The Application of a Novel Method to the Study of Heavy Fuel Oil Stability and the Performance of Additives

It has been shown that it is possible to study oil stability by utilising an instrument consisting of an optical scanning device. The instrument operates at a wavelength of 850 nm by emitting light from a small scanning head that scans the sample every 60 s, and which also reads transmission. To evoke destabilisation of the oil system studied, n-heptane was added. As the system was destabilised the transmission increased and the rate of the destabilisation process could be measured. Hence, the stability of different oils could be investigated by employing kinetic studies.

The method has been shown to be quick and sensitive. It was shown from the results that it is possible to determine even very small differences in stability of different oils. The method is ideal for the study of the stabilising effect of additives on heavy fuel oils.