EXP 4: DETERMINATION OF REID VAPOUR PRESSURE

1.0 OBJECTIVES

The objectives for this experiment were;

 To determine the Reid vapour pressure of petroleum products

 To compare the Reid vapour pressure of different petroleum products

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EXP 4: DETERMINATION OF REID VAPOUR PRESSURE

2.0 SUMMARY

This Determination of Reid Vapour Pressure experiment was conducted to determine the
Reid vapour pressure of petroleum products and to compare the Reid vapour pressure of
different petroleum products. Petroleum products used in this experiment were diesel,
petroleum and kerosene. These petroleum products were insert fully in three different liquid
chamber each and being immersed into the water bath with the temperature of 37.8⁰C. After
that, the average readings of Reid vapour pressure for each types of petroleum products were
determined in every 5 minutes of 15 minutes. As the comparison, Chart 1 is the average
readings taken from the experiment, shows the petrol has the highest RVP reading among the
other three petroleum products with 45.13 kPa. Then it was followed by kerosene and lastly,
diesel as the lowest RVP with 2.17 kPa. Theoretically, petrol are volatile, easier to ignite,
evaporates quickly, have relatively low boiling points and it is light hydrocarbon compared to
diesel and kerosene. . These three petroleum products are different substances getting from the
crude oil but their properties can be differentiate by their length of the carbon chains.
Technically, this experiment that was carried out for determining and comparing the Reid
vapour pressure of three different petroleum product of petrol, diesel and kerosene had
accomplished to meet their objectives.

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EXP 4: DETERMINATION OF REID VAPOUR PRESSURE

3.0 INTRODUCTION AND THEORY

INTRODUCTION

Volatility describes how easily a substance will vaporize which is either from solid or
liquid into gas or vapour. A volatile substance can be defined as a substance that evaporates
readily at normal temperatures or one that has a measurable vapour pressure(“The MSDS
HyperGlossary: Volatility,” 2016). The volatility of fuel especially for automotive, it need to
be acceptable for several procedure such as engine start-up, warm-up, acceleration and throttle
response under normal driving conditions. Basically, the substances will vaporize more if the
vapour pressure is higher instead of the substances with the low pressure. In order to obtain the
higher pressure of vapour in dynamic equilibrium with its vaporizing substance, the volatility
of substances is important. The vapour pressure of a substance is the pressure at which its
gaseous phase is in equilibrium with its liquid or solid phase. To measure the volatility, two
kind of device had been introduced which is Reid Vapour Pressure (RVP) and the other one is
True Vapour Pressure (TVP). Reid Vapour Pressure (RVP) is a testing method for crude oil,
fuel, other refined petroleum products, and petrochemicals in order to measures the vapour
pressure of a substance. The definition of RVP also can be the absolute pressure exerted by a
mixture and can be determined at 37.8oC whereby at a vapour to liquid ratio of 4. Meanwhile,
TVP is a common measure of volatility of petroleum distillate fuels. It is defined as the
equilibrium of the vapour pressure with condensed phase at a specific temperature. The
different between RVP and TVP is that RVP is more convenient approximation of the absolute
vapour pressure that vaporized at 37.8oC compare to TVP. The main purposes of this
experiment are to determine the Reid vapour pressure of petroleum products and to compare
with another source. The Reid vapour pressure (RVP) was tested on different types of oil which
is petrol, kerosene and diesel in order to determine the volatility of liquid hydrocarbons.

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EXP 4: DETERMINATION OF REID VAPOUR PRESSURE

THEORY

One of the physical characteristic that is important for the volatile liquids is the vapour
pressure. There were two kinds of vapour pressure which is True Vapour Pressure and Reid
Vapour Pressure. In this experiment, the Reid vapour Pressure had been focused more because
it is used to determine the vapour pressure at 37.8oC of petroleum products and crude oils at
above 0oC initial boiling point.

