Is jet fuel just diesel?
Jet-A, the most common type of jet fuel, is made from kerosene and is similar to diesel fuel. Avgas is similar to what you use in your car, but it's not intended for that use.
There are some major differences between Jet-A and diesel: 1. Jet-A is a relatively high sulfur fuel, diesel is low sulfur and EPA requirements are getting more stringent about sulfur in diesel every year.
Yes. Now, it won't necessarily last as long running on jet fuel, as jet fuel is not a good lubricant and sometimes the injection systems will wear. You can probably find out what a particular engine wants for fuel lubricity. But it will run, and run well, produce full power, and be easier to start in very cold weather.
Jet-A powers modern commercial airliners and is a mix of extremely refined kerosene and burns at temperatures at or above 49 °C (120 °F). Kerosene-based fuel has a much higher flash point than gasoline-based fuel, meaning that it requires significantly higher temperature to ignite.
Engine Weight considerations:
The diesel engine mount will most probably also be heavier than one needed for a gasoline engine. This increased total engine weight over a gasoline engine means proportionally decreased payload for the aircraft they are installed into.
Conversely, Jet-A wouldn't work in a gas engine. It would be like putting diesel fuel in your gas-powered car, it just won't run. However, Jet-A could be used in diesel-engine vehicles, but it lacks some of the lubricants found in road diesel fuel.
Jet-A (freeze point of -40°C) and Jet-A1 (freeze point of -47°C) are highly refined kerosene-type fuels used in commercial and general aviation turbine engines.
Economies of Scale
Jet-A is used in a much higher volume than 100LL. All the jet engine commercial aircraft each day burn through orders of magnitude more Jet-A than piston aircraft burn through 100LL. That means that there is a much higher production volume, and therefore a cost savings as a result.
The octane ratings of AVGAS, a gasoline-based fuel, are usually either 91 or 100 (lean mixture) and 96 or 130 (rich mixture). The octane rating of jet fuel is much lower, around 15 – this is much more like automotive diesel and thus much more resistant to detonating due to sparks or compression.
Jet fuel is very similar to diesel fuel, and in some cases, may be used in diesel engines.
Is jet fuel 100 octane?
Avgas remains the only transportation fuel in the United States to contain lead. More than 222,600 registered piston-engine aircraft can operate on leaded avgas. The most common and reliable type of avgas is 100 octane Low Lead, also known as 100LL.
Jet Fuel Cost by Aircraft Cabin Size
For example, on May 11, 2022, the IATA per gallon price was $4.82 in North America, $4.01 in Europe, and $3.55 in Asia. At Boston's Hanscomb Field Jet A was selling between $9.79 and $13.38 per gallon. In Oklahoma City it was as low as $7.05 per gallon.
The Jet A fuel flash point specification is 100°F minimum, and other fuels are different. For example, JP-5 specification is 140°F, which means that the fluid has to be heated to at least 140°F in order to give off enough vapors to be flammable.
The very high temperatures of jet engines cause gasoline to be a poor fuel because it tends to burn too fast. Kerosene, which is routinely called "Fuel OIL" some places, avoids pre-ignition problems (and some safety hazards) just like higher-octane gas avoids spark-plug knocking.
It depends on the engine. A piston engine will use avgas (aviation gasoline) or diesel (or Jet-A for availability reasons) depending on whether the engine is a diesel engine (which can burn jet fuel), while a turbine engine will use jet fuel. Essentially whatever the engine is rated to burn.
Diesel fuel /ˈdiːzəl/, also called diesel oil or historically heavy oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and then injection of fuel.
US Carriers Jet Fuel Cost and Consumption - March 2022
US carriers reported an average fuel cost of $3.04 per gallon during March 2022. Spot prices have continued to increase, reaching $5.07 on April 28, 2022 and averaged $3.91 for the month of April.
Cetane rating is the diesel equivalent to gasoline's octane rating. Unlike an octane rating, which rates gasoline's resistance to spontaneous ignition, the cetane rating number (usually 40 to 55 for medium to high speed engines) notes the relative ease with which diesel fuel ignites.
Studies of military personnel suggest that exposure to JP-8 may affect the nervous system. Studies in laboratory animals suggest that exposure to these jet fuels can also cause damage to the liver, immune system, and the skin.
