Increasing Demand for High Quality Base Oils Requires On-line Process ASTM D445 Analysers

Dramatic growth in industrial output in Asia combined with changes in automotive engine designs to comply with tightening environmental regulations has led to an increase in the supply of Group II and III base oils. On this global basis, paraffinic base oil supply has been dominated by US-based refiners but as the growth in car sales in China and India surges ahead, Group II/III base oil production is expected to fulfil the market requirement with Group I oil plants being phased out or upgraded to produce Group II oils. As a result, refiners are already taking steps to increase production with a number of new Group II/III base oil plants recently started up or in construction phase. Consequently, the market place has become more price-competitive with refiners looking for ways to improve efficiencies in their lube oil processes. One way to achieve this is by using accurate and reliable on-line analysis techniques that reduce give-away and increases the yield of products of higher economic value.

One South Korean refiner was looking for kinematic viscosity analyser instead of absolute viscosity analyser with higher accuracy and repeatability to increase the yield of products with higher economic value in their new LBO plant. They had tried to find a higher accuracy analyser, and so the on-line ASTM D445 process viscosity analyser VISC-4 from Bartec Benke was chosen. The unique feature of this viscosity analyser is that the capillary temperature is controlled to +/- 0.02K according to ASTM D445. The temperature control is the single most important parameter for obtaining accurate and precise kinematic viscosity measurements. This is especially true for petroleum products as their rate of viscosity per unit temperature is significantly greater than other products. Thus, a slight variation in temperature can have a very large effect on the viscosity of the fluid. The viscosity analyser, with its precise temperature control design, has provided readings that show that the analyser meets and exceeds the requirements of ASTM.

From the results achieved by the viscosity analyser conformance to ASTM D445 is achieved. This excellent and reliable performance allows plant operators to optimise the production of higher value products. Remarkable is the payback time for the viscosity analyser, which is in the region of only 1 to 2 months.