Study on the Potential of Boilover for Used Engine Oil and the Prediction of the Boilover Onset Time

Boilover phenomena has getting numerous attention throughout the industries due to the extreme consequences and impacts. Based on past researcher, boilover hazard accident commonly happen for crude oil or fuel oil. Many studies has been made to investigate the potential of boilover for both fuel. However, as of today, none had study the potential of boilover for used engine oil. In this project, it is proposed to study the potential of boilover of used engine oil fire and the prediction of the boilover onset time. The method that will be used for this experiment is basically simple combustion with different parameters. The experimental parameters for this study are the type of fuel used, depth of the fuel in the tank and size of the container.
In order to achieve the objectives for this project, experiments were conducted using two different size of containers. Used engine oil, the main parameter, was collected from a car workshop located at Seri Iskandar, Perak. For each container, five run of experiments will be conducted with different depth of fuel. Boilover onset time and the volume of fuel left after boilover were recorded. The experiment was repeated to demonstrate consistency of the result. The fire behavior was observed and recorded throughout the experiment.
For comparative study with the experimental result recorded, theoretical calculation on the boilover onset time was obtained using heat transfer correlation. Both result were being compared and analyses. The differences between both results can be relate to the heat loss from the flame to the surrounding. Consequently, this project is capable of predicting the boilover onset time for used engine oil and the quantity of burning fuel being ejected during the boilover phenomena.