Diesel fuel properties

Selected Diesel Fuel Properties from Different German Co-LTFT-Derived Straight-Run Distillate Fractions and the German Sonder Diesel Kraftstoff (SDK) Specifications of the 1940s... 

Karonis, D., E. Lois, S. Stournas, and F. Zannikos, Correlations of Exhaust Emissions from Diesel Engine with Diesel Fuel Properties, Energy Fuels, 12, 230-238 (1998). 

The reactor operates either at low (200-240°C) or high (300-350°C) temperatures and between 1-4 MPa. The product mix changes from longer to shorter chain length molecules as the temperature increases. The product stream from a Fischer-Tropsch reactor is a mix of many components but by selecting the right operating conditions the mix can be adjusted so that the product stream has mostly diesel fuel properties. 

Table 8.1 Green diesel fuel properties versus mineral ULSD and conventional biodiesel (FAME).

Other important diesel-fuel properties include flash point, cloud point, pour point, kinematic viscosity, and lubricity. Cloud point and pour point indicate the temperature at which the fuel tends to thicken and then gel in cold weather. In addition to providing energy, diesel fuel also serves as a lubricant for fuel pumps and injectors, which prolongs the life of the engine. Viscosity measures the tendency of a fluid to flow. In a diesel engine, viscosity indicates how well a fuel atomizes in spray injectors. It also measures its quality as a lubricant for the fuel system. Lubricity measures the fuel s ability to reduce fnction between solid surfaces in relative motion. It indicates how the engine will perform when loaded. 

All properties required by diesel fuel are justified by the characteristics of the diesel engine cycle, in particular the following ... 

The properties of straight run diesel fuels depend on both nature of the crude oil and selected distillation range. Thus the paraffinic crudes give cuts of satisfactory cetane number but poorer cold characteristics the opposite will be observed with naphthenic or aromatic crudes. The increasing demand for diesel fuel could lead the refiner to increase the distillation end point, but that will result in a deterioration of the cloud point. It is generally accepted that a weight gain in yield of 0.5% could increase the cloud point by 1°C. The compromise between quantity and quality is particularly difficult to reconcile. 

For other physical properties, the specification differences between diesel fuel and home-heating oil are minimal. Note only that there is no minimum distillation end point for heating oil, undoubtedly because tbe problem of particulate emissions is much less critical in domestic burners than in an engine. 

The properties linked to storage and distribution do not directly affect the performance of engines and burners, but they are important in avoiding upstream incidents that could sometimes be very serious. We will examine in turn the problems specific to gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and heavy fuel. 

Coley, T.R. (1989), Diesel fuel additives influencing flow and storage properties . In Gasoline and diesel fuel additives (Owen, K. Ed.). John Wiley. 

However, this conventional method presents a certain number of limitations. In the first place, the traditional end-use property itself can be difficult to determine. Consider the cetane number for example is it a good characterization of diesel fuel with respect to its behavior in commercial diesel engines In the second place, concern for protecting the environment imposes new specifications which are often specifications linked to the composition of products very low content of certain contaminants, reduced levels of certain families of compounds, or even a specific compound as already discussed. 

Properties Methanol Ethanol Propane Methane Isoctane Unleaded gasoline Diesel fuel 2... 

Foam Control. Whereas some siUcones are known to be foam promoters, Dow Corning FS-1265 Fluid is a Hquid fluorosiUcone with effective antifoam properties. Petroleum industry appHcation of fluids and dispersions in gas—oil separators on offshore drilling platforms has been successful. Their use peaked in the early 1980s, coinciding with constrained cmde oil capacity and production. Diesel fuels are an excellent solvent for dimethyl silicones and render them ineffective as an antifoam. A new antifoam which does not require the use of added siUca is formulated from a fluorosiUcone copolymer. It has shown promise to antifoam (8) diesel fuel (see Defoamers). 

Alternative fuels fall into two general categories. The first class consists of fuels that are made from sources other than cmde oil but that have properties the same as or similar to conventional motor fuels. In this category are fuels made from coal and shale (see Fuels, synthetic). In the second category are fuels that are different from gasoline and diesel fuel and which require redesigned or modified engines. These include methanol (see Alcohol fuels), compressed natural gas (CNG), and Hquefted petroleum gas (LPG). 

Liquid fuels for ground-based gas turbines are best defined today by ASTM Specification D2880. Table 4 Hsts the detailed requirements for five grades which cover the volatility range from naphtha to residual fuel. The grades differ primarily in basic properties related to volatility eg, distillation, flash point, and density of No. 1 GT and No. 2 GT fuels correspond to similar properties of kerosene and diesel fuel respectively. These properties are not limited for No. 0 GT fuel, which allows naphthas and wide-cut distillates. For heavier fuels. No. 3 GT and No. 4 GT, the properties that must be limited are viscosity and trace metals. 

VFO works well in gas turbines. In a nine-month test program, the combustion properties of VFO were studied in a combustion test module. A gas turbine was also operated on VFO. The tests were conducted to study the combustion characteristics of VFO, the erosive and corrosive effects of VFO, and the operation of a gas turbine on VFO. The combustion tests were conducted on a combustion test module built from a GE Frame 5 combustion can and liner. The gas turbine tests were conducted on a Ford model 707 industrial gas turbine. Both the combustion module and gas turbine were used in the erosion and corrosion evaluation. The combustion tests showed the VFO to match natural gas in flame patterns, temperature profile, and flame color. The operation of the gas turbine revealed that the gas turbine not only operated well on VFO, but its performance was improved. The turbine inlet temperature was lower at a given output with VFO than with either natural gas or diesel fuel. This phenomenon is due to the increase in exhaust mass flow provided by the addition of steam in the diesel for the vaporization process. Following the tests, a thorough inspection was made of materials in the combustion module and on the gas turbine, which came into contact with the vaporized fuel or with the combustion gas. The inspection revealed no harmful effects on any of the components due to the use of VFO. 

Biodiesel is diesel fuel produced from vegetable oils and other renewable resources. Many different types of oils can he used, including animal fats, used cooking oils, and soybean oil. Biodiesel is miscible with petroleum diesels and can he used in biodiesel-diesel blends. Most often blends are 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent traditional diesel. Soy diesel can be used neat (100%), hut many other types of biodiesel are too viscous, especially in winter, and must be used in blends to remain fluid. The properties of the fuel will vaiy depending on the raw material used. Typical values for biodiesel are shown in Table 1. 

Diesel fuel makeup can represent various combinations of volatility, ignition quality, viscosity, sulfur level, specific gravity, and other characteristics. Various additives are used to impart special properties... 

Poisoning of deNOx catalysts by SO2 could also be a problem since diesel fuels contain small amounts of sulfur compounds. Only a few studies deal with this subject [11-13]. It appears from the literature that for Cu catalysts the use of MFI as a support reduces the inhibition by SO2. Support effects also appear in the case of Co since Co/MFI is much less sensitive to SO2 than Co/ferrierite [13]. Since this support effect may be related to acidity, it becomes important, to investigate the influence of SO2 on the properties of Cu catalysts supported on Si02, AI2O3, MFI, BEA and unpromoted or sulfate promot Ti02 and Zr02- These latter have been reported active for deNOx [14]. 

The high-surface-area TUD-1 can serve as an anchor for many catalysts. Si- or Al-Si-TUD-1 (24,25) can be used as a support for various noble metals (Pt, PtPd, Ir, etc.). This will provide catalysts suitable for the hydrogenation of olefins and aromatics. In the refining industry, one use is the hydrogenation of polynuclear aromatics ( PNAs ) in diesel fuel, which can lower the fuel s toxic properties. Also, jet fuel has an aromatics constraint, designed to lessen smoke formation. Cracked stocks (e.g., coker or visbreaker liquids) generally have undesirable olefins (especially a-olefins) that also need to be saturated prior to final processing. 

Because of increasing demands for high-quality diesel fuels, many studies on fundamental and technological aspects of Co-based FTS catalysts have been made in order to improve our understanding of their activity and selectivity property.1 10... 

Selected Properties of the Motor Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Refined from Fe-HTFT Syncrude and Coal Liquids at Sasol 2, Which Were Marketed as Final Products in South Africa in the 1980s... 

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