[ the latter of which has been characterized as "unified Russian fuel for sub- and supersonic aircraft".]
TS-1
TS-1 is a jet fuel made to Russian standard GOST 10227 for enhanced cold-weather performance. It has somewhat higher volatility than Jet A-1 (flash point is minimum). It has a very low freezing point, below .
Additives
The DEF STAN 91-091 (UK) and ASTM D1655 (international) specifications allow for certain additives to be added to jet fuel, including:[ Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuels, ASTM D1655-09a (2010). ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, United States.]
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to prevent gumming, usually based on alkylation , e.g., AO-30, AO-31, or AO-37;
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, to dissipate static electricity and prevent sparking; Stadis 450, with dinonylnaphthylsulfonic acid (DINNSA) as a component, is an example
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Corrosion inhibitors, e.g., DCI-4A used for civilian and military fuels, and DCI-6A used for military fuels;
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Fuel system icing inhibitor (FSII) agents, e.g., 2-(2-Methoxyethoxy)ethanol (Di-EGME); FSII is often mixed at the point-of-sale so that users with heated fuel lines do not have to pay the extra expense.
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are to remediate microbial (i.e., bacterial and fungal) growth present in aircraft fuel systems. Two biocides were previously approved for use by most aircraft and turbine engine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs); Kathon FP1.5 Microbiocide and Biobor JF.
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Metal deactivator can be added to reduce the negative effects of on the thermal stability of the fuel. The one allowable additive is the chelating agent Salpn ligand ( N,N′-bis(salicylidene)-1,2-propanediamine).
As the aviation industry's jet kerosene demands have increased to more than 5% of all refined products derived from crude,
it has been necessary for the refiner to optimize the yield of jet kerosene, a high-value product, by varying process techniques.
New processes have allowed flexibility in the choice of crudes, the use of coal tar sands as a source of molecules and the
manufacture of synthetic blend stocks. Due to the number and severity of the processes used, it is often necessary and
sometimes mandatory to use additives. These additives may, for example, prevent the formation of harmful chemical species
or improve a property of a fuel to prevent further engine wear.
Water in jet fuel
It is very important that jet fuel be free from water contamination. During flight, the temperature of the fuel in the tanks decreases, due to the low temperatures in the upper air. This causes precipitation of the dissolved water from the fuel. The separated water then drops to the bottom of the tank, because it is denser than the fuel. Since the water is no longer in solution, it can form droplets which can supercool to below 0 °C (32 °F). If these supercooled droplets collide with a surface they can freeze and may result in blocked fuel inlet pipes.
There are several methods for detecting water in jet fuel. A visual check may detect high concentrations of suspended water, as this will cause the fuel to become hazy in appearance. An industry standard chemical test for the detection of free water in jet fuel uses a water-sensitive filter pad that turns green if the fuel exceeds the specification limit of 30 ppm (parts per million) free water.
Military jet fuels
Military organizations around the world use a different classification system of JP (for "Jet Propellant") numbers. Some are almost identical to their civilian counterparts and differ only by the amounts of a few additives; Jet A-1 is similar to JP-8, Jet B is similar to JP-4.
- JP-1
- was an early jet fuel
[ Aviation Fuel - US Centennial of Flight Commission, Retrieved 3 January 2012] specified in 1944 by the United States government (AN-F-32). It was a pure kerosene fuel with high flash point (relative to aviation gasoline) and a freezing point of . The low freezing point requirement limited availability of the fuel and it was soon superseded by other "wide cut" jet fuels which were kerosene-naphtha or kerosene-gasoline blends. It was also known as avtur.
- JP-2
- an obsolete type developed during World War II. JP-2 was intended to be easier to produce than JP-1 since it had a higher freezing point, but was never widely used.
[Larry Reithmaier, Mach 1 and Beyond: The Illustrated Guide to High-Speed Flight, (McGraw-Hill Professional, 1994), , page 104]
- JP-3
- was an attempt to improve availability of the fuel compared to JP-1 by widening the cut and loosening tolerances on impurities to ensure ready supply. In his book Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants, John D. Clark described the specification as, "remarkably liberal, with a wide cut (range of distillation temperatures) and with such permissive limits on olefins and aromatics that any refinery above the level of a Kentucky moonshiner's pot still could convert at least half of any crude to jet fuel".