Figure 1 Reid test vessel Figure 2 ASTM D323

By referring the Figure 1, the Reid test vessel had been used by filling up the liquid of kerosene,
petrol and diesel in it. The test vessel is then been immersed inside the ASTM D323 which
contain the water bath with temperature at 37.8 oC. At atmospheric pressure, when the liquid
has reached its boiling point, the liquid changes its state from liquid to a gas through its bulk
and it is called normal boiling point. The tendency of molecules to escape from the liquid phase
to gases phase depends on the temperature, vapour pressure and volatility. The higher volatility
and higher vapour pressure will be low tendency of molecule to escape its phase. Petroleum
products are usually grouped into three categories which are Light distillates (LPG, gasoline,
naphtha), Middle distillates (kerosene, diesel), and lastly Heavy distillates (heavy fuel oil,
lubricating oils, wax, asphalt) which result kerosene and diesel are classified under middle
distillate and petrol is light distillate. The classification of petroleum product distinguish the
carbon contain. Heavy distillate contains high number of carbon than the others. The lower the
number of carbon, which at the top of the fractionating column have lower boiling points, which
means the higher the vapour pressure and the higher volatility of a fuel by increasing the
temperature, which means a highly volatile fuel will vaporize more at a faster rate than a fuel
with a lower volatility. High volatile oil which is petroleum product at top distillate tends to
flame and explode easily than the fractions at the bottom. The RVP for petrol is typically in the
range from 40 to 60 kPa or 6 to 9 psia (Joseph E. Shepherd, 2007).

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EXP 4: DETERMINATION OF REID VAPOUR PRESSURE

4.0 RESULT AND DISCUSSION/TUTORIAL

RESULT

Table 1: Vapour pressure reading ever 5 min interval

REID Vapour Pressure (psi)

Time(min)
Diesel Kerosene Petrol
5 2.2 5.4 45.3

10 2.2 5.7 45.1

15 2.1 5.8 45.0

Average 2.17 5.63 45.13

Time vs REID Vapor Pressure

50
45
REID Vapor Pressure (psi)

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
5 10 15
Time(min)

Diesel Kerosene Petrol

Chart 1: The difference of pressure between diesel, kerosene, and petrol.

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EXP 4: DETERMINATION OF REID VAPOUR PRESSURE

DISCUSSION

The experiment of determination of Reid vapour pressure was conducted to determine

the Reid vapour pressure of petroleum products and to compare the Reid vapour pressure of
different petroleum products. Reid vapour pressure is the pressure exerted by a liquid to
determine the nature of gasoline where the pressure is set at a specific temperature that is at 100
°F (37.8 °C). Reid vapour pressure also mainly used as an indicator to measure volatile nature
of hydrocarbons (“What is Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP)? - Definition from Petropedia,” n.d.).

The oil sample used in this experiment were diesel, kerosene and petrol. Reid Vapour
Pressure (ASTM D323) apparatus consists of two chambers, which are a vapour chamber at the
upper section and a liquid chamber at lower section, pressure gauges and a water bath. The
liquid chamber of the vapour. The liquid chamber of the vapour chamber apparatus was filled
with oil sample and connected to the vapour chamber that has been heated to 37.8 °C in a water
bath. The vapour pressure apparatus was immersed completely in the water bath and wait the
pressure reading for about 5 minutes to be stabilized. The pressure of each oil sample were
recorded for every 5, 10 and 15 minutes respectively and the average results were calculated as
well.

