Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

INTRODUCTION TO FUELS: OIL

The knowledge of the fuel characteristics helps in selecting the right fuel for the right
purpose and efficiently use the fuel. The following characteristics, determined by
laboratory tests, are generally used for assessing the nature and quality of fuels.

Properties of Oil
Water Content

Water content of fuel oil is considered acceptable for all applications if it is below
0.3%, by weight. If water is allowed to enter the burner, water will cause spluttering,
possibly extinguishing the flame, reducing the flame temperature or lengthening the
flame

Density

Density is the ratio of the mass of the fuel to the volume of the fuel at a reference
temperature typically 15°C. The SI unit of density is kg/m 3. The knowledge of density
is required for quantity calculations and assessing ignition quality.

Specific gravity

The specific gravity is the weight of a unit volume of oil compared to the weight of an
equal volume of water. The measurement of specific gravity is generally made by a
hydrometer.

The density of fuel, relative to water, is called specific gravity. The specific gravity of
water is defined as 1. As it is a ratio there are no units. Higher the specific gravity
higher the heating values. Its main use is in calculations involving weights and
volumes. The specific gravity of various fuel oils are given in following Table.

Table Specific gravity of various fuel oils

Heavy
Low Sulphur Light Diesel
Fuel Oil Furnace oil Petroleum
Heavy Stock Oil
Stock
Specific
0.89-0.95 0.88-0.98 0.85-0.98 0.85-0.87
Gravity

Viscosity

The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its internal resistance to flow. All liquid fuels
decrease in viscosity with increasing temperature (i.e. more fluid as the temperature
rises). The importance of viscosity is not only its resistance to flow through pipelines
(pump selection and pipe sizing) but more importantly in the burner ability to atomize
the fuel for efficient burning.

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar

 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

Thus viscosity determines the storage, handling temperature and atomisation

temperature. Viscosity is measured in Stokes / Centi stokes. Sometimes viscosity
is quoted in Engler, Saybolt or even Redwood. Each type of oil has its own
temperature - viscosity relationship. Th measurement of viscosity is made with an
instrument called as viscometer.

Flash Point

The flash point of a fuel is the lowest temperature at which the fuel can be heated so
that the vapour gives off flashes momentarily when an open flame is passed over it.

Specific Heat

Specific heat is the amount of kcals needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of oil by
1oC. The unit of specific heat is kcal/kg oC. It varies from 0.22 to 0.28 depending on
the oil specific gravity. The specific heat determines how much steam it takes to heat
oil to a desired temperature. Light oils have a low specific heat, whereas heavier oils
have a higher specific heat.

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 assumes all vapour produced during the combustion process is
fully condensed. Net calorific value assumes the water leaves with the combustion
products without fully being condensed. Fuels should be compared based on the net
calorific value. The calorific value of coal varies considerably depending on ash and
moisture content, as well as on the type of coal. Calorific values of fuel oils are
much more consistent.

The average Gross Calorific Values of some of the commonly used fuels are

Kerosene - 11,100 kcal/kg

Gas Oil - 10,800 kcal/kg
Diesel Oil Fuel - 10,800 kcal/kg
Heavy Fuel Oil - 10,500 kcal/kg
Coal Tar Fuel - 9,150 kcal/kg

Sulphur

The amount of sulphur in the fuel oil depends mainly on the source of the crude oil
and to a lesser extent on the refining process. The normal sulfur content for the
residual fuel oil is in the order of 2-4 %. The main disadvantage of sulphur is the risk
of corrosion by sulphuric acid formed during and after combustion, and condensing
in cool parts of the chimney or stack.

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar

 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

Typical figures are:

% Sulphur
Kerosene 0.05—0.2
Gas Oil—Diesel Oil 0.3 – 1.5
Fuel Oil 2.0 – 4.0
Coal Tar Fuels 0.5 – 1.0

The ash value is related to the inorganic material in the fuel oil. The ash levels of
distillate fuels are negligible. Residual fuels have more of the ash-forming
constituents, as they are concentrated in the residue from the crude oil refining
processes. Vanadium and other materials such as silicon, aluminum, nickel, sodium
and iron are the main contributing components. Typically, the ash value is in the
range 0.03-0.07%. Excessive ash in liquid fuels can cause fouling deposits in the
combustion equipment.

Carbon Residue

Carbon residue indicates the tendency of oil to deposit a carbonaceous solid residue
on a hot surface, such as a burner or injection nozzle, when its vaporisable
constituents evaporate. Residual oil contain carbon residue ranging from 1 per cent
or more.

Storage of Fuel oil

The sizing of storage tank facility is very important. A very useful sizing estimate is to
provide at least 10 days of normal consumption. There are other considerations such
as practical size of tank for road tanker loads, fabrication, available space and cost.
Industrial heating fuel storage tanks are generally vertical mild steel tanks mounted
above ground. It is prudent for safety and environmental reasons to build bund walls
around tanks to contain accidental spillages.

As a certain amount of settlement of solids and sludge will occur in tanks over time,
cleaning should be carried out at regular intervals-annually for heavy fuels and every
two years for light fuels.

A little care should be taken when oil is decanted from the tanker to storage tank. All
leaks from joints, flanges and pipelines must be attended at the earliest.