- JP-4
- was a 50-50 kerosene-gasoline blend. It had lower flash point than JP-1, but was preferred because of its greater availability. It was the primary United States Air Force jet fuel between 1951 and 1995. Its NATO code is F-40. It is also known as avtag.
- JP-5
- is a yellow kerosene-based jet fuel developed in 1952 for use in aircraft stationed aboard , where the risk from fire is particularly great. JP-5 is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, containing , Cycloalkane, and aromatic hydrocarbons that weighs and has a high flash point (min. ).
[ Characteristics of Fuels Marine Corps Schools Detachment — Ft. Leonard Wood] Because some US naval air stations, Marine Corps air stations and Coast Guard air stations host both sea and land based naval aircraft, these installations will also typically fuel their shore-based aircraft with JP-5, thus precluding the need to maintain separate fuel facilities for JP-5 and non-JP-5 fuel. Similarly, China named their navy fuel RP-5.[ UK MOD DEF STAN 23-8 ISSUE 2 ]
- The JP-4 and JP-5 fuels, covered by the MIL-DTL-5624 and meeting the British Specification DEF STAN 91-86 AVCAT/FSII (formerly DERD 2452),
- JP-6
- was developed for the General Electric YJ93 afterburning turbojet engines used in the North American XB-70 Valkyrie for sustained flight at Mach 3. It was similar to JP-5 but with a lower freezing point and improved thermal oxidative stability. When the XB-70 program was cancelled, the JP-6 specification, MIL-J-25656, was also cancelled.
[ The History of Jet Fuel Air BP]
- JP-7
- was developed for the Pratt & Whitney J58 afterburning turbojet engines used in the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird for sustained flight at Mach 3+. It had a high flash point required to prevent boiloff caused by aerodynamic heating. Its thermal stability was high enough to prevent coke and varnish deposits when used as a heat-sink for aircraft air conditioning and hydraulic systems and engine accessories.
- JP-8
- is a jet fuel, specified and used widely by the U.S. military. It is specified by MIL-DTL-83133 and British Defence Standard 91-87. JP-8 is a kerosene-based fuel, projected to remain in use at least until 2025. The United States military uses JP-8 as a "universal fuel" in both turbine-powered aircraft and diesel-powered ground vehicles. It was first introduced at NATO bases in 1978. Its NATO code is F-34.
- JP-9
- is a gas turbine fuel for missiles, specifically the Tomahawk cruise missile, containing the TH-dimer (tetrahydrodimethyldicyclopentadiene) produced by catalytic hydrogenation of methylpentadiene dimer.
- JP-10
- is a gas turbine fuel for missiles, specifically the AGM-86 ALCM cruise missile.
- JPTS
- was a combination of LF-1 charcoal lighter fluid and an additive to improve thermal oxidative stability officially known as "Thermally Stable Jet Fuel". It was developed in 1956 for the Pratt & Whitney J57 engine which powered the Lockheed U-2 spy plane.
[ DTIC ADA186752: Military Jet Fuels, 1944-1987, Defense Technical Information Center, p. 5]
- Zip fuel
- designates a series of experimental boron-containing "high energy fuels" intended for long range aircraft. The toxicity and undesirable residues of the fuel made it difficult to use. The development of the ballistic missile removed the principal application of zip fuel.
- Syntroleum
- has been working with the USAF to develop a synthetic jet fuel blend that will help them reduce their dependence on imported petroleum. The USAF, which is the United States military's largest user of fuel, began exploring alternative fuel sources in 1999. On December 15, 2006, a B-52 took off from Edwards Air Force Base for the first time powered solely by a 50–50 blend of JP-8 and Syntroleum's FT fuel. The seven-hour flight test was considered a success. The goal of the flight test program was to qualify the fuel blend for fleet use on the service's B-52s, and then flight test and qualification on other aircraft.
