Petroleum fuels specification

This category comprises conventional LPG (commercial propane and butane), home-heating oil and heavy fuels. All these materials are used to produce thermal energy in equipment whose size varies widely from small heaters or gas stoves to refinery furnaces. Without describing the requirements in detail for each combustion system, we will give the main specifications for each of the different petroleum fuels. 

This paper has been prepared as a summary of published information on these combustion-controlling additives, the petroleum fuels in which they are used, their specific functions and postulated mechanisms of operation, their commercial development, and future trends in their use. The literature on these subjects is almost as vast as the products are complex and can be barely touched upon in a single paper however, some of the basic references are included in the bibliography which is appended. The merits and economics of these materials have recently been discussed by several authorities (21, 33, 40-42). 

Fuel specifications represent an attempt to mold and limit fuel properties to facilitate use in vehicles and limit the hazards presented in storing and handling fuels. Petroleum fuels have an advantage here in that producers have some latitude to vary the properties of the final product. There is no such option for some fuels such as natural gas which is predominately methane, and ideally would be 100% methane. Methanol and ethanol are also single-constituent fuels, but it is possible to vary their properties advantageously through the addition of gasoline or other additives. 

Petroleum fuel analyses in some states are conducted according to state-specific methods, whereas in others they are conducted according to EPA Method 8015. 

As part of SW-846, the EPA has validated and approved many immunoassay and colorimetric screening methods for a wide range of contaminants, such as petroleum fuels, pesticides, herbicides, PCBs, and explosives. Immunoassay technology uses the property of antibodies to bind to specific classes of environmental pollutants allowing fast and sensitive semiquantitative or qualitative detection. Colorimetric kits are based on the use of chemical reactions that indicate the presence of target analytes by a change in color. Table 3.9 presents a summary of EPA-approved screening methods and their detection capabilities. 

Overall, the consensus of the participants 1s that any of the six coal derived liquids could be considered as an acceptable replacement for liquid petroleum fuel 1n either Plant Sweatt boiler with no equipment modifications, equipment additions or environmental variances. The application or replacement usage of these coal derived liquids 1n other utility boilers would not seem to be any more difficult but should be prefaced by an extensive, Individual site assessment of candidate units. The few modifications required at Plant Sweatt Indicate that a limited number of design criteria would be affected 1f these six synthetic liquids were to be Included 1n the fuel specifications of future utility boilers. The handling and emission characteristics of coal derived liquids may even be preferable to certain petroleum liquids 1n some utility applications. 

The specific values of exponents a, b, and c determined for the two distillate fuels are presented in Table II. The correlation of SMD with mass flow rate, pressure, and viscosity are in generally good agreement with typical values for petroleum fuels (11). Due to the limited properties variation available with these three fuels, the effects of surface tension and density could not be determined independently. 

Composites, in the usual sense, were proposed to improve the mechanical stability of the electrode. An example is 80 wt% coke powder in PVC [192]. Of greater interest are carbons with nanodispersed boron (via BCI3, 900 °C). The compound B0.17C0.83 has a reversible specific capacity of 437 Ah/kg [193]. An even stronger enhancement of ilTs, up to 500 Ah/kg could be achieved by silicon (via SiCLj/via Me2Cl2Si, 950 °C) for the composition Si0.nC0.g9 [194,195]. Structural aspects are compiled in Fig. 22. The improved stoichiometry is attributed to the electron-acceptor capability of boron or silicon. Doping of petroleum-fuel green coke by phosphorus elevates by 20% [191]. 

For this analysis, we have assumed that the goal for a specific region or country is to replace 1000 barrels/day (42,000 gallons or 159,000 liters) of petroleum fuels. The heating value of this amount of petroleum fuel is 5.7 x 10 Btu/ day 6 x 10 2 joule/day). The import value of 1000 barrels per day of petroleum fuels is probably close to 25,000/day or 9 million/year (assuming a crude oil price of 20/barrel on the world market). 

Since the late 1990s nearly every major oil company announced plans to build pilot plants or conunercial plants to produce synthetically derived diesel fuel through improved processes (19). Stringent diesel exhaust emission standards and fuel specifications are compelling the petroleum industry to revisit these processes to competitively produce aromatic and sulfur level complying diesel fuel. An important part of the success of the processes is the increased reactor capacity proven within the last 10 years using slurry-bed reactors that have 100 times the capacity over some pre-1990 reactors, thus offering lower cost. 

The carbon residue of a petroleum product serves as an indication of the propensity of the sample to form carbonaceous deposits (thermal coke) under the influence of heat. In the current context, carbon residue test results are widely quoted in diesel fuel specifications. However, distillate diesel fuels that are satisfactory in other respects do not have high Con-radson carbon residue values, and the test is chiefly used on residual fuels. 

BS MA 100 (1982) British Standards Institution Specification for Petroleum Fuels for Marine Engines and Boilers BS MA 100 1982. K2514. 

As domestic and imported petroleum supplies dwindle and petroleum increases dramatically in cost, it is imperative for the Navy to consider future liquid fuel options. The Navy has two thrusts in transportation fuels (a) explore the relaxation of fuel specifications and (b) examine alternate sources of fuels. This paper deals with one of the alternate sources, shale oil. 

The development of the FT-based GTL technology is intimately related to the initial efforts to apply it using coal as feedstock. Its evolution followed a logical process that was delayed by years of abundant, low cost petroleum and a lack of stringent fuel specifications aimed at protecting the environment. 

Petroleum-based propellants are usually made of high-purity refined kerosene, i.e., n-dode-cane (n-C H J denoted by the acronym RP-1. The chemical purity of the petroleum is an important parameter as combustion residues (e.g., soot, coke and tar) must be kept at a minimum to prevent clogging. Petroleum fuels are usually used in combination with liquid oxygen as the oxidizer. Despite dehvering a lower specific impulse than cryogenic fuels, kerosene performs better than hypergolic propellants. 

National Petroleum Refiners Association (NPRA) Annual Meeting, (1989), Question and Answer period, 1900s Fuel Specifications will require process changes , in Oil and Gas J., February 26, 1990, 83-87. 

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