ABSTRACT
Jet fuel has about the same boiling range as ordinary kerosene but is more highly refined to satisfy performance requirements. The main issues of concern in jet fuel performance are low-temperature behavior, smoke formation, thermal stability, and lubricity. When the commercial jet industry was developing in the 1950s, kerosene-type fuel was chosen as having the best combination of properties, although wide-cut fuel is still used in some parts of Canada and Alaska because it is well suited to cold climates. Viscosity and freezing points are the physical properties used to characterize the fluidity of jet fuel. Volatility is a fuel’s tendency to vaporize and for jet fuel is measured by its distillation profile, vapor pressure, and flash point. Commercial jet fuels are designed to be thermally stable at temperatures as high as 163 °C. The combustion characteristics of jet fuels are described by the net heat of combustion, smoke point, and naphthalene content.
