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BROOKFIELD WOULD ENVY
UNIQUE FUEL TESTING INSTRUMENTS DESIGNED AT INSTITUTE OF PETROLEUM CHEMISTRY
A cold name “Crystal” does not seem to be appropriate for such a nice canary-yellow device. Its name dates back to the era of the USSR. The experts from the laboratory of oil rheology at the Institute of Petroleum Chemistry started from measuring the crystallization of aviation kerosene for the Jet Fuel Plant in Chimkent. Then it proved to be needed for testing diesel, oil, antifreezes, etc. When the device was upgraded, it acquired an official name of "Cloud Point Tester”. However, the label of “Crystal” fixed in the numerous customers’ minds...
Oils are different
Oils are different – some of them can be cut already at room temperature. For the oil not to get stuck in the pipe and be flowable, antidepressant dopants are added which are developed at the laboratory of rheology. Such dopants should be tested to identify the properties they confer. How are the results verified? How can the oil viscosity be accurately measured, and how to predict its behavior under various temperatures?
Conventional tests under State Standards are quite tedious and time-consuming. They require oversized equipment and a large amount of consumables. For example, diesel-fuel cloud and pour points are determined in such a way: the technician puts the test-tube into the cooling chamber and from time to time withdraws it to see if the liquid is cloudy or not. A lot depends on the worker’s diligence.
“Crystal” performs it on its own. It automatically lowers the sample temperature by exposing it to an infrared ray. As soon as the light flux becomes weaker, an acoustic signal is produced, and the display panel shows the cloud point of the substance. A drop-weight sensor is used to determine the pour point. The technician only needs to take the readings from the display.
To avoid plane crash
This instrument is now used not only by oil researchers but also by practitioners. It is purchased by the plants manufacturing oil products, tank farms, and supervisory bodies, such as Standardization and Metrology Centers.
One of the large Moscow haulage companies once started to experience serious problems during severe winter. Its trucks got “frozen”. Everything seemed to be in good order, the diesel fuel was certified and of high quality... What was the matter? Four “Crystals” were purchased from Tomsk. The fuel was tested and it was found out that the supplier shamelessly cheated them. Instead of winter fuel, a regular cheap diesel with added dopants was supplied. Due to this, it did not freeze but became viscous and could not pass the filter because there is a limiting filterability rate, which is also detected by “Crystal”.
“Crystals” are widely used in aviation. The crystallization of aviation kerosene should start at a temperature below minus 60 degrees. Every time a plane is launched, the fuel is checked. Otherwise, the plane may crash. The Lukoil plant in Perm has been operating the two instruments since 2002 - round the clock, discontinuously. It also has other devices, made in France, which are costly. However, the researchers at the laboratory who formulate oil products use “Crystals” and assure that it is more convenient and reliable.
No way to duplicate
Are there any competitors? Valery N. Shatokhin, developer and leading designer at the Institute of Petroleum Chemistry, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, shrugs his shoulders: - For sure, there are devices monitoring such characteristics. We started to compete with foreign manufacturers – their instruments are expensive, whereas we produce devices which are more compact, convenient, and cheaper. I think there are no
Russian producers of the similar devices.
There have been attempts to copy our “Crystal” in Krasnoyarsk, but they could not figure it out – the instrument did not work and burnt. And it did not sell. In fact, it is based on our developments and without understanding and knowledge of the concept, nothing can be designed. Our device won the gold at the contest “Gemma-2006” – “The hundred best products of Siberia”.
Viscosity characterizes the oil quality. We test it by “whipping”: the spindle rotates, the oil becomes thicker at temperature lowering, the resistance grows, and we record the data with the calibration. There is an analogous US device – Brookfield viscosimeter.
It does not have a cooling unit in its configuration, is several times as big as ours, and costs in dollars like ours in rubles. Moreover, a thermostat needs to be purchased separately.
About three dozens of “Crystals” are manufactured and sold per year.
Customer as a driving force for progress
The rheology laboratory’s another development which is highly demanded throughout Russia and abroad is the octane analyzer within a laboratory set. It is designed for rapid analysis of gasoline quality. The case compactly contains a small octane analyzer (which shows the diesel and octane number), a sampler, and a set of tubes.
Each tube is used for different analysis: content of dissolved water, dopants, lead, etc. Having this case as a tool, up to 17 different fuel analyses can be performed.
The main advantage is the rapid method. How is the octane number determined under GOST? Just imagine: it is a facility occupying half of the room, with an operator having good ear. There are two vessels: one for the reference fuel, and the other for the tested one. The motor is started. The operator should hear the detonation while the fuel passes from one vessel to another. In Tomsk such a facility is available at the Oil-Chemical Enterprise only, which is difficult to access and where such analyses are time-consuming. Meanwhile, standardization and metrology centers need expeditious results.
It would be great if Tomsk filling stations were equipped with such a device – the fuel quality could be tested by the rapid method during the acceptance. By the way, the same octane analyzer is capable of measuring the diesel fuel cetane number as well.
- The octane analyzer has a sensor cup, Valery Shatokhin shows his device. – Petroleum is poured in it, and the display shows the results in several seconds. The operation principle is based on measuring dielectric permeability. We have calibrated the dielectric permeability of various oil products and recorded it to the instrument memory. The instrument compares the obtained results with the ones stored in the memory and provides the result. Moreover, we managed to measure the oil purity. It is particularly valuable for expensive large machinery at the fields, because the engine could be fatally damaged. If the transformer oil is contaminated, the transformer will be broken. It is reasonable that the instrument is highly demanded – we sell about 360 units per year, and this is not enough, the customers are queuing. We are now working on a large order from Jordan, where gasoline is manufactured by the customers’ forces, and inspection tools are indispensable. We also ship our instruments to America, Poland, etc. Our main driving force is our customers and their needs. They what they need to measure. Our reply is “We will consider!”
■ Inessa YUSHKOVSKAYA