Properties of petroleum fuel
The flash point of a volatile fuel is the lowest temperature at which it can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air. The flash point is an important concept in fire investigation and fire protection because it is the lowest temperature at which a risk of fire exists with a given liquid. It is crucial in many circumstances to establish the presence of some liquids and to know their flash point during the investigation process. The fire point of a fuel is the temperature at which the vapour produced by that given fuel will continue to burn for at least 5 seconds after ignition by an open flame. The fire point is the temperature at which lubricant combustion will be sustained. The flash and fire points are useful in determining a lubricants volatility and fire resistance. The flash point can be used to determine the transportation and storage temperature requirements for lubricants.
Viscosity: Controlling the viscosity of fuel oil is an important aspect of an efficient combustion. A high viscosity fuel oil leads to improper atomization which in turn leads to incomplete combustion. High viscosity fuel prevents correct atomization, which takes place in the fuel injectors.
Specific gravity: For fuels, specific gravity can be determined by dividing the density of the fuel by the density of water. When it comes to configuring a mixer, knowing the specific gravity of the fluids being blended is important because it will influence the torque & horsepower that is required to properly mix your fluid. In applications with higher specific gravity, more torque would be required to produce the desired result. If specific gravity was not taken into consideration, and a mixer not optimized accordingly, results would be unpredictable, and motor damage and/or failure would likely occur.
Calorific value: The calorific value or heat of combustion of a fuel oil is a measure of the amount of heat released during complete combustion of a unit mass of the fuel, expressed in kilojoules per kilogram. Calorific value is usually determined by a calorimeter. The combustion process generates water vapor and certain techniques may be used to recover the quantity of heat contained in this water vapor by condensing it. Higher Calorific Value (or Gross Calorific Value – GCV, or Higher Heating Value – HHV) – the water of combustion is entirely condensed and that the heat contained in the water vapor is recovered; Lower Calorific Value (or Net Calorific Value – NCV, or Lower Heating Value – LHV) – the products of combustion contain the water vapor and that the heat in the water vapor is not recovered.