Prices for the kerosene-based product have been climbing since December, propelled by diminished supplies after winter storms shut down refineries. Swelling demand has also pushed up prices, as millions of Chinese travelers took to the skies to celebrate the Lunar New Year and newfound freedom from Covid restrictions.
Why don t planes use gasoline?
With its higher flash point, kerosene offers higher octane ratings to achieve greater power and efficiency when compared to its gasoline counterpart. In fact, this is the main reason kerosene fuel is used in airplanes. For decades, airplanes originally used gasoline.
| FUEL TYPES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Jet A | ||
| FBOs | Avg | |
| Nationwide | 3627 | $6.17 |
| Alaska | 79 | $7.61 |
“We forecast jet fuel prices to rise from current spot levels of $100 per barrel to a global annual average of $110 per barrel for 2023, but this still marks a substantial revision of 22 percent lower than our previous forecast for $140 per barrel,” the analysts stated in that report.
Jet-A smells like kerosene (not quite "like diesel", but definitely not like gasoline). If you are familiar with how both smell you can tell them apart by odor, and a significant contamination of Avgas with Jet-A could be detected by smell.
Steel melts at 2,750°F, and jet fuel burns at temperatures of 800-1,500°F, so it doesn't reach the melting point of steel but rather holds about half its strength when heated up to 1,100°F.
The JP-8 is a kerosene which contains additives with the objective of improving its properties for military use. As such, it is used in military aircraft with the exception of reactors loaded on aircraft carriers, which use JP-5. JP-5 is also a fuel derived from kerosene.
AVGAS contains a highly toxic lead additive in order to achieve high octane ratings and is coloured according to the grade. For example, 100LL (low lead) AVGAS is dyed blue.
Generally, the octane number (ON) of gasoline is in the range of 70–97, whereas the octane number of kerosene is much lower as only 20–50.
How does it work? On many larger commercial airplanes, a special nozzle is fitted to the wing. If a pilot deems it necessary, the system pumps fuel out of the nozzle into the atmosphere quickly – we're talking about a few tons per minute in most cases. It may look dramatic, but it's not a dangerous procedure.
Kerosene vs Diesel
Kerosene and diesel are both petroleum fuels from the molecular components of crude oil. Kerosene is extracted from crude oil first, then diesel, as kerosene has a lower boiling point than diesel. Diesel is a reddish colour while kerosene is colourless.
Can you run diesel in a turbine engine?
A jet engine can theoretically run on diesel but this is not done in aircraft. This is because diesel is viscous and it thus has the potential of solidifying at the high altitudes at which airplanes fly. Kerosene which is less viscous is the preferred fuel for jet engines.
If you demand peak performance from your vehicle, then nothing less than Sunoco 94 Octane will do. Treat your car to 94.
- Regular (the lowest octane fuel–generally 87)
- Midgrade (the middle range octane fuel–generally 89–90)
- Premium (the highest octane fuel–generally 91–94)
Trick Unleaded is designed for high performance street cars, muscle cars, classics, street rods and motorcycles. A wide variety of engines can benefit from using 100 octane fuel which makes Trick Unleaded the perfect choice. It is compatible with most applications and even mixes well with two-stroke oils.
How Much Fuel Does a Jumbo Jet Burn? The four engines of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet burn approximately 10 to 11 tonnes of fuel an hour when in the cruise. This equates to roughly 1 gallon (approximately 4 litres) of fuel every second.
With today's fuel prices, it costs about $450,000 to fill up a Boeing 747, depending on your market. By contrast, the Gulfstream G280, a popular business aviation aircraft, costs around $8,000 to fill.
At one time, gasoline was used in airplanes. But the need for a higher energy fuel made the aviation industry look for alternative fuels. With a Boeing 747 burning up to one gallon of fuel every second, it's lucky that kerosene-based jet fuel is cheaper than gasoline!
Jet A liquid contains molecules with between 4 and 20 carbon atoms. What makes jet fuel explosive? The liquid fuel is not explosive by itself. Explosive conditions are created when the fuel evaporates and mixes with the air in a partially empty tank.
The low values of the upper flammable limits of methane, gasoline and propane suggest that in the burning tip of the cigarette or indeed at the surface, oxygen is not present in a sufficient concentration to allow ignition.
In addition, never use diesel, jet "A" fuel, No. 1 fuel oil, No. 2 fuel oil or gasoline in your heater. The use of any of these fuels could result in a fire or explosion that could cause death or injury.
Why don t cars run on kerosene?
