Mazut is a
low-grade oil primarily used in industrial boilers and other direct source
heating applications. It is also used as a principal fuel in marine applications
in large diesel engines. Given its high boiling point and tar-like consistency,
typically requires heating before it can moved through pipes or dispensed into a
boiler or other heating vessel to be burned.
Mazut is the least
expensive of the refined oil fuels and can only be used by facilities that have
preheating capabilities. It is typically high in sulphur and other impurities
that are released into the air when the fuel is burned.Use releases sulphur
dioxide, a key component of acid rain, into the atmosphere. The sulphur
contained in heavy fuel oil also forms sulphate particles that contribute to the
formation of fine particulate matter.
Heavy fuel oil is
consist largely of residues from crude oils refining. These residues are blended
with suitable gas oil fractions in order to achieve the viscosity required for
convenient handling. Since the sulfur contained in the crude oil is concentrated
in the residue material heavy fuel oils may contain large quantities of heavy
metals such as nickel and vanadium and also sediments and water.
