Formula for Heavy Paraffinic Base Oil ?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the chemical composition and characterization of "Heavy Paraffinic Base Oil," particularly in the context of its use in motor oil. Participants explore whether a specific chemical formula exists or if it consists of a mixture of various compounds, and how to describe it in detail without a singular formula.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the existence of a chemical formula for "Heavy Paraffinic Base Oil" and seeks alternative ways to describe it if no formula is available.
  • Another participant suggests that "Heavy Paraffinic Base Oil" can be characterized by its distillation cut, boiling point range, carbon-hydrogen ratio, and possibly its melting point range, questioning the feasibility of a global assay for its composition.
  • It is noted that the oil consists of a very large number of hydrocarbons that are chemically similar, making complete identification challenging and potentially impractical.
  • A participant references the boiling point of motor oils, indicating they are typically mixtures of hydrocarbons with more than 20 carbon atoms per molecule, boiling above 400°C.
  • Further elaboration is provided on the complexity of hydrocarbons, mentioning the vast number of structural isomers for alkanes with 20 carbon atoms, highlighting the difficulty in determining the exact composition of crude oil and its derivatives.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that "Heavy Paraffinic Base Oil" is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, but there is no consensus on a specific formula or method for complete characterization. Multiple views on how to describe it remain present.

Contextual Notes

The discussion acknowledges limitations in defining "Heavy Paraffinic Base Oil," including the absence of a singular formula, the complexity of its hydrocarbon mixture, and the challenges in identifying all compounds present.

manhattan1nyc
Formula for "Heavy Paraffinic Base Oil"?

Is there a chemical formula for "Heavy Paraffinic Base Oil"? (like the base oil in motor oil) Or is it made up of other compounds and that's why I can't find a formula for it.? If so than I need to give a full description of the chemical with a formula so what would you use to fully describe in detail "Heavy Paraffinic Base Oil" if you can't use a formula? In other words how would someone know exactly which chemical you mean?

Thanks
 
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You're talking about a "distillation cut," or boiling point range, C-H ratio (degree of saturation), and, maybe, melting point range. How many different compounds in the mix? Don't think anyone's ever tried for a "global" assay.
 
A very large number of different hydrocarbons, most of which are chemically very similar; it's neither easy nor useful to identify them entirely. See for instance:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_refinery

It looks like motor oils are mixtures of hydrocarbons boiling above 400C, usually having >20 carbon atoms per molecule.
 
Just to give you an idea of the scale of things, if you only consider the alkanes with n=20 carbons, there are http://www.research.att.com/projects/OEIS?Anum=A000602 structural isomers! I'm not sure how many of these are actually present in crude oil, but I'm sure it's a very large number (especially after catalytic cracking.)
 
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