LOSS OF EVEN ONE DROP OF OIL EVERY SECOND CAN

COST YOU OVER 4000 LITRES A YEAR

Fuel oil should be free from possible contaminants such as dirt, sludge and water
before it is fed to the combustion system. A proper filtering system may be provided
for optimum combustion efficiency.

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar

 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

Removal of Contaminants

Furnace oil arrives at the factory site either in tank lorries by road or by rail. Oil is
then decanted into the main storage tank. To prevent contaminants such as rags,
cotton waste, loose nuts or bolts or screws entering the system and damaging the
pump, position a coarse strainer of 10 mesh size (not more than 3 holes per linear
inch) on the entry pipe to the storage tanks.

Progressively finer strainers should be provided at various points in the oil supply
system to filter away finer contaminants such as external dust and dirt, sludge or free
carbon. The Figure 2.1.1 gives an illustration of the duplex system of arrangement of
strainers.

Duplex arrangement of Strainers in a pipeline

The Table 1 give sizing of strainers at various locations. It is advisable to provide

these filters in duplicate to enable one filter to be cleaned while oil supply is
maintained through the other.

Table 1: Sizing of strainers

Strainer Sizes
Location
Mesh Holes/Linear inch
Between rail/tank lorry decanting
point and main storage tank 10 3
Between service tank and pre-heater 40 6
Between pre-heater and burner 100 10

Pumping

Heavy fuel oils are best pumped using positive displacement pumps, as they are
able to get fuel moving when it is cold. A circulation gear pump running on LDO
should give between 7000-10000 hours of service. Diaphragm pumps have a shorter
service life, but are easier and less expensive to repair. A centrifugal pump is not
recommended, because as the oil viscosity increases, the efficiency of the pump
drops sharply and the horsepower required increases.

Light fuel are best pumped with centrifugal or turbine pumps. When higher
pressures are required, piston or diaphragm pumps should be used. The unloading

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar

 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

pumps should have a capacity of 30~ 50 m 3/hour. This will allow the road tankers to
offload in between 30-45 minutes.

Storage and Pumping Temperature

Furnace oil increases in viscosity as temperature drops, which makes handling a

little difficult, particularly in winter. At low ambient temperatures (below 25 o C),
furnace oil is not easily pumpable.

The preheating of oil in the storage tank to render it pumpable can be accomplished
in two ways. Either the entire tank can be maintained at the pumping temperature
(bulk heating) or an outflow heater may be fitted to heat the oil as it flows out. Bulk
heating, which uses steam coils positioned at the flow of the tank, requires additional
heat to compensate for the heat losses from the tank surface. To reduce steam
requirements, it is advisable to insulate tanks where bulk heating is used.

In the case of outflow heating, only the oil, which leaves the tank, is heated to the
pumping temperature. The outflow heater is essentially a heat exchanger, with
steam or electricity as the heating medium. The heater protrudes from the suction
connection into the oil space.

While the outflow heater is the preferred choice, bulk heating may be necessary
where flow rates are so high that outflow heaters of adequate capacity cannot be
easily installed, or when using special fuels such as low sulphur heavy stock (LSHS).

Temperature control

Thermostatic temperature control of Table 2: Viscosity Vs Temperature

the oil is necessary to prevent
overheating, especially when oil flow Viscosity
Pumping Temp. OC
is reduced or stopped. This is (Centistokes)
particularly important for electric 50 7
heaters, since oil may get carbonized 230 27
when there is no flow and the heater 900 38
is on. Thermostats should be 1500 49
provided at a region where the oil
flows freely into the suction pipe. The temperature at which oil can readily be
pumped depends on the grade of oil being handled. The Table 2 can be used as a
guide for the most common grades of fuel oil. Oil should never be stored at a
temperature above that necessary for pumping as this leads to higher energy
consumption.

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar

 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

Oil Preheating

Line heaters are used to raise the oil Table 3 Oil pre-heating temperature
from pumping temperature to Viscosity Oil Pre-heating
combustion temperature. The Table (Centistokes) Temp. OC
2.1.3 is a rough guide to the heating 50 60
required, but optimum conditions can 230 104
only be obtained by trial and error. 900 121
The practices to be adopted for efficient storage, handling and pumping of fuel oil are
given in the following checklist.

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar

 Workshop on Efficient Operation & Maintenance of Boilers

Checklist for efficient storage, handling and pumping of

fuel oil
A. Check List

Daily Checks

i. Oil temperature at the burner.

ii. Oil/steam leakages

Weekly Tasks

i Cleaning of all filters.

ii. Draining of water from all tanks.

Yearly Jobs

i. Cleaning of all tanks.

B. Remember

 Split oil is irretrievable. Plug all leakages.

 Impurities in furnace oil affect combustion. Filter oil in stages.
 Oil has to be preheated to obtain the right viscosity of the fuel oil supplied to
the burner. It is essential to provide adequate preheater capacity.

C. Trouble Shooting Hints

Oil not pumpable

 Viscosity too high

 Blocked lines and filters
 Sludge in oil
 Leak in oil suction
 Vent pipe choked

Blocking of strainers

 Sludge or wax in oil

 Heavy precipitated compounds in oil
 Rust or scale in tank
 Carbonisation of oil due to excessive heating

National Productivity Council, Gandhinagar