National Academies Press: OpenBook

Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors (1996)

Chapter: PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MILITARY FUELS

« Previous: INTRODUCTION
Suggested Citation:"PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MILITARY FUELS." National Research Council. 1996. Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9133.
×

2

Physical and Chemical Properties of Military Fuels

Jet fuels and diesel fuel marine (DFM) are complex mixtures of hydrocarbons produced by distillation of crude oil. They contain hundreds of hydrocarbons as well as many additives. The actual composition of any given fuel varies depending upon source of the crude oil, refinery processes, and product specifications. The hydrocarbons in jet and diesel fuels are less volatile than those in gasoline. JP-5 is a high-flash-point jet fuel developed by the Navy. JP-5 is a specifically refined type of kerosene consisting of C9-C16 paraffins (53%), cycloparaffins (31%), aromatics (16%), and olefins (0.5%). The aromatic content of JP-5 might vary from less than 2.5% to greater than 22% by volume. The benzene content of JP-5 is typically less than 0.02% (Dollarhide, 1992), and a small amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons might be present in JP-5. Because water contamination in aviation fuels is a serious problem, a fuel-system icing inhibitor is added to the fuel to eliminate the formation of ice in

Suggested Citation:"PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MILITARY FUELS." National Research Council. 1996. Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9133.
×

aircraft systems. JP-8 is similar to commercial jet A-1 fuel. JP-8 was developed for the Air Force to provide a safe kerosene-based jet fuel that would still have adequate reliability and an acceptable freezing point. DFM is a blend of diesel fuel that is basically the same as kerosene to which high-boiling-point fractions and high-boiling-point residual oils have been added. Diesel fuels consist primarily of C9-C20 hydrocarbons. For DFM, these are roughly 13% paraffins, 44% aromatics, and 44% naphthalenes. DFM might also contain less than 10% polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

In considering the potential toxicity of the fuel vapors, it is important to note that many compounds in the fuel do not exist in the vapors (Bishop, 1982). The toxicity of the more-volatile fractions of the fuel is considered in this report and not the toxicity of the total fuel. The composition of the vapors from the three fuels under consideration are expected to be similar since the fuels are made by mixing kerosene with different amounts of low-boiling-point distillates.

The physical and chemical properties of military fuels JP-5, JP-8, and DFM are described below.

Suggested Citation:"PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MILITARY FUELS." National Research Council. 1996. Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9133.
×

JET-PROPULSION FUEL 5

Molecular weight:

≈185

Synonyms:

Jet fuel JP-5, MIL-T-5624M, AVCAT

Freezing point, maximum:

-46°C

Boiling point:

156-293°C

Initial point:

182°C (156-191°C)

10% evaporated:

199°C ( 180-211°C)

20% evaporated:

207°C (199-213°C)

50% evaporated:

220°C (212-229°C)

90% evaporated:

246°C (236-275°C)

End point:

166°C (248-293°C)

Flash point, minimum:

60°C

Vapor pressure:

0.52 mm Hg (10°C) 1.8 mm Hg (28°C)

Specific gravity, kg/L, 15°C,

Minimum:

0.788

Maximum:

0.834

Heating value, Btu/lb,

minimum:

18,300

Autoignition temperature:

246°C

Viscosity, maximum at -20°C:

8.5

Composition:

C9–C16 paraffins, vol % ≈ 53%;

cycloparaffins, vol % ≈ 31%;

aromatics, vol % ≈ 16%;

olefins, vol % ≈ 0.5%.

Aromatics typical of cracked gasoline and kerosene include benzene, alkyl benzenes, toluene, xylene, indenes, naphthalenes. Benzene content = 0.02%.

Conversion factors at standard temperature and pressure:

1 ppm = 8.3 mg/m3

1 mg/m3 = 0.12 ppm

Suggested Citation:"PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MILITARY FUELS." National Research Council. 1996. Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9133.
×

JET-PROPULSION FUEL 8

Molecular weight:

≈180

Synonyms:

Jet fuel JP-8, MIL-T-83133B, AVTUR

Freezing point, maximum:

-47°C

Boiling point:

175-300°C

10% recovered, maximum:

205°C

End point, maximum:

300°C

Flash point, minimum:

38°C

Vapor pressure:

0.52 mm Hg (10°C) 1.8 mm Hg (28°C)

Specific gravity, kg/L, 15°C,

Minimum:

0.775

Maximum:

0.840

Heating value, Btu/lb,

minimum:

18,400

Viscosity, maximum at -20°C:

8

Composition:

C8–C9 aliphatic hydrocarbons,

vol % ≈ 9% C10–C14 aliphatic

hydrocarbons, vol % ≈ 65%;

C15–C17 aliphatic

hydrocarbons, vol % ≈ 7%;

aromatics, vol % ≈ 18%.

Aromatics typical of cracked gasoline and kerosene include benzene, alkyl benzenes, toluene, xylene, indenes, naphthalenes.

Conversion factors at standard temperature and pressure:

1 ppm = 8.0 mg/m3

1 mg/m3 = 0.12 ppm

Suggested Citation:"PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MILITARY FUELS." National Research Council. 1996. Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9133.
×

DIESEL FUEL MARINE

Molecular weight:

198-202

Synonyms:

DMF, diesel, petroleum, diesel fuel no. 4, distillate

Freezing point, maximum:

NA

Boiling point, 760 mm Hg:

220-400°C

90% recovery,

Minimum:

282°C

Maximum:

338°C

Specific gravity, kg/L, 15°C:

0.87

Viscosity, 40°C:

1.9-4.1

Vapor density (air = 1):

8

% volatile by volume at 38°C:

Negligible

Flash point:

52°C

Autoignition temperature:

257°C

Composition:

C9–C20 paraffins, vol % ≈ 13%;

aromatics, vol % ≈ 44%;

naphthalenes, vol % ≈ 44%;

may contain some (< 10%)

polycyclic aromatic

hydrocarbon.

Conversion factors at standard temperature and pressure:

1 ppm = 8.9 mg/m3

1 mg/m3 = 0.11 ppm

Suggested Citation:"PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MILITARY FUELS." National Research Council. 1996. Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9133.
×
Page 13
Suggested Citation:"PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MILITARY FUELS." National Research Council. 1996. Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9133.
×
Page 14
Suggested Citation:"PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MILITARY FUELS." National Research Council. 1996. Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9133.
×
Page 15
Suggested Citation:"PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MILITARY FUELS." National Research Council. 1996. Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9133.
×
Page 16
Suggested Citation:"PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MILITARY FUELS." National Research Council. 1996. Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9133.
×
Page 17
Next: TOXICOKINETICS OF MILITARY FUELS »
Permissible Exposure Levels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors Get This Book
×
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!