Labdhi Petrochem

Ankleshwar Gidc, Ankleshwar, Gujarat

Fuel oil(also known asheavy oil, marine fuelorfurnace oil) is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. In general terms, fuel oil is any liquid fuel that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash point of approximately 42 C (108 F) and oils burned in cotton or wool-wick burners. Fuel oil is made of long hydrocarbon chains, particularly alkanes, cycloalkanes and aromatics. The termfuel oilis also used in a stricter sense to refer only to the heaviest commercial fuel that can be obtained from crude oil, i.e., heavier than gasoline and naphtha.

A dark viscous residual fuel obtained by blending mainly heavier components from crude distillation unit, short residue and clarified oil from fluidized catalytic cracker unit. Nomenclature: Bunker fuel, furnace oil, Fuel oil are other names for the same product. Though Fuel oil is a general term applied to any oil used for generation of power or heat, Fuel oil can included distillates and blends of distillates and residue such as Light Diesel Oil. Specification: Furnace oil in the current marketing range meets Bureau of Indian Standards Specification IS : 1593 - 1982 for fuel oils, grade MV2. Viscosity: Viscosity is the most important characteristic in the furnace oil specification. It influences the degree of pre-heat required for handling, storage and satisfactory atomization. If the oil is too viscous it may become difficult to pump, burner may be hard to light and operation may be erratic. Poor atomization may result in the carbon deposits on the burner tips or on the walls. The upper viscosity limit for furnace oil is such that it can be handled without heating in the storage tank is excepting under server cold conditions. Pre-heating is necessary for proper atomization. Flash Point: As per the Controller of Explosives classification, Furnace oil falls in the class "C" category with minimum flash point standard of 66 deg. C. Since Penskey Martens Closed Cup method is used, it is apparent that a small quantity of low boiling point hydrocarbons is sufficient to lower the flash point drastically.