Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Diesel Fuel
Diesel Fuel
Trucks Locomotives And now passenger cars Ships Stationary Applications Power generation Pump sets in agriculture
Refinery Capacity
Increased consumption of diesel fuel will increase crude oil consumption because diesel oil density is more. Refinery energy consumption decreases slightly as diesel production increases (according to one estimate). But to cater to increased diesel production, existing facilities must be expanded and will increase costs (so lower diesel cost benefit will be lost). But there could be a reduced crude oil usage with increased diesel production.
Indian context
In India we have two types of diesel fuels: 1. High speed diesel (HSD) used in automotive applications and 2. Light diesel oil (LDO) used in stationary applications.
Diesel fuel properties are influenced by the source of the crude oil and the method of refining.
1.
2 3 4 5
n-paraffins
Iso-paraffins Cycloparaffins Benzenes Naphthalenes
Low specific gravity & high cetane number Same sp.gr. as 1 but lower cetane no. & B.P. Higher sp.gr. than 1 but lower cetane number Higher sp.gr & B.P. but lower cetane no. than 1-3 Highest sp.gr & B.P. & lowest cetane no.
4.
5.
6.
Important Properties
1. Relative density or specific gravity 2. API gravity given by:
API gravity 141.5 specific gravity at 60o F 60o F 131.5
3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Flash point (usually above 130 deg.C) Fire point (about 10-15 deg higher) Sulfur content (must be very low) Carbon residue (must be low-deposit problem) Ash (must be low-abrasion problem)
Aniline Point
This is an approximate measure of the aromatic content of a hydrocarbon fuel. It is defined as the lowest temperature at which a fuel oil is completely miscible with an equal volume of aniline. Aniline is an aromatic compound and aromatics are more miscible in aniline than are paraffins. Hence, the lower the aniline point, the higher the aromatics content in the fuel oil. The higher the aromatics content, the lower the cetane number of the fuel. The aniline point can thus be used to indicate the probable ignition behavior of a diesel fuel.
Diesel Index
The Diesel Index indicates the ignition quality of the fuel. It is found to correlate, approximately, to the cetane number of commercial fuels. It is obtained by the following equation
Diesel Index aniline po int o F x Degrees API gravity 60 o F 100
Diesel Index and cetane number are usually about 50. Lower values will result in smoky exhaust
Other Properties
1. Pour point mainly for low temperature applications 2. Calorific value mainly for those fuels which come under the category of fuel oils and residual oils which have very high molecular weight and viscosity
Cetane Improvers
These are compounds that readily decompose to give free radicals and thus enhance the rate of chain initiation in diesel combustion. They promote fast oxidation of fuels and thus improve their ignition characteristics. Chemical compounds such as alkyl nitrates, ether nitrates, dinitrates of polyethylene glycols and certain peroxides are well known cetane improvers. In general, however, in view of their low cost and ease of handling, most commercial significance has been attached to different primary alkyl nitrates.