Abel tester: A closed-cup flash tester for kerosene and other oils
Absolute pressure: Total pressure equal to gauge pressure plus 14.7 lbs/sp in at sea level
Acidity: The presence of acid-type constituents whose concentration si usually defined in terms of neutralization number. The constituents vary in nature and may or may not markedly influence the behavior of the oil.
Air-Fuel Ratio: The ratio of air weight to fuel weight consumed in an internal combustion engine or furnace.
API: American Petroleum Institute
API Gravity: Gravity (weight per unit volume) of oils as measured by the API scale. This standard was adopted by the API 5/4/22 as the standard for the American Petroleum Institute
Aromatics: Group of hydrocarbons of which benzene is the parent. They are called “aromatics” because many of their derivatives have sweet or aromatic odors.
Ash: Inorganic residue remaining after ignition of combustible substances determined by definite prescribed methods.
Asphaltenes: Insoluable, semi-solid, or sold particles which are combustible and are highly aromatic. Asphaltenes contain a high carbon to hydrogen ratio and entrap water, fuel ashes and other impurities.
ASTM: American Society for Testing Materials. Grade and quality specifications for petroleum products are determined buy ASTM test methods.
Barrel: a unit of volume measurement used for petroleum and its products. 1 barrel = 42 US gallons
Bbl: Abbreviation for barrel
Benzene: An aromatic hydrocarbon which is a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid. Benzene is obtained chiefly from coal tar and is used as a solvent for resins and fats in dye manufacture.
Blending: Mixing of two compatible fuels having different properties in order to produce an intermediate Fuel
BS&W: Bottom sediment and water
BS&W Monitor: An instrument which detects entrained water content in petroleum products wherein the water changes the capacitive reactance as a function of the dielectric constant.
BTU: British Thermal Unit. The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree fahrenheit
Bunker Fuel Oil: Heavy, residual fuel oil used in ships.
Catalyst: A substance which promotes a chemical reaction, but does not itself enter into the reaction.
Catalytic fines: Hard, abrasive crystalline particles of alumina, silica and/or alumina silica that can be carried over the fluidic catalytic cracking process of residual fuel stocks. Particle size can range from sub-micron to greater than sixty microns in size. These particles become more common in the higher viscosity marine bunker fuels.
Centrifuge: A machine using centrifugal force produced by high speed rotation for separating materials of different densities. Applied to diesel engine fuels and lubricating oils to remove moisture and other extraneous materials.
Cetane Index: An empirical measure of ignition quality. Defined as the percentage by volume of cetane in a mixture of cetane and methyl naphthalene, which has the same ignition quality when used in an engine as a fuel under test.
Cloud Point: Temperature at which wax begins to crystallize from a distillate fuel.
conditions of exposure or use. It usually results from chemical action either regularly and slowly as in rusting (oxidation) or rapidly as in metal pickling.
Demulsibility: The resistance of an oil to emulsification, or the ability of an oil to separate from any water with which it is mixed. The better the demulsibility rating, the more quickly the oil separates from water.
Diesel index: Product of the API gravity and the aniline point (in degrees farhrenheit) of a diesel fuel, divided by 100; an indication of the ignition quality of the fuel.
Distillation: The process of heating a liquid to its boiling point and condensing and collecting the vapors.
Emulsion: A liquid mixture of two or more liquid substances not normally dissolved in one another, one liquid held in suspension in the other. Water in oil emulsions have water as the internal phase and oil as the external, while oil in water have oil as the internal phase and water as the external.
Engler viscosity: A viscosity obtained by dividing the out flow time in seconds for 200 ml of the material being tested, by the time in seconds for 200 ml of water at 68F to flow out of an Engler viscosimeter.
Final Boiling Point (FBP): The highest temperature indicated on the thermometer inserted in the flask during a standard laboratory distillation. This is generally the temperature at which no more vapor can be driven over into the condensing apparatus.
Flash Point: The lowest temperature at which a liquid will generate sufficient vapor to flash (ignite) when exposed to a source of ignition.
Fuel oil: The heavy distillates from the oil refining process; used as fuel for power stations, marine boilers.
Gasoil: Designation for no 2 heating oils and diesel fuels. A clean distillate fuel oil.
Heavy Crude: Crude oil with a high specific gravity and a low API gravity due to the presence of a high proportion of heavy hydrocarbon fractions and metallic content.