From the conducted experiment, the reading of Reid Vapour Pressure for different
petroleum products at 5 min, 10 min and 15 min were recorded. Based on the result obtained in
Table1, the Reid Vapour Pressure for diesel was 2.2 kPa, 2.2 kPa, 2.1 kPa, for kerosene was
5.4 kPa, 5.7 kPa, and 5.8 kPa, while for petrol was 45.3 kPa, 45.1 kPa and 45.0. The average
RVP for the oil sample were determined where RVP for diesel, kerosene and petrol were 2.17
kPa, 5.63 kPa and 45.13 kPa respectively. From Figure 1, it can be seen that petrol has the
highest RVP among all three different petroleum products which is 45.13 kPa followed by
kerosene and diesel where diesel showed the lowest RVP which is 2.17 kPa. This is because
petrol are volatile and have relatively low boiling points compared to diesel and kerosene where
the more volatile the liquid fuel, the higher the vapour pressure (C. M. Roebuck, 2000). Petrol
is the most volatile and easier to ignite while diesel is the least volatile and can be quite difficult
to ignite. In addition, petrol fall under light hydrocarbon where it has higher RVP and lower

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EXP 4: DETERMINATION OF REID VAPOUR PRESSURE

viscosity while diesel and kerosene fall under heavy hydrocarbon and they have lower RVP and
higher viscosity where it can vaporised easily (“FACT SHEET: Petroleum Fuels: Basic
Composition and Properties,” 1999).

Moreover, the different of carbon chain in petroleum products give higher boiling points
so they can be separated out by distillation. Generally, petroleum products can be categorised
into three different groups which are light distillates (liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, and
gasoline), middle distillates (kerosene and diesel), and heavy distillates (fuel oil, lubricating oil,
waxes, and tar) (“Weblet Importer,” n.d.). The chains in the C5, C6 and C7 range are all very
light, easily vaporized, clear liquids called naphthas. They are used as solvents -- dry cleaning
fluids can be made from these liquids, as well as paint solvents and other quick-drying products.
The chains from C7H16 through C11H24 are blended together and used for gasoline. All of
them vaporize at temperatures below the boiling point of water. Thus, it can be observed that
petrol evaporates very quickly because of the base constituents and the additives that is put into
it. All of these different substances come from crude oil where the only difference is the length
of the carbon chains (HowStuffWorks, 2000).

Therefore, from the experiment, it can be concluded that the objectives of this
experiment were achieved where the RVP of petroleum products have been determined and are
able to compare the Reid vapour pressure of different petroleum products. While conducting
the experiment, there might be error occurred. Firstly, the volatility of the fuels might be
disturbed due to the leakage while assemble the liquid chamber to the vapour chamber. Next,
the error might come from the recycle fuel where there might be some impurities and that the
fuel was contaminated. Furthermore, the petroleum products were not mixed and stirred
properly before being used and tested. Lastly, the use the error might be because the apparatus
or machine was old and harmful.

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EXP 4: DETERMINATION OF REID VAPOUR PRESSURE

TUTORIAL

1. What is the difference between Reid Vapour Pressure (RVP) and True Vapour
Pressure (TVP)?

TVP is the actual vapour pressure of liquid product at a specified temperature and measured
with sample cylinder. TVP specification must be measured with reference to a temperature
which frequently falls between 30 to 50 C. Meanwhile, RVP is applicable for crude oil,
condensate and petroleum distillate such as gasoline. The liquid sample is collected in a
specifically designed chamber which is connected with other chamber for vapour expansion
having four times more volume than sample collector volume.

2. Discuss the relationship of Reid Vapour Pressure (RVP) between diesel, petrol and
lubricating oil.

Kerosene, lubricant oil, petrol, and diesel are under the same category which is petroleum
product. REID vapour pressure or RVP is used to measure absolute vapour pressure of
petroleum which correlation with the volatility of the petroleum. Then it will be converted to
True Vapour Pressure or TVP with the use of correlation from the RVP. Petrol has the highest
RVP followed by kerosene, diesel, and lubricant oil. This make petrol has the fastest ability to
evaporate.

3. Discuss the effects of Reid Vapour Pressure (RVP) on engine performance.

The RVP does effect the performance of the engine. Volatility is known as the ability to
evaporate. The higher the RVP, the higher the volatility. This will make the engine
compartment especially the piston to be damage. This will also leads to improper combustion
due to the petrol volatility. Lubricant oil that has high RVP are not good for the engine as it will
evaporate and will not meet the minimum level that are required for the engine to operate. Thus,
this will result in piston being stuck in the cylinder wall because of insufficient lubricant oil in
the engine during the engine operation.

