ME 420 MW 1:30 – 4:30 Date Submitted: January 29, 2018

Experiment No. 9

Carbon Residue Test on Petroleum Products

Group Number: 10 Members: Navales, Dwight C.

I. INTRODUCTION

Carbon Residue is the excess formed by evaporation and thermal degradation of a

carbon-containing material. The residue is not comprised totally of carbon yet is a coke
that can be further transformed by carbon pyrolysis. The carbon residue of a burner fuel
works as an estimate its tendency to form carbon deposits.

II. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

There are test methods that can be used in order to find the carbon residue after
the evaporation of a test sample in a specified condition, two of them are the following:
Conradson carbon test, and the Ramsbottom carbon residue test.

Conradson carbon residue or also known as “Concarbon” is a laboratory test that is

used to give a sign of the coke-forming tendencies of a petroleum oil. The test measures
the amount of carbonaceous residue that is left when the petroleum oil evaporates and after
pyrolysis. In other words, the test can be only applied to petroleum products that are non-
volatile, and does decompose on distillation at atmospheric pressure.

Ramsbottom carbon residue is renowned in the petroleum industry due to its

method to calculate the carbon residue of a fuel. The carbon residue value is reflected to
some to provide an approximate indication of the combustibility and deposit forming
possibility of a petroleum oil.
III. MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

1. Porcelain Crucible
2. Burner
3. Spun-sheet iron crucible with cover
4. Wire Support
5. Circular sheet in iron hood
6. Insulator

IV. PROCEDURE

1. A 10 g of refrigeration oil sample was measured and placed in the porcelain

crucible.
2. A small amount of sand was then placed in the spun-sheet iron crucible.
3. The porcelain crucible was placed inside the spun-sheet iron crucible and was
then covered by sand.
4. The spun-sheet iron crucible was then placed on the wire gauze having an
insulator attached on the wire support.
5. The iron crucible was then covered by an iron hood.
6. After setting up, burner was then fired heating the crucible.
7. When all of the vapors disappear, the heating was stopped and the crucible was
taken and cooled for a short amount of time.
8. The porcelain crucible containing whatever was left after burning was then
weighed.
9. The change in mass was then recorded as the mass of the carbon residue.
10. The carbon residue percentage was then calculated.

V. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conradson_carbon_residue
2. https://www.astm.org/Standards/D189.htm