Info Centre >> Fuel and Lube Oil Technical Manual >> 2. Fuel Oil - Characteristics >> 2.9 Sulphur
Graph shows sulphur distribution for residual fuel.
Sulphur is a naturally-occurring element in crude oil and concentrated in the residual component of the crude oil distillation process. Hence the amount of sulphur in the fuel oil depends mainly on the source of the crude oil and to a lesser extent on the refining process. Typically, for residual fuel on a world-wide basis, the value is in the order of 2-4% m/m. The figure shows a histogram of sulphur in residual fuels world-wide. The level of sulphur has a marginal effect on specific energy. In the combustion process in a diesel engine, the presence of sulphur in the fuel can potentially give rise to corrosive wear. This can be minimised by suitable operating conditions and lubrication with alkaline lubricant for the cylinder liner.