Heavy fuel oil: can we talk about it?

[facility1]

years ago when i started at the hospital (i worked in maintenance),,the two large boilers ran buncker C number 6 oil for the burners,that was preheated,and injected into the boilers under pressure with steam (steam atomizing),,then over the years it got basicly outlawed by epa,,burned nice and hot in btus compaired to nat. gas

 

[SHOZ]

That’s what I think HFO or bunker fuel was used for besides being burned by ships over the seas - the shingle manufacturers(Owens Corning has their own asphalt operation, so does IKO, I haven’t seen GAF or CertainTeed asphalt on a hot-mop roofing jobsite) use it as a feedstock for oxidized weathering-grade asphalt. Roofing asphalt, be it used for shingles or hot-melt for laid-up roofing on polyiso board or tar & gravel goes through an oxidation step.

Once the heated the oil up in the pressure cooker they then added crushed limestone to it to actually make the asphalt. For the 'glue' spots on the shingles where the adhesive was applied they used the asphalt mixed with thermal plastic resin.

 

[53' Stude]

One other thought or question: could a company refine this thick substance or would it be way to expensive to do so?

 

[nomas]

When we decommissioned one of our power plants , the company sold off several huge tanks of bunker fuel . The plant normally ran on natural gas but they kept a large store of bunker fuel onsite .

 

[Jetronic]

Good Evening BITOGERS

Pardon my ignorance on this topic. I know large cargo ships used this or use this as fuel. What other industries use it? If it is phased out as a fuel, what would be done with it? Just trying to learn. Already googled it also.


Thank You kindly

Al I know is: "If you wanna run cool, you gotta run on heavy heavy fuel"

 

[53' Stude]

Al I know is: "If you wanna run cool, you gotta run on heavy heavy fuel"

I seriously doubt this. I wouldn’t run that far in any gas engine

 

[Jetronic]

I seriously doubt this. I wouldn’t run that far in any gas engine

It's a line from a Dire Straits song called heavy fuel

 

[dave940]

I'm surprised to see that no one mentioned carbon black production. I suppose one reason is that the tire manufacturing industry isn't what it used to be in the US.

 

[dave940]

One other thought or question: could a company refine this thick substance or would it be way to expensive to do so?

The problem with that idea is that bunker C is the end result of refining crude oil, after every commercially practical product has been distilled from it.

 

[53' Stude]

The problem with that idea is that bunker C is the end result of refining crude oil, after every commercially practical product has been distilled from it.

Shame it’s still used or being burned. I thought there was a better use for it than just burning it

 

[Jim K]

This guy carries a lot of oil.

 

[53' Stude]

Just imagine if they could remove the sulfur and other minerals etc out of this. I imagine it would help other industries

 

[Oily Ed]

Bunker C is still used in lime kilns and starting combustion in recovery boilers in the paper industry. It’s funny the truck driver got a ticket for smoking while hauling bunker c. When we offloaded the oil from barges, the person monitoring the pumping had to use a special “spark proof” two way radio. Bunker C needs A LOT of help to ignite.

 

[dave940]

Bunker C is still used in lime kilns and starting combustion in recovery boilers in the paper industry. It’s funny the truck driver got a ticket for smoking while hauling bunker c. When we offloaded the oil from barges, the person monitoring the pumping had to use a special “spark proof” two way radio. Bunker C needs A LOT of help to ignite.

Those are "intrinsically safe" radios, for a reason. The tiny amount of volatiles in Bunker C, especially when it is heated before and during transfer, can easily reach an explosive limit. Then watch the stuff burn. Metal pipelines and hoses need to be steam cleaned and purged before they are safe enough for hot work, like welding. I saw nicotine addicts in both this process, as well as in the oil and gas business, who would puff away around gas fumes, believing that as long as the paper on their cigs didn't flame up, that they were safe. I never bought that.

 

[JohnnyG]

When we decommissioned one of our power plants , the company sold off several huge tanks of bunker fuel . The plant normally ran on natural gas but they kept a large store of bunker fuel onsite .

Yes, I've seen it used in power plants as well. I was in the Pittsburgh area at the time and it was WAY before natural gas peaking plants.
In that area, I saw it used as a backup fuel during the BIG coal haulers strike.
Power plants normally had several tanks of that stuff in storage, like millions of gallons.

 

[JavierH19]

Corrupt Chinese military officials seem to think it's good. They pump that into their particleboard carriers which billow out black smoke and have engine problems.

 

[SHOZ]

The glue they use on shingles made from asphalt and Thermal Plastic Resin is the stuff they spray now as a patch with tar and gravel. Works really good and is fast one man job.

 

[53' Stude]

Some info I stumbled upon

 

[Snagglefoot]

As of 2020 the amount of sulphur allowed in fuel for ocean going ships has been reduced. At the time there was concern over the refining capacity to achieve that.

 

[k1xv]

As someone who in his past was an engineer in an oil refinery, heavy oil is already being thermally cracked and hydrogenated into synthetic crude oil that is further refined into heating oil, gasoline and jet fuel.

Its burned as diesel fuel in international waters because the air pollution regulations at sea are much relaxed.

The ability to turn heavy oil into lighter oil has reduced the market price differences between light and heavy grades of fuel oil.