2. Background

• 2.1 Description of Fuels
• 2.2 Sulphur Levels in Fuel Oils in Canada
• 2.3 Production, Imports, Exports and Use of Fuel Oils in Canada

Heavy fuel oil (HFO) is a mixture of hydrocarbons composed of residual fractions from crude oil distillation and processing. It is characterized by its black colour, high specific gravity (0.92 to 0.98) and high viscosity. HFO is usually composed mostly of carbon (86% wt.), hydrogen (11% wt.) and sulphur (currently averaging around 2% wt.). It also contains other impurities such as ash, metals and water. HFO is a low-value "bottom-of-the-barrel" fuel product, with a value generally less than the crude oil feedstock from which it is produced. It is essentially an industrial fuel that is suitable for use in boiler plants and metallurgical operations which generally pre-heat the fuel oil. There are three types:

• Type 4 is an industrial type of fuel intended primarily for burner installations not equipped with preheating facilities (viscosity of 15 centistokes at 40°C),
  
• Type 5 is a residual type of oil for burner installations equipped with preheating facilities requiring an oil with lower viscosity than Type 6 (viscosity of 50 centistoke at 40°C), and
  
• Type 6 is a high-viscosity residual oil (360 centistokes at 40°C) for use in burner installations equipped with preheating facilities adequate for handling oil of high viscosity.

Light fuel oil (LFO) is a crude oil distillate used mostly for the production of heat in domestic and small commercial liquid-fuel burning equipment It is light in color and has on average a specific gravity in the range of 0.82 to 0.86. Since it is only slightly viscous (in the range of 1.2 to 3.6 centistokes at 40°C), it can be used without preheating. LFO is usually composed mostly of carbon (86% wt.), hydrogen (13% wt.) and sulphur (0.1 to 0.2% wt.). It also contains trace amounts of ash and sediments.

A common use of LFO is in residential furnaces. There are three (3) types of LFO:

• Type 0 is for use in fuel oil burning appliances in northern regions where ambient temperatures as low as -48°C are encountered,
  
• Type 1 is for use in atomizing burners in which Type 2 cannot be used satisfactorily as well as certain vapourizing pot-type burners, and
  
• Type 2 is for use in most atomizing burner applications (i.e., most domestic furnaces and boilers and some medium capacity commercial-industrial boilers).

Bitumen emulsion is a highly viscous mixture of natural bitumen (70%) and water (30%). It also contains additives to stabilize the emulsion. The emulsion contains sufficient water to allow for handling and injection of the fuel into a burner. It is an industrial fuel and, in Canada, is primarily used in thermal generating stations in Atlantic Canada. The majority of it is imported into Canada from Venezuela under the trade name Orimulsion.

In 2001, the national average sulphur level in Canadian HFO was 1.7% wt. (17 280 ppm), while it was 0.2% wt. (2 010 ppm) for LFO³. Figures Figure2.1 and Figure2.2 show national trends of sulphur content in HFO and LFO. Sulphur levels have been relatively constant for both LFO and HFO, except in 1998 when the sulphur levels increased in LFO.

Table 2.1 provides a breakdown of sulphur level in HFO sold in Canada in 2001, based on quarterly volumes and averages submitted by refiners and importers under the Fuels Information Regulations, No. 1. Only very small quantities of low sulphur HFO (1% wt. sulphur content or less) were sold in Canada. Table 2.2 provides a similar breakdown for LFO.

Figure 2.1: 2001 National Trend of Sulphur Content in Heavy Fuel Oil

Figure 2.2: 2001 National Trend of Sulphur Content in Light Fuel Oil

Table 2.3 shows that most of the sulphur (about 82%) in Canadian liquid fuels is found in HFO. LFO accounts for 5.4% of the total sulphur mass in liquid fuels. With new regulations coming into force in the next few years to reduce sulphur in gasoline and on-road diesel fuel, it is expected that HFO and LFO will proportionally account for a greater amount of the sulphur in Canadian liquid fuels

Figure 2.3 shows that HFO and LFO are mostly used in central and eastern Canada, with very little used in western Canada.⁶

Figure 2.3: Canadian Consumption of Fuel Oils for Year 2001 (in million m³)⁷

Historical data⁸ from 1985 to year 2001 on production, imports and exports of HFO and LFO in Canada are shown in Figures figure2.4 and figure2.5 (Historical information by province and territory is provided in Appendix 3 and detailed information on the end use of fuel oils by sector is presented in Appendix 5).

Figure 2.4: Historical data from 1985 to year 2001 on production, imports and exports of heavy fuel oil in Canada

Figure 2.5: Historical data from 1985 to year 2001 on production, imports and exports of light fuel oil in Canada

³ Environment Canada, Sulphur in Liquid Fuels 2001, July 2002 excluding fuels for refinery consumption.
⁴ Both Tables table2.1 and table2.2 are adapted from quarterly information submitted to Environment Canada under the Fuels Information Regulations, No. 1 (the plant consumption category in that report has been added into the category of the fuel actually used).
⁵ Adapted from Environment Canada, 2001. Sulphur in Liquid Fuels, July 2002 reflecting corrected submissions and inclusion of plant consumption for the HFO, LFO and LS diesel. Totals are reported under the Fuels Information Regs No. 1.
⁶ The background document entitled Potential to reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide through reducing sulphur levels in heavy and light fuel oils listed in Appendix 1 provides summary information over the period 1994 to 1999 on HFO and LFO production, countries for imports and exports and mass of sulphur.
⁷ Environment Canada, 2001 Sulphur in Liquid Fuels, July 2002.
⁸ Statistics Canada, publication 45-004, 1985 to 2001.