars generally have a better fuel economy than equivalent gasoline cars. Their greater economy is due
to the higher energy content per litre of diesel fuel and the intrinsic efficiency of the diesel engine. 43
 Petroleum products

3. Petroleum diesel

However, the increased compression ratios mean there are increased emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from diesel
engines which becomes the main drawback of diesel versus gasoline engines.

Diesel fuel is widely used in most types of transportation (Heavy commercial Vehicles, Buses), exclusively for the combustion
engines of self-powered rail vehicles (locomotives and railcars), Tractors, Power Generation, Pump sets and in various other
diesel engine driven applications.

A disadvantage of diesel as a vehicle fuel in cold climates, compared to gasoline or other petroleum-derived fuels, is that its
viscosity increases quickly as the fuel's temperature decreases, turning into a non-flowing gel, at temperatures as high as -19
°C or -15 °C,

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 Petroleum products

Cetane number

Cetane rating, also known as cetane number is a measurement of the quality or performance of diesel fuel. The higher the
number, the better the fuel burns within the engine of a vehicle.

The cetane number is similar to the octane rating in that it is a rating assigned to a fuel to rate the quality of its combustion.
The difference is that octane rating rates gasoline whereas cetane rates diesel.

The cetane number (or CN) of a fuel is defined by finding a blend of cetane and isocetane (heptamethylnonane) with the same
ignition delay. Cetane has a cetane number defined to be 100, while isocetane's measured cetane number is 15. Once the
blend is known, the cetane number is calculated as a volume-weighted average, rounded to the nearest whole number, of
cetane's 100 and heptamethylnonane's 15.

Cetane number = % n-cetane + 0.15(% heptamethylnonane)

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 Petroleum products specifications

Bharat stage emission standards

Bharat stage emission standards (BSES) are emission standards instituted by the Government of India to regulate the output
of air pollutants from compression ignition engines and Spark-ignition engines equipment, including motor vehicles. The
standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

On February 19, 2016 the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) issued a draft notification of Bharat Stage (BS) VI
emission standards for on-road vehicles in India. In addition to emission standards for new vehicles, the proposed BS VI
regulation contains specifications for reference and commercial gasoline and diesel fuels.

From an emissions and air quality perspective, the most important parameter defined in the fuel quality specifications is the
maximum sulfur content of gasoline and diesel fuels.

Source: Technical Background on India BS VI Fuel Specifications (https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/BS-VI-Fuel-Spec-

46
Working-Paper-vF.pdf)
Gasoline Fuel Specifications

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 Gasoline Fuel Specifications

OCTANE NUMBER

The octane number of gasoline provides a measure of the fuel’s ability to resist auto-ignition, which can cause engine knock
and engine damage.

The octane number is determined from laboratory testing and, depending on the test method used, expressed as a Research
Octane Number (RON) or Motor Octane Number (MON).

In some regions, octane rating is expressed using an anti-knock index (AKI), which is equal to the average of the RON and
MON of the fuel.

OLEFIN CONTENT

Olefins are a class of hydrocarbon compounds characterized by the presence of at least one carbon-carbon double bond. The
presence of this double bond makes olefins more reactive than other gasoline components such as paraffinic or aromatic
compounds. 48
 Gasoline Fuel Specifications

OLEFIN CONTENT

This reactivity has several implications for combustion dynamics and air pollutant emissions. Generally, increased olefin content
improves combustion efficiency, which may lower hydrocarbon (HC) emissions and increase NO X emissions.

Increased olefin content may also result in increased emissions of the air toxic 1,3-butadiene, which is a product of the
incomplete combustion of olefin precursors. Because of their reactivity, olefins also tend to have higher ozone formation
potentials than other hydrocarbon components in gasoline fuels.

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Diesel Fuel Specifications

50
 Diesel Fuel Specifications

DENSITY

Density is a physical property of diesel fuel and closely related to both the fuel cetane number and aromatic content. As fuel
injection is controlled volumetrically in diesel engines, fuel density influences the volume of fuel needed to maintain a constant
power output.

Advances in diesel engine design, such as higher injection pressure and electronic control of injection timing and rate, and the
application of aftertreatment control technologies have both helped to reduce or eliminate the effects of fuel density on
exhaust emissions.

