Cloud Point vs Pour Point

Cloud point and pour point are important physical properties of any liquid fuel. Cloud point, as the
name suggests is the temperature at which a cloud of wax crystals first appear in a liquid fuel when
it is cooled under special testing conditions. The cloud point of any petroleum product is an
indicator of how well the fuel will perform under cold weather conditions. Pour point is just the
opposite of cloud point as it refers to the lowest temperature at which movement of oil is observed
and the fuel can be pumped easily. As such there is only a slight difference in these two
temperatures on the temperature scale but the difference between cloud point and pour point is
significant in the use of any fuel. Let us find out more about these two physical characteristics of
any liquid fuel.

What is Cloud Point?

In the industry, cloud point is taken as the temperature below which wax in fuel tends to form a
cloudy appearance. This is a condition which is detrimental for any engine as solidified wax makes
the fuel thick and it clogs the fuel filters and injectors. This wax also gets applied on the pipeline
and has a tendency to form an emulsion with water. This is a property that holds great significance
in cold weathers. Cloud point is also referred to as Wax Appearance Temperature (WAT).

What is Pour Point?

On the other hand, pour point is the lowest temperature at which the fuel continues to flow. Pour
point of a fuel is an indication of the temperature at which fuel can still be pumped. Alternately,
pour point can also be described as the lowest temperature at which a fuel performs satisfactorily
and beyond this temperature, the fuel stops flowing and starts to freeze.

In brief:

• Pour point and cloud point are two important physical properties of any fuel or lubricant.

• While cloud point refers to the temperature at which there is a presence of a wax cloud in the

fuel, pour point is the lowest temperature at which the fuel can flow and below which the fuel
tends to freeze or ceases to flow.

• In cold weather conditions, certain additives are added to the fuel to keep its pour point and
cloud point higher.
The flash point of a flammable liquid is the lowest temperature at which it can form an ignitable
mixture in air. At this temperature the vapor may cease to burn when the source of ignition is
removed. A slightly higher temperature, the fire point, is defined as the temperature at which the
vapor continues to burn after being ignited. Neither of these parameters are related to the
temperatures of the ignition source or of the burning liquid, which are much higher. The flash
point is often used as one descriptive characteristic of liquid fuel, but it is also used to describe
liquids that are not used intentionally as fuels.

The fire point of a fuel is the temperature at which it will continue to burn after ignition for at
least 5 seconds. At the flash point, a lower temperature, a substance will ignite, but vapor might
not be produced at a rate to sustain the fire. Fire point and autogenous ignition are additional
considerations when selecting fire resistant greases. Industrially.
To understand the difference between flash point and fire point, we must first understand the
context in which those terms are used.

Both terms - flash point and fire point - are used to describe liquids.

All liquids vaporize - that is, molecules of that substance evaporate, to form a layer of vapour
molecules of that substance, right above (and in contact with) the liquid surface.

These vapor molecules, when they mix with the surrounding air, form a combustible mixture.

For a liquid, flash point denotes the lowest temperature at which, if a distinct source of ignition
(say spark/fire) were brought in contact with the vapor-air mixture, the vapor (and the liquid
surface in contact with it) catches fire.

Fire point, on the other hand, is the lowest temperature at which, even in the absence of an
ignition source, the mixture (air-vapor and liquid surface) catches fire.

Two important things to be noted here are:

1. Below the flash point for a liquid, no burning occurs - this is because the liquid is
unable to give off enough vapor to form a burnable mixture with air, at temperatures
below the flash point. Hence, flash point is the minimum temperature at which the
liquid gives off enough vapor to form a combustible mixture with air.
2. Since fire point is the temperature at which the vapor above the liquid catches fire even
without ignition, it automatically follows that fire point > flash point.
 Aniline point

 Definition of aniline point. : the lowest temperature at which aniline and a solvent (as
gasoline) are completely miscible and which serves as an indication of the type of
hydrocarbons present in the solvent, the content of aromatics being higher according as the
temperature is lower.
 Aniline point represents the degree of aromaticity or simply the aromatic content of the given
oil sample. If aniline point is low then the aromatic content of the oil is more than the alkane
/paraffinic content and the vice versa.

 Aniline being an aromatic compound freely mixes with aromatic so a low aniline point
indicates low diesel index (because of high percentage of aromatics). Significance: High
aniline point indicates that the fuel is highly paraffinic and hence has a high Diesel index and
very good ignition quality.

What is aniline?
a colorless oily liquid present in coal tar. It is used in the manufacture of dyes, drugs,
and plastics, and was the basis of the earliest synthetic dyes.