Composition of Crude oil:

Crude oil is a complex liquid mixture made up of a vast number of hydrocarbon compounds
that consist mainly of carbon and hydrogen in differing proportions. In addition, small
amounts of organic compounds containing sulphur, oxygen, nitrogen and metals such as
vanadium, nickel, iron and copper are also present. Hydrogen to carbon ratios affect the
physical properties of crude oil. As the hydrogen to carbon ratio decreases, the gravity and
boiling point of the hydrocarbon compounds increases. Moreover, the higher the hydrogen
to carbon ratio of the feedstock, the higher its value is to a refinery because less hydrogen is
required.
The composition of crude oil, on an elemental basis, falls within certain ranges regardless of
its origin. Table 2.1 shows that carbon and hydrogen contents vary within narrow ranges.
Element Composition (wt%)
Carbon 83.0–87.0
Hydrogen 10.0–14.0
Sulphur 0.05–6.0
Nitrogen 0.1–0.2
Oxygen 0.05–2.0
Ni <120 ppm
V <1200 ppm
Despite their low concentrations, impurities such as sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen and metals
are undesirable because they cause concerns in the process ability of crude feedstock and
because they affect the quality of the produced products. Catalyst poisoning and corrosion
are the most noticeable effects during refining.
There are three main classes of hydrocarbons. These are based on the type of carbon–
carbon bonds present. These classes are:
1) Saturated hydrocarbons contain only carbon–carbon single bonds. They are known as
paraffins (or alkanes) if they are acyclic, or naphthenes (or cycloalkanes) if they are cyclic.
2) Unsaturated hydrocarbons contain carbon–carbon multiple bonds (double, triple or
both). These are unsaturated because they contain fewer hydrogen per carbon than
paraffins. Unsaturated hydrocarbons are known as olefins. Those that contain a carbon–
carbon double bond are called alkenes, while those with carbon–carbon triple bond are
alkyenes.
3) Aromatic hydrocarbons are special class of cyclic compounds related in structure to
benzene.
Important Definitions:
1) API Gravity:

The gravity of crude oil determines its price commercially. It is generally expressed as API
gravity defined as:

API = 141.5/SG -131:5

where SG is the specific gravity defined as the density of the crude oil relative to the density
of water both at 15.6C (60F). The API gravity can range from 8.5 for very heavy crudes to 44
for light crudes.

2) Pour Point:
The pour point is defined as the lowest temperature at which the sample will flow. It
indicates how easy or difficult it is to pump the oil, especially in cold weather. It also
indicates the aromaticity or the paraffinity of the crude oil or the fraction. A lower pour
point means that the paraffin content is low.

3) Viscosity:
The resistance to flow or the pump ability of the crude oil or petroleum fraction is indicated
by the viscosity. More viscous oils create a greater pressure drop when they flow in pipes.
Viscosity measurement is expressed in terms of kinematic viscosity in centiStocks.

4) Refractive Index:
The refractive index is the ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to the velocity of light in
the oil.

5) Freezing Point:
Petroleum fractions are mostly liquids at ambient conditions. However, heavy oils contain
heavy compounds such as waxes or asphaltenes. These compounds tend to solidify at low
temperatures, thus restricting flow. The freezing point is the temperature at which the
hydrocarbon liquid solidifies at atmospheric pressure.
 6) Aniline Point:
The lowest temperature at which an equal volume mixture of the petroleum oil and aniline
are miscible is the aniline point. Since aniline is an aromatic compound, a petroleum
fractions with high aromatic content will be miscible in aniline at ambient conditions.
However, if the oil has more paraffins, it will require a higher temperature and thus higher
aniline point in order to be miscible in aniline.

7) Flash Point:
The flash point of a liquid hydrocarbon is the lowest temperature at which sufficient
vapours are produced above the liquid such that spontaneous ignition will occur if a spark is
present. It is an important specification for gasoline and naphtha related to safety in storage
and transport in high temperature environments.

8) Octane Number:
An octane number is a measure of the knocking tendency of gasoline fuels in spark ignition
engines. The ability of a fuel to resist auto-ignition during compression and prior to the
spark ignition gives it a high octane number. The octane number of a fuel is determined by
measuring its knocking value compared to the knocking of a mixture of n-heptane and
isooctane (2, 2, 4-trimethyl pentane). Pure n-heptane is assigned a value of zero octane
while isooctane is assigned 100 octane. Hence, an 80 vol% isooctane mixture has an octane
number of 80.

9) Cetane Number:
The cetane number measures the ability for auto ignition and is essentially the opposite of
the octane number. The cetane number is the percentage of pure cetane (n-hexadecane) in
a blend of cetane and alpha methyl naphthalene which matches the ignition quality of a
diesel fuel sample.

10) Smoke Point:

The smoke point is a test measures the burning qualities of kerosene and jet fuel. It is
defined as the maximum height in mm, of a smokeless flame of fuel.

11) Reid Vapour Pressure:

The reid vapour pressure (RVP) of a product is the vapour pressure determined in a volume
of air four times the liquid volume at 37.8 C. This property measures the vapour-lock
tendency of a motor gasoline in which excessive vapours are produced in the fuel line
causing interruption of the supply of liquid fuel to the engine.

12) Water and Salt:

Crude oil contains small amounts of water, mineral salts and sediments. Most of the salts
are dissolved in the water, and the remainder is present in the oil as fine crystals. Chlorides
of magnesium, calcium and sodium are the most common salts. The presence of salts causes
problems in processing, such as corrosion, erosion and plugging of equipment, and catalyst
deactivation.

13) Molecular weight:

Most crude oils and petroleum fractions have average molecular weights from 100 to 500.
Although, there are several methods for measuring the molecular weight, the most suitable
method is that based on freezing point depression.