95% DISTILLATION BOILING POINT (T95)

The 95% distillation boiling point represents the temperature at which 95 percent of a particular diesel fuel distills in a
standardized distillation test, and is used to characterize the back-end volatility of the fuel.

51
 Diesel Fuel Specifications

PAH CONTENT

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are organic compounds containing two or more aromatic rings. If not completely oxidized in
the combustion process, unburned fuel PAHs can be emitted in the gaseous and particulate phases and, in both cases,
contribute to the toxicity of diesel exhaust. Unburned fuel PAHs can also serve as precursors to soot formation.

BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS (BIS)

SPECIFICATION FOR PETROLEUM PRODUCTS FOR YEAR 2023

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 Testing of petroleum products

API Gravity

The density of crude oil and liquid hydrocarbons is usually reported in terms of specific gravity (SG) or relative density, defined
as the density of the liquid material at 60°F (15.6°C) divided by the density of liquid water at 60°F.

In the early years of the petroleum industry, the American Petroleum Institute (API) adopted the API gravity (°API) as a
measure of the crude oil density. The API gravity is calculated from the following equation:

The API of crude oils varies typically between 10 and 50, with most crude oils falling in the range of 20-45. Using API gravity,
the conventional crude oils can be generally considered as light (°API>30), medium (30>°API>22), and heavy (°API<22).
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 Testing of petroleum products

ASTM Distillation

ASTM Distillation refers to a diverse group of different ASTM International standards (American Society for Testing and
Materials). These different ASTM standards all use the distillation (volatility) characteristics of the substrate in determining the
adherence (or not) of the substrate to the standard.

ASTM D86 is the standard test method used to determine the boiling range of a
petroleum product. This is done by performing a batch distillation at
atmospheric pressure resulting in a distillation curve. This standardized test is
related to volatility and fuel performance for gasoline and diesel fuels

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 Testing of petroleum products

Distillation curve for ASTM distillation of the binary mixture A Boiling points (°C) of n-alkanes as a function of
and B carbon number.

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 Testing of petroleum products

Reid vapor pressure (RVP)

Volatility is the property of a liquid fuel that defines its evaporation

characteristics. RVP is an abbreviation for "Reid vapor pressure," a common
measure of and generic term for gasoline volatility.

RVP is defined as the absolute vapor pressure exerted by the vapor of the
liquid and any dissolved gases/moisture at 37.8 °C (100 °F) as determined by
the test method ASTM-D-323, which was first developed in 1930 and has
been revised several times (the latest version is ASTM D323-15a).

Gasoline emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) that are a major

contributor to ground-level ozone (smog).
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 Testing of petroleum products

FLASH AND FIRE POINT

The flash point of a liquid hydrocarbon is the temperature to which it must be heated to emit sufficient flammable vapor to
flash when brought into contact with a flame.

The flash point of a material is the "lowest liquid temperature at which,

under certain standardized conditions, a liquid gives off vapours in a quantity
such as to be capable of forming an ignitable vapour/air mixture". (EN
60079-10-1)

The fire point is the lowest temperature at which the vapors keep burning
after the ignition source is removed. It is higher than the flash point, because
at the flash point vapor may not be produced fast enough to sustain
combustion.
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Gasoline has a flash point around -43⁰ C whereas diesel has flash points higher than 52⁰ C.
 Testing of petroleum products

Cloud and Pour Point

When the lubricant oil is cooled slowly, the temperature at which it

becomes cloudy or hazy in appearance, is called its cloud point; while the
temperature at which the lubricant oil cease to flow or pour, is called its
pour point.

Cloud and pour points indicate the suitability of lubricant oil in cold
conditions. Lubricant oil used in a machine working at low temperatures
should possess low pour point; otherwise solidification of lubricant oil will
cause jamming of machine.

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 Testing of petroleum products

Smoke point

Smoke point is an important product quality specification for jet fuel and other grades of kerosene. Specifically, it is a
measure of a fuel's tendency to generate smoke when burned. This is caused by the formation of carbonaceous particles
that do not completely combust. These are a concern both because of their effect on the environment and on the engine.

The measure for smoke point is set by the flame height at which smoke begins
to form when a fuel is burned in a standardized test burner. Higher smoke
point material is more desirable.

The primary driver of low smoke point is the presence of aromatics or

naphthalenes.

