What is Ash Content in Fuel Oil? And how the testing of Ash Content is conducted.

An essential criterion in measuring the quality of the fuel is its Ash content. It can be defined as the quantity of inorganic residue that remains after the combustion of fuel. The quality and combustion characteristics of fuel oil are significantly impacted by its ash level.

Problems arising from high ash content in fuel oil

 Ash-forming deposits are considered to be undesirable contaminants and impurities in the oil. Hence low ash content oils are required to provide effective protection against wear in any system. Ash in fuel oil can cause boilers and other combustion equipment to foul up and corrode, increasing upkeep costs and decreasing efficiency. High ash content in the oil will cause deposits in the combustion chamber with resultant spark plug clogging which in turn will cause engine misfire and knocking which can cause huge losses in high-cost industries such as the shipping industry. High ash content in the system can cause clogging of the filter, and block the fine pores of the filters, causing loss of power and exhaust back pressure.

Testing of Ash content

 A sample of fuel oil is heated on a burner and then burned in a Muffle Furnace for 30 minutes at 775 Deg C to determine the amount of ash in the fuel. The oil’s entire biological content is burned away during this process, leaving only the inorganic components, or ash, behind. The ash content is then determined by weighing the ash residue and dividing it by the weight of the initial sample, which is calculated in percentage. ASTM D482 is the standard test method for calculating ash content.

Atlas Lab tests Ash in their laboratory by using the following test methods: