Fuel oil

Fuel oil is a liquid petroleum product burned to produce heat or power. It ranges from light distillates used in heating to dense residual oils used in ships and industrial boilers.

Crude oil: A naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbons found in underground reservoirs. Fuel oil is refined from crude oil, whose composition shapes the products a refinery can make.
Heating oil: A liquid petroleum fuel burned in furnaces and boilers to heat buildings. It is the familiar light fuel-oil application in homes and commercial buildings.
Combustion: A chemical reaction in which a fuel reacts rapidly with an oxidant, releasing heat. Fuel oil releases useful heat by reacting with oxygen in a controlled flame.
Sulfur dioxide: A pungent gas produced chiefly by burning sulfur-containing fuels. Burning high-sulfur fuel oil releases sulfur dioxide unless emissions are controlled.
Petroleum refining: The industrial separation and conversion of crude oil into fuels, lubricants, and other products. Refining separates fuel-oil fractions and can convert heavier petroleum into lighter products.
Marine fuel: Fuel used to power ships, including distillate and residual petroleum products. Large vessels have historically burned heavy fuel oils in marine engines.
Oil burner: A device that mixes atomized liquid fuel with air and ignites it for heating. Burners convert fuel oil into droplets and mix them with air for combustion.
Particulate matter: A mixture of tiny solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air. Incomplete combustion and fuel impurities can contribute particles to fuel-oil exhaust.
Viscosity: A measure of a fluid's resistance to flow. Fuel-oil viscosity determines how readily it can be pumped, atomized, and burned.
Oil-fired power plant: A power station that burns petroleum products to generate electricity. Fuel oil can supply heat for steam generation or combustion-based electricity production.

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