Piston engine use
Jet fuel is very similar to diesel fuel, and in some cases, may be used in . The possibility of environmental legislation banning the use of Tetraethyllead avgas (fuel in spark-ignited internal combustion engine, which usually contains tetraethyllead (TEL), a toxic substance added to prevent engine knocking), and the lack of a replacement fuel with similar performance, has left aircraft designers and pilot's organizations searching for alternative engines for use in small aircraft.[ Planemakers challenged to find unleaded fuel option - The Wichita Eagle ] As a result, a few aircraft engine manufacturers, most notably Thielert and Austro Engine, have begun offering aircraft diesel engines which run on jet fuel which may simplify airport logistics by reducing the number of fuel types required. Jet fuel is available in most places in the world, whereas avgas is only widely available in a few countries which have a large number of general aviation aircraft. A diesel engine may be more fuel-efficient than an avgas engine. However, very few diesel aircraft engines have been certified by aviation authorities. Diesel aircraft engines are uncommon today, even though opposed-piston aviation diesel powerplants such as the Junkers Jumo 205 family had been used during the Second World War.
Jet fuel is often used in diesel-powered ground-support vehicles at airports. However, jet fuel tends to have poor lubricating ability in comparison to diesel, which increases wear in fuel injection equipment. An additive may be required to restore its lubricity. Jet fuel is more expensive than diesel fuel but the logistical advantages of using one fuel can offset the extra expense of its use in certain circumstances.
Jet fuel contains more sulfur, up to 1,000 ppm, which therefore means it has better lubricity and does not currently require a lubricity additive as all pipeline diesel fuels require. The introduction of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel or ULSD brought with it the need for lubricity modifiers. Pipeline diesels before ULSD were able to contain up to 500 ppm of sulfur and were called Low Sulfur Diesel or LSD. In the United States LSD is now only available to the off-road construction, locomotive and marine markets. As more EPA regulations are introduced, more refineries are hydrotreating their jet fuel production, thus limiting the lubricating abilities of jet fuel, as determined by ASTM Standard D445.
JP-8, which is similar to Jet A-1, is used in NATO diesel vehicles as part of the single-fuel policy.
Synthetic jet fuel
Fischer–Tropsch (FT) Aviation biofuel (SPK) synthetic fuels are certified for use in United States and international aviation fleets at up to 50% in a blend with conventional jet fuel.
Some synthetic jet fuels show a reduction in pollutants such as SOx, NOx, particulate matter, and sometimes carbon emissions.
Qatar Airways became the first airline to operate a commercial flight on a 50:50 blend of synthetic Gas to Liquid (GTL) jet fuel and conventional jet fuel. The natural gas derived synthetic kerosene for the six-hour flight from London to Doha came from Shell's GTL plant in Bintulu, Malaysia.
Chemist Heather Willauer is leading a team of researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory who are developing a process to make jet fuel from seawater. The technology requires an input of electrical energy to separate Oxygen (O2) and Hydrogen (H2) gas from seawater using an iron-based catalyst, followed by an step wherein carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen are recombined into long-chain hydrocarbons, using zeolite as the catalyst. The technology is expected to be deployed in the 2020s by U.S. Navy warships, especially nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
On February 8, 2021, the world's first scheduled passenger flight flew with some synthetic kerosene from a non-fossil fuel source. 500 liters of synthetic kerosene was mixed with regular jet fuel. Synthetic kerosene was produced by Shell and the flight was operated by KLM.
USAF synthetic fuel trials
On August 8, 2007, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne certified the B-52H as fully approved to use the FT blend, marking the formal conclusion of the test program.
This program is part of the Department of Defense Assured Fuel Initiative, an effort to develop secure domestic sources for the military energy needs. The Pentagon hopes to reduce its use of crude oil from foreign producers and obtain about half of its aviation fuel from alternative sources by 2016. With the B-52 now approved to use the FT blend, the USAF will use the test protocols developed during the program to certify the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and then the Rockwell B-1B Lancer to use the fuel. To test these two aircraft, the USAF has ordered of FT fuel. The USAF intends to test and certify every airframe in its inventory to use the fuel by 2011. They will also supply over to NASA for testing in various aircraft and engines.
