Furnace oil and bio-LDO were compared and furnace oil was found to have higher viscosity, ash content, carbon residue and sulfur content compared to bio-LDO. Adding an additive like SK-5L to furnace oil can reduce viscosity and sulfur levels, allowing it to be used as a replacement for bio-LDO. Suggestions to improve furnace oil combustion efficiency include emulsification with water, replacing the pressure pump with a gear pump, and using an electromagnetic valve for more precise fuel delivery. Furnace oil use could lower fuel costs by Rs. 241.6 per hour compared to bio-LDO.

1. 1
ANALYSE THE PROPERTIES OF FURNACE OIL AND
TO COMPARE IT WITH BIO-LDO
Presented by – Under the guidance of-
Mr Aditya Shinde Mr S. Chandra Sekhar
SRM University, DGM Metallurgy
Chennai
Mr Bajirao Patil
Manager(HTM)
Training Period Mr Vishwas Patil
30th May, 14- 10th June, 14 Senior Executive(HTM)
Mr Dheeraj Misra
Senior Executive(MNT)

2. 2
Objective
• To Compare and contrast the properties of
Bio-LDO(Light Diesel Oil) and Furnace Oil.

3. 3
Contents:
• Introduction
• Process Flow
• Schematic representation of heat treatment cycle:
• Comparison
• Advantages and Disadvantages
• Additive
• Benefits
• Savings
• Conclusions and Suggestions

4. 4
Introduction:
• Definitions
a. Bio-LDO (methyl ester)
Bio-LDO is a blend of distillate fuel with a small proportion of residual fuel.
The average chemical formula for common diesel fuel is C12H23, ranging
approximately from C10H20 to C15H28. LDO consists of the above strucurture
with blends of vegetable oil or lipids.
b. Furnace Oil:
Furnace oil is a Dark, viscous residual fuel oil which is obtained by blending
residual products from various refining processes with suitable diluents usually
middle distillates to obtain the required fuel oil grades.
Ref: Wikipedia

5. Process flow of heat treatment:

6. Schematic representation of
heat treatment cycle:
Pusher
Mechanism for
loading tray into
the furnace
Polymer
Quenching
Tank 1
Polymer
Quenching
Tank 2
Pusher
Mechanism for
loading tray into
the furnace
Water
tank
• Continuous-cycle Heating Furnace
A continuous heat treatment furnace (Bofco 2T/hr.) is used in MCIE for hardening and
tempering. The burner type is Continental 52 forward flame excess air oil burner. The furnace
used consists of 10 burners with 5 burners on either side of the furnace. The furnace is further
divided into 3 zones marked with the positioning of the burners. The first six burners form the
zone1, next two forming the zone 2, followed by two more forming the zone3.
Bofco 2T/hr
Hardening furnace
Tempering furnace
Zone 1 2 3
1234

7. Comparison:
Sr
No.
Characteristic Bio-LDO
RE-100
Furnace Oil
IS 1448
1. Kinematic Viscosity in
400C to 500C in CST
15.8 80-370
2. Calorific Value (Kcal/kg) 9720.9 9800-10200
3. Pour Point (0C) 120C-winter
210C-summer
380C
4. Flash Point 660C 660C
5. Water, content percent
by volume
0.042 1
6. Sulfur, percent by mass 0.045 3.5-4.5
7. Sediment, percent by
mass
0.05 0.25
8. Ash, percent by mass 0.093 at 7500C 0.1
9. Carbon Residue, percent
by mass
1.5 12-20%

8. Sr
No.
Property Advantage Disadvantage Remarks
1. Kinematic
Viscosity at 400C
FO-High Kinematic Viscosity
Higher resistance to flow
2. Calorific
Value
FO-Similar to LDO hence good
in combustion
3. Pour Point FO-Lower Pour Point
Flow problems
4. Water
Content
FO-Higher water content
Affects the combustion
5. Sulfur FO-Higher sulfur content
Causes furnace chamber
deposits, pipe corrosion and
wear
6. Flash Point FO-Same as LDO
Advantages and Disadvantages(Furnace oil):

9. Sr
No.
Property Advantage Disadvantage Remarks
7. Sediment FO-Higher sediment content
Clogs filters and build up deposits
in tanks and piping.
8. Ash FO-Higher ash content
Leads to abrasion, malfunctioning
of injectors and high temperature
corrosion in fuels.
9. Carbon
Residue
FO-Higher carbon residue
Poisonous in nature.
Note- The sediment, ash and carbon residue can be reduced by adding ethanol as additive.
The kinematic viscosity and sulfur content can be brought down by using additive SK-5L.
Advantages and Disadvantages(Furnace oil):

10. 10
ADDITIVE IN FURNACE OIL (SK-5L)
(Suggestion)
Additive name: SK-5L
SK-5L Fuel additive is added in 1: 1000 proportion to FO for best results. When we
add the additive in above mentioned proportion the additive cracks the longer
carbon chain of above fuels to smaller sizes hence increasing the surface area of
combustion resulting in best possible combustion with stable exhaust.
Features of SK-5L:
1. Copper strip corrosion of fuel after adding additive becomes negative indicating
protection of storage tanks & conduit pipes from corrosion. It acts as corrosion
inhibitor.
2. SK-5L has specific gravity of 0.8 hence it is easily miscible in all the above oils
once added before tank unloading will serve the purpose.
3. Easy to applicant, any other capital investment not at all required.
4. Density 0.8 at 29°C, Color yellow with greenish appearance, Flash Point 31°C,
Calorific value – 10880 K Cal / Kg. Copper strip corrosion negative in proportion 1 in
3000 ltrs F.O.

