Aviation fuels

Aviation fuel is a specialized type of petroleum-based fuel used to power aircraft. It is generally of a higher quality than fuels used in less critical applications, such as heating or road transport, and often contains additives to reduce the risk of icing or explosion due to high temperature, among other properties.

Most current commercial airlines and military aircraft use jet fuel for maximum fuel efficiency and lowest cost. These aircraft account for the vast majority of aviation fuel refined today, which is also used in diesel aircraft engines. Other aviation fuels available for aircraft are kinds of petroleum spirit used in engines with spark plugs (i.e. piston and Wankel rotary engines).

Specific energy is the important criterion in selecting an appropriate fuel to power an aircraft. Much of the weight of an aircraft goes into fuel storage to provide the range, and more weight means more fuel consumption. Aircraft have a high peak power and thus fuel demand during take-off and landing. Electric batteries are effectively ruled out as the main propulsion energy store for commercial aircraft.

Jet fuel is a clear to straw-colored fuel, based on either an unleaded kerosene (Jet A-1), or a naphtha-kerosene blend (Jet B). It is similar to diesel fuel, and can be used in either compression ignition engines or turbine engines.

Jet-A powers modern commercial airliners and is a mix of pure kerosene and burns at temperatures at or above 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit). Kerosene-based fuel has a much higher flash point than gasoline-based fuel, meaning that it requires significantly higher temperature to ignite. It is a high-quality fuel; if it fails the purity and other quality tests for use on jet aircraft, it is sold to other ground-based users with less demanding requirements, like railroad engines.

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