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EXP 4: DETERMINATION OF REID VAPOUR PRESSURE

5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The objective of this experiment was achieved which are to determine the Reid vapour
pressure of petroleum products and to compare the Reid vapour pressure of different petroleum
products. Reid vapour pressure is the pressure exerted by a liquid to determine the nature of
gasoline where the pressure is set at a specific temperature that is at 100 °F (37.8 °C). The oil
sample used in this experiment were diesel, kerosene and petrol. The pressure of each oil sample
was recorded for every 5, 10 and 15 minutes respectively and the average results were
calculated as well. Based on the result obtained in Table 1, the Reid Vapour Pressure (RVP) for
diesel was 2.2 kPa, 2.2 kPa, 2.1 kPa, for kerosene was 5.4 kPa, 5.7 kPa, and 5.8 kPa, while for
petrol was 45.3 kPa, 45.1 kPa and 45.0. The average RVP for the oil sample were determined
where RVP for diesel, kerosene and petrol were 2.17 kPa, 5.63 kPa and 45.13 kPa respectively.
From the result, petrol has the highest RVP among all three different petroleum products which
is 45.13 kPa followed by kerosene and diesel where diesel showed the lowest RVP which is
2.17 kPa, because petrol are volatile and have relatively low boiling points compared to diesel
and kerosene where the more volatile the liquid fuel, the higher the vapour pressure. Petrol is
the most volatile and easier to ignite while diesel is the least volatile and can be quite difficult
to ignite. In addition, petrol falls under light hydrocarbon where it has higher RVP and lower
viscosity while diesel and kerosene fall under heavy hydrocarbon and they have lower RVP and
higher viscosity where it can vaporise easily.

There are some recommendations that can improve the result of the experiment. Firstly,
make sure the liquid and vapour chamber well connected to prevent any leakage that will disturb
the result and inaccurate reading. Next, the machine or apparatus used need to be calibrated on
the schedule to make sure it gives an accurate reading. Lastly, make sure the fuel used are well
maintained or new fuel to prevent any impurities and contaminant that will disturb the result
and give inaccurate reading.

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EXP 4: DETERMINATION OF REID VAPOUR PRESSURE

6.0 REFERENCES

1. The MSDS HyperGlossary: Volatility. (2016). Retrieved February 26, 2018, from
http://www.ilpi.com/msds/ref/volatility.html
2. Shepherd, J. E., & Perez, F. A. (2007). Kerosene lamps and cookstoves-The hazards of
gasoline contamination. Fire Safety Journal, 43(3), 171–179.
3. C. M. Roebuck. (2000). Excel Preliminary Chemistry - C. M. Roebuck - Google Books.
Retrieved February 28, 2018, from
https://books.google.com.my/books?id=veX7_DD6f7wC&printsec=frontcover#v=one
page&q&f=false
4. FACT SHEET: Petroleum Fuels: Basic Composition and Properties. (1999). Retrieved
February 28, 2018, from http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/07/06026.html
5. HowStuffWorks. (2000). What’s the difference between gasoline, kerosene, diesel, etc?,
105. Retrieved from http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-
fuels/question1051.html
6. Weblet Importer. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2018, from
https://www.ems.psu.edu/~pisupati/ACSOutreach/Petroleum_2.html
7. What is Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP)? - Definition from Petropedia. (n.d.). Retrieved
February 27, 2018, from https://www.petropedia.com/definition/8682/reid-vapor-
pressure-rvp
8. Jason Nick and Dr.Klaus Hense (2015). An Overview of Crude Oil/Crude Condense
Vapour Pressure Methodology – Past. Present, Future. AMETEK. [Online]. Retrived
on 25th February 2018. Available from World Wide Web at www.petrolab.com

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EXP 4: DETERMINATION OF REID VAPOUR PRESSURE

APPENDICES

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