11. 11
Advantages when SK-5L additive is added:
 Due to dissolving of sulfur in SK-5L, sludge problem gets solved.
 Due to more Fluidity Nozzle chocking also reduces considerably.
 Due to lowering of sulfur percentage, 50% less corrosive gasses are evolved and
can be verified by monitoring Exhaust gases. Hence metal chimney life also doubles.
 Due to atomizing spray is very fine so 15 to 20% lesser oil inlet pressures can be
maintained Hence initial firing problem is reduces considerably.
 Due to better atomization spray improves. Hence due to complete combustion
deposits on radiant tubes Reduces by 50%.
 So periodic maintenance can be brought down by 50%.
 Purging of Nozzles can be eliminated altogether since Oil Inlet Pressure can by
reduced by up to 20% depending on dosage i.e. Improved fluidity.
Note- The present burners being used in the Bofco furnace to fire LDO can also be
used in Furnace Oil combustion provided it is pre-mixed with an additive.

12. 12
Cost calculation for Bio-LDO and Furnace oil
Cost of Bio-LDO in rupees= 55Rs/liter
Amount of Bio-LDO Consumed in liters= 80liters/hour
Hence,
Total cost of Bio-LDO for one hour= 55*80
= Rs 4400
Cost of Furnace Oil in rupees= 46Rs/liter
Amount of Furnace Oil Consumed in liters= 95liters/hour (As per theoretical calculation
@10-15% increase in consumption than Bio-LDO)
i.e. 10.4liters+80liters= 90.4liters
Hence,
Total cost of Furnace Oil for one hour= 46*90.4
= Rs 4158.4
Hence we see that Furnace Oil is Rs 241.6/hour cheaper as compared to Bio-LDO.
Note- As we do not have additive cost hence additive cost cannot be considered during calculation.

13. SUGGESTIONS:
 Emulsification
 Gear Pump
 Electromagnetic Valve

14. 1. Emulsification
Emulsification is blending of furnace oil and about 10 % of water with emulsifying
agent(water-in-oil). The primary spray fuel droplets are further divided as a result of the
explosive vaporization caused by rapid heating of the water dispersed within the
individual fuel droplets. The internal water droplets undergo spontaneous nucleation of
steam bubbles at a temperature well above 100°C, causing a violent conversion of the
water droplet to steam. The vaporization, in turn, produces a rapid expansion of the
surrounding oil droplets, fragmenting the oil into a vast number of smaller fuel droplets.
For proper blending, Emulsified water in furnace oil can be separated with the help of de-
emulsifying agent only.
This Emulsified furnace oil can be used directly to any burner without any changes in
existing system, to increase the combustion efficiency of the fuel, resulting in reduction
of F.O. Consumption by approximately 5 to 7%, reducing the fuel cost. It also decreases
the kinematic viscosity of furnace oil.

15. 15
2. Gear Pump
The pump used in the LDO pump is a pressure pump.
This pump can be replaced by a gear pump. This sucks the oil and increases the pressure
in the nozzles to 15 bar maximum. Usually a gear pump of the sickle type is used. This
type of pump is a simple and therefore cheap pump consisting of one or more radical
pairs of gears and with a very small space between the gears and the pump casing. Gear
pumps are used frequently in oil burners because of their simplicity, stability and low
price.

16. 16
3. Electromagnetic Valve:
As the fuel supply is continuous many a times the fuel is supplied to the sprayer when
not required for combustion.
Also sometimes the time taken for switching off the fuel supply is more. As a result a
few liters of the fuel go waste.
The fuel is not evenly purged inside the furnace during startup of the furnace.
This can be solved using an electromagnetic valve. It enables fuel to be shut off from
the sprayer by electrical control. This helps avoid drips when it is inactivated. It also
eases the purging of the burner of fuel mist, during start up, or while restarting after
a misfire. If the burner were not purged the oil/air mixture could explode
dangerously.
1. Valve Body
4. Coil /
Solenoid
7. Plunger
2. Inlet Port
5. Coil
Windings
8. Spring
3. Outlet Port 6. Lead Wires 9. Orifice

17. 17
Conclusion:
Hence we can conclude that Furnace Oil can be used to replace LDO provided it is
combined in proper proportions with additive SK-5L. The exact cost can be calculated
based on trials.
The suggestions made can be applied and installing them in the furnace will be a one
time investment.