Petroleum, which literally means "Rock Oil" or "Oil from the Earth", was formed from the remains of plants & animals that lived millions of years ago (Pre-Dinosaur age) in a marine environment. Subsequent decomposition of those remains (over millions of years) by application of heat & pressure (due to burial) by deposition of sand & silt over them led to the formation of "Crude Oil" or Petroleum. It is one of the 3 Fossil fuels, viz., Coal, Natural Gas, Petroleum, that occur in our nature, & is composed of a complex mixture of different types of hydrocarbons along-with a number of elemental impurities, like Sulfur, Nitrogen, Oxygen, etc. Due to wide variations in the origin of Petroleum products, they vary considerably in terms of their Physico-Chemical properties & appearances, from one Oilfield to other.

The separation of Crude Petroleum into its various individual fractions (called 'Petroleum Products'),like Petrol, Diesel, & Naphtha, take place in a 'Petroleum Refinery' by a process called 'Refining', which consists of 3 steps: (1) Separation (2) Conversion & (3) Purification. There are 4 major types of Petroleum fractions, depending upon their Chemical Bonding patterns:

(1) Paraffins (2) Olefins (3) Naphthenes & (4) Aromatics Depending upon their usage, Petroleum Products can be broadly divided into 2 types, 'Fuel Oil' & 'Lubricants'. Characterization of these products in terms of a number of Physico-Chemical properties, like Viscosity, Octane number, Cetane number, Distillation range, is of utmost importance in determining the suitability of a particular Petroleum Product for the purpose of its intended use, transportation, storage, & other functions.

Batra Lab has been serving its elite group of customers (in the Petroleum & Allied Industries) for well over a decade, by providing reliable & meaningful test results. It can also conduct customized tests, depending upon a client's specific needs. Batra Lab has its team of efficient & well-trained technicians/analysts who are well-equipped with the most sophisticated & versatile analytical instruments, to test a wide variety of Petroleum Products.

Some of the Petroleum Products tested by Batra Lab are as follows:

• Solid Fuels - Coal, Coke, Wood
• Diesel - High Speed Diesel (HSD), Low Diesel Oil (LDO), Bio-diesel
• Insulating Oils - Transformer Oil, Mineral Inhibiting Oil
• Lubricating Oils - Lubricating Grease, Engine Oil, Gear Oil, Spindle Oil, Turpentine Oil, Brake Fluid, Gasoline, Kerosene
• Hydraulic Fluids - Hydraulic Oil, Anti-wear Hydraulic Oil, Fire Resistant Oil
• Carbon-Rich Materials - Activated Carbon, Graphite
• Metal Lube Oil - Cutting Oil, Quenching Oil, Turbine Oil
• Furnace Oils

Test Parameters of Petroleum Products (Routine & Specialized Tests)

• Spectrometric Oil Analysis Program (SOAP)
• Viscosity
• Flash point
• Fire point
• Cloud point
• Density
• Pour point
• Congealing Point
• Conardson carbon residue (CCR)
• Water & sediments
• Trace Metals Analysis
• Total Acid number (TAN)

• Total Base number (TBN)
• Neutralization value
• Sulphur content
• Distillation Range
• Aniline point
• Dielectric Strength of Transformer Oils
• Cetane number
• Copper strip corrosion
• Additives Content Depletion
• Wear metals - Ca, Mg, Na, K, Mo, Cu,
  Cr, Zn, P, Ba, B, Al, Pb, Mn, Ni, Si, V, Sn, Ag, Fe etc.,

Some of the Standard Test Methods, Protocols, & Specifications adopted/followed by Batra Lab are as follows:

• Indian Standards (IS) of BIS
• American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM)
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
• American Petroleum Institute (API)

• German Standards (DIN)
• International Petroleum (IP) Standards
• Other International Standards & Customer-specified Methods

Major Equipments used for Testing

• Automatic Bomb Calorimeter (Innovated by Batra Lab)
• Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS)
• Gas Chromatograph - Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS)
• Gas Chromatograph (FID & ECD Detectors)
• Gas Chromatograph (FID & ECD Detectors)
• Proximate Analyzer
• Ash Fusion Tester
• Karl Fischer Titrator
• Aniline Point Apparatus
• Flash Point Apparatus (Abel)
• Flash Point Apparatus (PMCC)
• Flash Point Apparatus (COC)

• K.Viscosity Bath
• Pour Point /Cloud Point Apparatus
• Red Wood Viscometer
• Oil Breakdown Voltage (BDV) Tester
• Dissolved Gas Extractor
• Resistivity Meter
• Tan Delta Meter
• Oil Testing Centrifuge
• TSS Filtration Apparatus
• Carbon Residue Apparatus
• Melting Point Apparatus
• Congealing Point Tester