With reference to furnace oil, consider the following statements:
1. It is a product of oil refineries.
2. Some industries use it to generate power.
3. Its use causes sulphur emissions into environment.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: Furnace oil is a dark, heavy residual petroleum product obtained from the fractional distillation of crude oil in petroleum refineries (bottom fractions of crude distillation units).
Statement 2 is correct: Many industrial setups, including chemical, textile, metallurgical units, and captive diesel generator sets, utilize furnace oil in thermal boilers and gas turbine systems to generate industrial process heat and power.
Statement 3 is correct: Because residual heavy fractions retain high concentrations of native crude sulfur, combustion of furnace oil produces substantial sulphur dioxide (SO₂) emissions, making it a strictly regulated industrial fuel.
Hence, all three statements are correct — Option D.