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 Testing of petroleum products

Smoke point

ASTM D1322

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016236115012673

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 Testing of petroleum products

Carbon residue

Carbon residue for a fossil fuel can be defined as the tendency of that fuel to form carbon deposits at high temperature in an
inert atmosphere. Carbon residue for a fuel is measured in weight percentage (wt %) or parts per million by weight (ppm wt).
High carbon residue value is undesirable for a fuel.

Carbon residue is a measure of the amount of coke residue left when a hydrocarbon stream is completely distilled. CCR is used
as an indicator of the asphaltene content of a stream and a predictor of the coke yield when the stream is fed to a coker or FCC.

Different carbon residue values can be defined for a fuel depending on the measurement method used. Ramsbottom Carbon
Residue (RCR) ASTM D524, Conradson Carbon Residue (CCR) ASTM D189, Micro Carbon Residue (MCR) are the indexes used
corresponding to three different measurement methods used.
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 Testing of petroleum products

The overall relationship between actual diesel engine performance and carbon residue is poor, however, the carbon residue
value is considered by some to give an indication of the combustibility and carbonaceous deposit forming tendencies of a fuel.

The carbon residue provides information on the carbonaceous deposits which will result from combustion of the fuel. For
fuels with a high carbon- high carbon/hydrogen ratio, it is proved more difficult to burn them fully, which results in increased
deposits in the combustion and exhaust spaces.

Fuels with a high carbon residue value may cause problems in older engines when they are operating under part load
conditions. The carbon residue value of a fuel depends on the refinery processes employed in its manufacture.

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 Testing of petroleum products

In the Conradson carbon residue test (ASTM D189), a weighed quantity of sample
is placed in a crucible and subjected to destructive distillation for a fixed period of
severe heating. At the end of the specified heating period, the test crucible
containing the carbonaceous residue is cooled in a desiccator and weighed and
the residue is reported as a percentage (%w/w) of the original sample (Conradson
carbon residue).

In the Ramsbottom carbon residue test (ASTM D524), the sample is weighed into
a glass bulb that has a capillary opening and is placed into a furnace (at 550°C,
1020°F). The volatile matter is distilled from the bulb and the non-volatile matter
that remains in the bulb cracks to form thermal coke. After a specified heating
period, the bulb is removed from the bath, cooled in a desiccator, and weighed to
report the residue (Ramsbottom carbon residue) as a percentage (% w/w) of the
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original sample.
 Testing of petroleum products

Calorific Value

Calorimeter, device for measuring the heat developed during a

mechanical, electrical, or chemical reaction and for calculating
the heat capacity of materials.

Calorimeters have been designed in great variety. One type in

widespread use, called a bomb calorimeter, basically consists of
an enclosure in which the reaction takes place, surrounded by a
liquid, such as water, that absorbs the heat of the reaction and
thus increases in temperature.

Measurement of this temperature rise and a knowledge of the

weight and heat characteristics of the container and liquid
permits the total amount of heat generated to be calculated.
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 Testing of petroleum products

Calorific Value

The calorific value is the measurement of heat or energy produced, and is measured either as gross calorific value or net
calorific value. The difference being the latent heat of condensation of the water vapour produced during the combustion
process

Gross calorific value (GCV) assumes all vapour produced during the combustion process is fully condensed. Net calorific value
(NCV) assumes the water leaves with the combustion products without fully being condensed. Fuels should be compared
based on the net calorific value.

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 Testing of petroleum products

Kinematic Viscosity
The viscosity of a fluid is the measurement of the resistance for gradual deformation due to shear stress or tensile stress. As we
know that the shear resistance in a fluid is due to its inter-molecular friction exerted. It happens when layers of fluids attempt
to slide by one another. Thus, we may say that viscosity is the measure of a fluid’s resistance to flow.

Dynamic viscosity: A fluid’s resistance to flow when an external force is applied.

Kinematic viscosity is the measure of a fluid’s inherent resistance to flow when no external force, except gravity, is acting on it.

Among petroleum products, viscosity constitutes a critically important characteristic of lubricating engine oils. Viscosity of
liquids is usually measured in terms of kinematic viscosity, which is defined as the ratio of absolute (dynamic) viscosity to
absolute density (ν = μ/ρ).

The viscosity of crude oils can be measured using a standard method (ASTM D2983).
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 Testing of petroleum products

Kinematic Viscosity

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