PETROLEUM REFINERY ENGINEERING

PE-406 OPEN ENDED LAB PROJECT REPORT

Petroleum Refinery Engineering

PE-406
OPEN-ENDED LAB PROJECT REPORT

GROUP MEMBERS ROLL NUMBERS

Muhammed Usman Tariq PE-034

Mustafa Abbas PE-035

Shahrukh Iqbal Mirza PE-036

Musab Bin Usman PE-037

Maisam Abbas PE-038

Department of Petroleum Engineering, NEDUET

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PETROLEUM REFINERY ENGINEERING
PE-406 OPEN ENDED LAB PROJECT REPORT

PRELUDE:

The Department of Petroleum Engineering, NEDUET, under the constructive and ostensive
efforts of the honorable Chairman and faculty members, have implemented the Outcome-based
education (OBE) reform model. It is a renowned student-focused philosophy that emphasizes on
heuristically evaluating the student performance, on the criteria defining itself as outcome. This
is in strike contrast to the traditional means of education, where resources were provided for
students’ learning, rendering an input-focused model. The OBE model requires students to
demonstrate their learning via acquired skills and content.

In governance of this implementation, Open-ended Lab Projects have been introduced. An open-
ended lab serves OBE model to enhance student capability, and it allows student productive
freedom to conduct experiments and derive strategies and means to determine required
deliverables, rather than following set guidelines from manuals. Open-ended projects push the
students to force their minds harder, promote logical understanding in their minds, and provide
adequate but accurate judgements.

An Open-ended lab session was carried out on Thursday, July the 7th, 2018. The lab session
began with allowing groups of five students to accommodate in discipline in the Petrochemical
Fuel and Combustions Laboratory, present in the Department of Polymer and Petrochemical
Engineering, NEDUET. The groups were supervised and assisted by Asst. Prof. Engr.
Muhammad Noman Khan. The students were assigned to determine different objectives
(classified as required parameters), and were vested with productive liberty to perform an
experiment to determine those objective parameters.

Our group, functioning as Group G, were tasked to determine cloud point of a given sample. We
were assisted with provision of guidelines regarding laboratory discipline and ethics, and were
briefed about the concept for our delight. Based on observations derived from our past
knowledge and understanding, we derived that the pour point and cloud point apparatus’
functioning on lowering temperature is useful to attain the specific temperature of cloud point.

This report is a description illustrating the experience our group (Group G) garnered throughout
his open-ended laboratory project work, and it serves the purpose to provide for the assessment
of our learning and demonstration of skills. The viva session was carried out by Mr. Noman
Khan, where he asked question that were proficient to assess our intuition and served to check
our conceptual apprehension and exterior knowledge regarding cloud point and different ranges
that many petroleum-derived fuels have. Our group members provide acknowledgment that this
report was produced by collective participation of all group members equally, and the
demonstration of experiment practice was performed fair by all means.

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PE-406 OPEN ENDED LAB PROJECT REPORT

OBJECTIVE:

To investigate and determine the cloud point of the given sample.

CONCEPTUAL APPREHENSION:

In the Petroleum Industry, the Cloud Point refers to the temperature below which wax
accumulations in crude oil-derived fuels such as diesel to form a cloudy appearance. The
presence of solidified waxes thickens the oil and clogs fuel filters and injectors in engines. The
wax also accumulates on cold surfaces (producing, for example, pipeline or heat exchanger
fouling) and forms an emulsion with water. Therefore, cloud point indicates the tendency of the
oil to plug filters or small orifices at cold operating temperatures.

An everyday example of cloud point can be seen in olive oil stored in cold weather. Olive oil
begins to solidify at around 4 °C, whereas winter temperatures in temperate countries can often
be colder than 0 °C. In these conditions, olive oil begins to develop white, waxy clumps of
solidified oil that sink to the bottom of the container.

The cloud point of a nonionic surfactant or glycol solution is the temperature at which the
mixture starts to phase-separate, and two phases appear, thus becoming cloudy. This behavior is
characteristic of non-ionic surfactants containing polyoxyethylene chains, which exhibit reverse
solubility versus temperature behavior in water and therefore "cloud out" at some point as the
temperature is raised. Glycols demonstrating this behavior are known as "cloud-point glycols"
and are used as shale inhibitors. The cloud point is affected by salinity, being generally lower in
more saline fluids.

Cloud and pour point indicates the suitability of lubricants in cold conditions. Lubricants used in
a machine at low temperatures should possess low pour points. Otherwise solidification of
lubricant will cause jamming of machine. Presence of waxes in the lubricating oil raises the pour
point.

Different Hydrocarbons Cloud Points (°C)

Corn Oil -1.1

Cottonseed Oil 1.7

Safflower Oil 18.3

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PETROLEUM REFINERY ENGINEERING
PE-406 OPEN ENDED LAB PROJECT REPORT

Sesame Seed Oil -3.9

Canola Methyl Ester -3

Palm Oil 31

Diesel -3 to 4

APPARATUS:

The provisioned apparatus consisted of:

 Test jars of clear glass, cylindrical form, flat bottom. The jars were marked.
 ASTM 2500 Cloud Point Equipment.
 Thermometers from -30 to 58 °C range.
 Wooden corks to fit thermometers onto jars.

SAMPLE OBSERVATION:

Sample was observed to have the following characteristics:

 Yellowish Green Color, very hazy appearance.

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PETROLEUM REFINERY ENGINEERING
PE-406 OPEN ENDED LAB PROJECT REPORT

 Highly viscous
 Liquid state, seemed non-flammable in normal room conditions.
 Stinky, fumy odor; very unpleasant.

Based on thses characteristics, it was Diesel fuel. Compared to petrol, it had more viscosity on
appearance, it was hazy, it was less volatile. So, we were sure it was Diesel.

Sample: Diesel .

Sample seemed to be derived probably from local vendor, such as PSO.

PROCEDURE DESCRIPTION:

1. The diesel was intended to be tested to a temperature at least -4oC above the approximate
cloud point.
2. Moisture can be removed by filtration through dry lintless filter paper. But since sample
of diesel tend to be from Pakistan State Oil company, moisture content was already low.
3. The diesel was poured into the test jar to the level mark.
4. The test jar was closed tightly by using a cork to carry the test thermometer.
5. On assistance by lab attendant, apparatus handling was done.A disk was placed in the
bottom of the jacket and then a ring was placed. The disk, gasket, and inside of the jacket
was made sure of to be clean and dry. Test jar was inserted in jacket.
6. The temperature of the chamber was at first kept at 10 oC. It took around 15 minutes. The
diesel sample was checked to see if the cloud appeared or not.
7. Upon finding diesel not showing a cloud, the chamber temperature was lowered towards
3 oC.
8. On constant inspection, a distinct cloudiness or haze in the diesel at the bottom of the test
jar appeared. The temperature was recorded as reading of the test thermometer, which is
the cloud point.
9. The sample was shaked to check for confirmation.

RESULT:

The cloud point of given liquid fuel Diesel is 4 °C.

CONCLUSION:

On submission of the test reading, the supervisor Mr. Noman Khan inquired the group members
individually regarding their performance. He first asked a few questions, then remarked on his
observations of our group, based on our mobility, discipline, dexterity and skillfulness. This lab
project was very exuberant for us, and it is very useful for our group to attend such learning
domain.

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PETROLEUM REFINERY ENGINEERING
PE-406 OPEN ENDED LAB PROJECT REPORT

PERFORMANCE COVER: