Kerosene and Diesel Fuel

The quality of diesel fuel is measured using the cetane number, a measure of the tendency of a diesel fuel to knock in a diesel engine, and the scale, from which the cetane number is derived, is based on the ignition characteristics of two hydrocarbons (1) n-hexadecane (cetane) and (2) 2,3,4,5,6,7,8-heptamethylnonane. 

Fuel oil is classified in several ways, but generally, may be divided into two main types (1) distillate fuel oil and (2) residual fuel oil. These classifications 

Heavy fuel oil includes a variety of oils, ranging from distillates to residual oils, that must be heated to 260°C (500°F) or higher before they can be used. In general, heavy fuel oils consist of residual oils blended with distillates to suit specific needs. Included among heavy fuel oils are various industrial oils when used to fuel ships, heavy fuel oil is called bunker oil. 

Fuel oil that is used for heating is graded from No. 1 fuel oil to No. 6 fuel oil, which covers light distillate oils, medium distillate, heavy distillate, a blend of distillate and residue, and residue oil. For example. No. 2 and No. 3 fuel oils medium to light distillate grades used in domestic central heating (Table 3.7). 

2 fuel oil is a petroleum distillate that may be referred to as domestic fuel oil or industrial fuel oil. Domestic fuel oil is usually lighter and straight-run refined it is used primarily for home heating and to produce diesel fuel. Industrial distillate is the cracked type, or a blend of straight-run and cracked. It is used in smelting furnaces, ceramic kilns, and packaged boilers. 

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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. 

I. F. Davies, K. D. Battle, G. E. Andrews and G. T. Williams, Automated chemical class characterization of kerosene and diesel fuels by on-line coupled mia obore HPFC/capil-lary GC , J. Chromatogr. Sci. 26 125-130 (1988). 

Implementation Samples of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel are each spiked with naphthalene and are characterized using the same conditions as the sample (Fig. 21.14). 

Thomas and Delfino (1991) equilibrated contaminant-free groundwater collected from Cainesville, FL with individual fractions of three individual petroleum products at 24-25 °C for 24 h. The aqueous phase was analyzed for organic compounds via U.S. EPA approved test method 625. Average anthracene concentrations reported in water-soluble fractions of kerosene and diesel fuel were 12 and 25 pg/L, respectively. Anthracene was ND in the water-soluble fraction of unleaded gasoline. 

The genotoxicity of fuel oil no. 2, kerosene, and diesel fuel was also evaluated with the mouse lymphoma TK" " forward mutation assay (Conaway et al. 1984). The data reported was insufficient to permit a full evaluation of the results however, the authors considered diesel fuel and kerosene to be negative and fuel oil no. 2 to be positive. 

Studies on the permeability of compacted micaceous soil used as a potential liner for landfills found that the permeability of the soil to kerosene and diesel fuel was 3-4 orders of magnitude greater for kerosene and 1-1.5 orders greater for diesel fuel compared with water (EPA 1984). 

Azeotropic distillation is used to recover furfural from light gas oils, kerosenes, and Diesel fuels. 

Reentech Limited (Korea) has developed a patented catalytic cracking process (Figure 15.14) which converts mixed plastics (e.g. PE, PP, PS) into gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel [27-31]. 

Properties Reddish brown solid with a mild ester odor. Bp 125C. Soluble in water and alcohol almost insoluble in kerosene and diesel fuel. Commercially available as a water-miscible solution. 

The determination of hydroperoxide number is significant because of the adverse effect of hydroperoxides on certain elastomers in the fuel systems. This method (ASTM D-6447) measures the same peroxide species, primarily the hydroperoxides in diesel fuel. This test method does not use the ozone-depleting substance l,l,2-trichloro-l,2,2-trifluoroethane (ASTM D-3703) and is applicable to any water-insoluble, organic fluid, particularly gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel. In this method, a quantity of sample is contacted with aqueous potassium iodide (KI) solution in the presence of acid. The hydroperoxides present are reduced by potassium iodide, liberating an equivalent amount of iodine, which is quantified by voltammetric analysis. 

Pechuro and coworkers152-162 have used both non-stationary and stationary electric arcs for the decomposition of liquid petroleum fractions. Besides acetylene and ethylene some methane was produced. For acetylene production power consumption in a stationary arc was lower than in a non-stationary arc. Because of the high dielectric properties of petroleum fractions the preparation of acetylene by the electrocracking of liquid petroleum was limited by the small distance between the electrodes. A low voltage ac arc (3 kW) in gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel yielded 38—46 wt % acetylene. 

Crystalline solid mp 56°C (132.8°F) insoluble in water soluble in acetone, kerosene, and diesel fuel. 

Other chemical products, often referred to as connnodity chemicals, are required in large quantities. These are often intermediates in the manufacture of specialty chemicals and industrial and consumer products. These include ethylene, propylene, butadiene, methanol, ethanol, ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, ammonia, nylon, and caprolactam (for carpets), together with solvents like benzene, toluene, phenol, methyl chloride, and tetrahydrofuran, and fuels like gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel. These are manufactured in large-scale processes that produce billions of pounds annually in continuous operation. Since they usually involve small well-defined molecules, the focus of the design is on the process to produce these chemicals from various raw materials. 

V.A. Izhevskyi, L.A. Genova, A.H.A. Bressiani, and J.C. Bressiani, Liquid Phase Sintered SiC. Processing and Transformation Controlled Microstructure Tailoring, MatRes., 3(4), 131-38 (2000). V.A. Lavrenko, D.J. Baxter, A.D. Panasyuk, and M. Desmanion-Brut, High-Temperature Corrosion of AIN-Based Composite Ceramic in Air and in Combustion Products of Commercial Fuel. 1. Corrosion of Ceramic Composites in the AIN-SiC System in Air and in Combustion Products of Kerosene and Diesel Fuel, Powder Metallurgy and Meta Ceramics, 43(3-4), 179-86 (2004). 

Relatively few publications are yet available that deal with steam reforming of kerosene and diesel fuel. 

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