Hydrometer: An instrument for determining the gravity of a liquid.
IBP: Initial Boiling Point. In a standard laboratory distillation, the temperature on the distillation thermometer at the moment the first drop of distillate falls from the condenser.
Ionization: The process of adding electrons to, or removing electrons from, atoms or molecules, thereby crating ions. High temperatures, electrical discharges, and nuclear radiation can cause ionization.
JCAHO: Joint commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization
Kinematic Viscoscity: The ratio of the absolute viscosity of a liquid to its specific gravity at the temperature at which the viscosity is measured. Expressed in Stokes or Centistokes
Marine Diesel Oil: Marine Diesel oil is a middle distillate fuel oil which can contain traces often percent of (10%) or more residual fuel oil from transportation contamination and/or heavy fuel oil blending. The MDO does not require heated storage.
MDO: Marine Diesel Oil
Metric Ton: A weight measure equal to 1,000kilograms, 2,204.62 pounds, and 0.9842 long tons.
Middle distillate: Term applied to hydrocarbons in the so-called “middle range” of refinery distillation. Examples: heating oil, diesel fuels, and kerosene.
Molecule: The smallest division of a compound that still retains or exhibits all the properties of the substance.
Naphtha: A volatile, colorless product of petroleum distillation. Used primarily as paint solvent, cleaning fluid, and blendstock in gasoline production, to produce motor gasoline by blending with straight run gasoline.
Neutralization number: The number that expresses the weight in milligrams of an alkali needed to neutralize the acidic material in one gram oil. The neutralization number of an oil is an indication of its acidity.
Oil: Crude petroleum and other hydrocarbons produced at the wellhead in liquid form
Oxidation: Combining elemental compounds with oxygen to form a new compound. A part of the metabolic reaction.
Oxidizing agent: Any substance such as oxygen and chlorine, that can accept electrons. When oxygen or chlorine is added to wastewater, organic substances are oxidized. These oxidized organic substances are more stable and less likely to give off odors or to contain disease bacteria.
Ozonation: The application of ozone to water, wastewater, or air, generally for the purposes of disinfection or odor control.
Particulate: Free suspended solids
PAH: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Pensky-Martens: A closed-cup test for flash points of oil
Petrochemical: An intermediate chemical derived from petroleum, hydrocarbon liquids or natural gas, such as: ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, and xylene
Petroleum: A generic name for hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids, natural gas and their products.
pH: pH is an expression of the intensity of the basic or acidic condition of a liquid. Mathematically, pH is the logarithm(base10) of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration. The pH may range from 0 to 14, where 0 is most acidic, 14 most basic, and 7 is neutral. Natural waters usually have a pH between 6.5 and 8.5
Phenol: An organic compound that is an alcoholic derivative of benzene.
Pour Point: Lowest temperatures at which an oil will pour or flow under certain prescribed conditions.
Ppm: parts per million. The unit commonly used to designate the concentration of a substance in a wastewater in terms of weight ie, one pound per million pounds, etc.
Ramsbottom: A carbon residue test originated by Dr. J.R. Ramsbottom in England
Reduced Crude Oil: Crude oil that has undergone at least one distillation process to separate some of the lighter hydrocarbons. Reducing crude lowers its API gravity, but increases the handling safety by raising the flash point.
Refinery: A plan used to separate the various components present in crude oil and convert them into usable products or feedstock for other purposes.
Sludge: Deposits in fuel tanks and caused by the presence of wax, sand, scale, asphaltenes, tars, water, etc.
Soluble: Matter or compounds capable of dissolving into a solution
Solvent: A substance, normally a liquid, which is capable of absorbing another liquid, gas, or solid to form a homogenous mixture
Specifications: A term referring to the properties of a given crude oil or petroleum product which are “specified” since they often vary widely even within the same grade of product. In the normal process of negation, seller will guarantee buyer that product or crude to be sold will meet certain specified limits, and will agree to have such limits certified in writing.
Sulfur: An element that is present in crude oil and natural gas as an impurity in the form of its various compounds
Topped crude oil: Oil from the light ends have been removed by a simple refining process. Also referred to as “reduced crude oil”
Viscosimeter: A device for determining the viscosity of the oil.
Viscosity: Measure of the internal friction or resistance of an oil to flow. As the temperature of an oil is increased, its viscosity decreases and it is therefore able to flower more readily. Viscosity is measured on several different scales.