What is jet 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.

What is the main ingredient in jet fuel?

A blend of approximately 30% kerosene and 70% gasoline, it is known as wide-cut fuel. It has a very low freezing point of −60 °C (−76 °F), and a low flash point as well. It is primarily used in some military aircraft.

Is kerosene and jet fuel the same?

Jet fuel (Jet A-1, kerosene)

The fuel type is kerosene. Jet A-1 has a flash point higher than 38°C and a freezing point of -47°C. Jet A is a similar kerosene fuel type that is normally available only in the U.S. After refining, aviation fuel is mixed with extremely small amounts of several additives.

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. Other discussion points in the conversation about jet fuel vs. gasoline are discussed below.

Why kerosene is used as jet fuel?

Aviation kerosene has a freezing point of -47 °C. Planes fly at extremely high altitudes, which means they spend a lot of airtime in sub-zero temperatures. As a result, planes need to use fuel with a low freezing point – like kerosene - so the fuel functions properly without solidifying during the flight.

How Aviation Fuel Differs From Regular Fuel

Can a car run on jet fuel?

Jet fuel can actually be used in cars, but only in diesel engines. Kerosene jet fuel and diesel are actually similar enough to allow for cross-functionality and would provide a similar performance. Although, I wouldn't recommend running a jet on diesel.

Can you mix jet fuel with gasoline?

The simple answer is no. In fact, if you put jet fuel in your gas tank, the vehicle won't go at all. At least not for long. While jet fuel certainly sounds more potent than standard gas, it offers no benefit for your vehicle and will cause it to stall out.

What's the octane of jet fuel?

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.

What temperature does jet fuel freeze?

Jet fuel freezes at around -40 degrees Fahrenheit, but it will work just fine as long as it's kept above that temperature on the ground. Once the plane is moving, the fuel is heated as it passes through the engine — and crew members carefully monitor fuel temperatures during flight.

What fuel does helicopter use?

Jet fuel is a gas turbine fuel used in propeller and jet aircraft and helicopters.

How do airports get jet fuel?

Generally, fuel is supplied to airports through a combination of interstate multiproduct pipelines, third-party and off-airport terminals, and dedicated local pipelines.

Can you buy jet fuel?

Although the fuel consortiums do not buy, sell, or own any jet fuel, they assist their member airlines in controlling the cost of delivering the fuel to their member airlines' aircraft. In a highly competitive business, the fuel consortiums stand out as an example of cooperation among the consortium member airlines.

Why is jet fuel cheaper than gasoline?

Jet A fuel costs less than 100LL (avgas) fuel because it is less complicated and expensive to manufacture, less expensive to transport via pipelines, and used in significantly higher quantities leading to economies of scale.

Why don't we use kerosene in cars?

Kerosene due to its density, has less lubricity which can result in the multiple wear and tear in the mechanism of automobiles which can burnout and being highly combustible, it might result in serious incidents.

What type of fuel does the military use?

Under this policy, which has since been further standardized with our NATO allies, the United States military predominantly uses JP-8 fuel to run its ground vehicles and land-based aircraft.

How much does a gallon of jet fuel weigh?

One gallon of jet fuel weighs about 6.47-7.01 pounds.

Does a plane dump fuel before landing?

Airplane fuel can be quite heavy, sometimes weighing as much as 6 pounds a gallon. If an airplane holds 5,000 gallons of fuel, that can add up to 30,000 lbs. to the plane's weight. In fact, lowering its weight is the main reason why airplanes dump fuel right before landing.

How heavy is jet fuel?

Close to 100LL, which weighs approximately 6 pounds per gallon.

Can a spark ignite jet fuel?

Sparks and static electricity can easily ignite gasoline fumes. Aviation fuels fall mainly into two categories, aviation gasoline - commonly abbreviated to “avgas” - and the variants of paraffin (kerosene) used by all gas turbine engines and loosely described as "jet fuel".

Why is jet fuel blue?

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.

What fuel did ww2 planes use?

The 100/130 avgas was just what the high-powered military aircraft used in World War II needed. These fuels allowed the Allied aircraft engine manufacturers to greatly increase the compression ratios and performance of their engines and gave the Allied forces a significant advantage over the German and Japanese forces.

What does a gallon of jet fuel cost?

Jet A Fuel

As of April 15, 2021, Jet Fuel A was priced at an average of $4.81 per gallon in the United States. If you multiply that by the typical tank size of a commercial aircraft (3,500 gallons), filling up your plane with Jet A fuel may cost you somewhere around $16,835 in total.

How much fuel does a 747 hold?

Let's start with a look at the most famous of jets, the Boeing 747. The Boeing website states that this model, with a gas tank capacity of 63,500 gallons, may burn five gallons of jet fuel per mile of flight. A 4,000-mile flight, then, requires 20,000 gallons of fuel.

What is the highest octane fuel?

Premium (the highest octane fuel–generally 91–94)