The USAF has certified the B-1B, B-52H, C-17, Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom (as QF-4 ), McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, and Northrop T-38 Talon to use the synthetic fuel blend.
The U.S. Air Force's C-17 Globemaster III, F-16 and F-15 are certified for use of hydrotreated renewable jet fuels.
In April 2011, four USAF F-15E Strike Eagles flew over the Philadelphia Phillies opening ceremony using a blend of traditional jet fuel and synthetic biofuels. This flyover made history as it was the first flyover to use biofuels in the Department of Defense.
Jet biofuels
The air transport industry is responsible for 2–3 percent of man-made carbon dioxide emitted.
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Green Flight International became the first airline to fly jet aircraft on 100% biofuel. The flight from Reno Stead Airport in Stead, Nevada was in an Aero L-29 Delfín piloted by Carol Sugars and Douglas Rodante.
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Boeing and Air New Zealand are collaborating with Tecbio
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Virgin Atlantic successfully tested a biofuel blend consisting of 20 percent Babassu oil and coconut and 80 percent conventional jet fuel, which was fed to a single engine on a 747 flight from London Heathrow to Amsterdam Schiphol.
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A consortium consisting of Boeing, NASA's Glenn Research Center, MTU Aero Engines (Germany), and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory is working on development of jet fuel blends containing a substantial percentage of biofuel.
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British Airways and Velocys have entered into a partnership in the UK to design a series of plants that convert household waste into jet fuel.
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24 commercial and military biofuel flights have taken place using Honeywell “Green Jet Fuel,” including a Navy F/A-18 Hornet.
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In 2011, United Continental Holdings was the first United States airline to fly passengers on a commercial flight using a blend of sustainable, advanced biofuels and traditional petroleum-derived jet fuel. Solazyme developed the algae oil, which was refined utilizing Honeywell's UOP process technology, into jet fuel to power the commercial flight.
Solazyme produced the world's first 100 percent algae-derived jet fuel, Solajet, for both commercial and military applications.
Oil prices increased about fivefold from 2003 to 2008, raising fears that world petroleum production is becoming peak oil. The fact that there are few alternatives to petroleum for aviation fuel adds urgency to the search for alternatives. Twenty-five airlines were bankrupted or stopped operations in the first six months of 2008, largely due to fuel costs.
In 2015 ASTM approved a modification to Specification D1655 Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuels to permit up to 50 ppm (50 mg/kg) of FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) in jet fuel to allow higher cross-contamination from biofuel production.
Worldwide consumption of jet fuel
Worldwide demand of jet fuel has been steadily increasing since 1980. Consumption more than tripled in 30 years from 1,837,000 barrels/day in 1980, to 5,220,000 in 2010.
Taxation
Article 24 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation of 7 December 1944 stipulates that when flying from one contracting state to another, the fuel that is already on board aircraft may not be taxed by the state where the aircraft lands, nor by a state through whose airspace the aircraft has flown. This is to prevent double taxation. It is sometimes suggested that the Chicago Convention precludes the taxation of aviation fuel. However, this is not correct. The Chicago Convention does not preclude a fuel tax on domestic flights or on refuelling before international flights.
Article 15 of the Chicago Convention is also sometimes said to ban fuel taxes. Article 15 states: "No fees, dues or other charges shall be imposed by any contracting State in respect solely of the right of transit over or entry into or exit from its territory of any aircraft of a contracting State or persons or property thereon." However, ICAO distinguishes between charges and taxes, and Article 15 does not prohibit the levying of taxes without a service
provided.
In the European Union, commercial aviation fuel is exempt from taxation, according to the 2003 Energy Taxation Directive.
In the United States, most states tax jet fuel.
Health effects
General health hazards associated with exposure to jet fuel vary according to its components, exposure duration (acute vs. long-term), route of administration (dermal vs. respiratory vs. oral), and exposure phase (vapor vs. aerosol vs. raw fuel).
See also
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Index of aviation articles
Notes
Further reading
External links