The primary reason is gasoline is more efficient. It vaporizes easily (below boiling point of water), burns faster and more completely. On top of that, it is cleaner burning than kerosene. Kerosene is closer to diesel fuel and is less refined.
It is a common practice for diesel fuel to be blended with kerosene to improve performance characteristics (particularly during cold weather), or other substances, such as used oil to dispose of waste products.
To elaborate on the other answer, you don't actually need any fuel or oxidizer to run a jet engine. Jet engines are just a type of open-cycle heat engine where the atmosphere is the working fluid and thrust happens by expelling it as reaction mass.
It's a bit tricky because a car uses very little fuel when it's standing still (eg at a stop light) - but a helicopter uses almost as much in a hover as it does at speed. I've seen numbers like 15 gallons per hour for a small helicopter - and with speeds around 100 mph - that suggests about 8 miles per gallon.
Considering a price of 6$ per gallon for avgas, and 5$ per gallon for aviation turbine fuel, to fuel one of the most popular helicopters and considered the most economical in the world, the Robinson R22, you would need $156 because it has a 26-gallon fuel tank.
With the blades still rotating and the aircraft now in autorotation the helicopter can 'glide' down to a safe landing site. Depending on wind conditions and different types of helicopter, the distance covered may vary and it is worth noting that there is not a huge amount of time available in autorotation.
Most of the diesel fuel produced and consumed in the United States is refined from crude oil at petroleum refineries. U.S. petroleum refineries produce an average of 11 to 12 gallons of diesel fuel from each 42-gallon (U.S.) barrel of crude oil. The United States also produces and consumes biomass-based diesel fuels.
Rudolf Diesel, who is best known for the invention of the engine that bears his name, was born in Paris, France in 1858. His invention came while the steam engine was the predominant power source for large industries. In 1885, Diesel set up his first shop in Paris to begin development of a compression ignition engine.
Because diesel fuel is denser, it can clog up a gasoline engine. Fortunately, there is little risk of damage to your vehicle if you happen to mistakenly fill it with diesel fuel. It is unlikely that this will harm the injectors, seals or other components.
Jet fuel is just a standard fuel with specialized additives. Jet A-1 fuel which is now most commonly used in turbine engines is a highly filtered Diesel fuel based fuel with several additives including deicer.
What is Jet-A fuel made of?
Jet fuels are primarily derived from crude oil, the common name for liquid petroleum. These jet fuels can be referred to as petroleum-derived jet fuels. Jet fuels can also originate from an organic material found in shale, called kerogen or petroleum solids: that can be converted by heat to shale oil.
There are two main types of aviation fuel used in general aviation: jet fuel and AVGAS. Jet fuel is a refined kerosene-based, clear or straw-colored liquid that is primarily used to power turbine engines, such as turboprop and jet engines.
The octane ratings of AVGAS, a gasoline-based fuel, are usually either 91 or 100 (lean mixture) and 96 or 130 (rich mixture). The octane rating of jet fuel is much lower, around 15 – this is much more like automotive diesel and thus much more resistant to detonating due to sparks or compression.
Jet Fuel Cost by Aircraft Cabin Size
For example, on May 11, 2022, the IATA per gallon price was $4.82 in North America, $4.01 in Europe, and $3.55 in Asia. At Boston's Hanscomb Field Jet A was selling between $9.79 and $13.38 per gallon.
Diesel fuel is subject to a tax of 24.3 cents per gallon, whereas regular gasoline's tax is 18.3 cents per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, or EIA. Diesel has also become more expensive because there has been demand for some of its components to be used in fuel for marine vessels.
The biggest reason for flying at higher altitudes lies in fuel efficiency. The thin air creates less drag on the aircraft, which means the plane can use less fuel in order to maintain speed. Less wind resistance, more power, less effort, so to speak.
Yes. Engines will run just fine on fuel that has a higher octane rating than what they require to avoid knocking/detonation conditions, and will not be damaged in any way. They also will not run any better or produce any more torque or power.
Biodiesel & Renewable Fuels: Traditionally, locomotives have run on petroleum diesel fuel, but railroads are now using renewable diesel and biodiesel blends to power them. Both renewable diesel and biodiesel are made from renewable energy sources and don't rely on fossil fuels.
Regular (the lowest octane fuel–generally 87) Midgrade (the middle range octane fuel–generally 89–90) Premium (the highest octane fuel–generally 91–94)