Re: what is distillate???????

Posted by Steve - IN on November 11, 2003 at 21:37:14 from (12.222.30.13):

In Reply to: what is distillate??????? posted by ronda on November 11, 2003 at 19:34:58:

ronda,

All tractor fuels are "distilled" or burned off from crude oil. The lighter stuff with fewer carbon molecules, like paint thinner, comes off first. Then you get gasolines with 6,7,8,9 carbon atoms per molecule. Then comes the heavier fuels like kerosene (a.k.a. distillate) with 11 to 14 carbons atoms per molecule. Then come heavier fuels like Diesel and heating oil. Then the heavy stuff like motor oil, and asphalt are last in line.

When that distillate tractor was built, there was more demand for gasoline in cars than there was for kerosene - so it was a lot cheaper then than gas. Now that we have turbine jets that burn kerosene, the price has gone up. There's little savings in burning kerosene anymore.

When distillate did mean fuel cost savings, you had to modify the engine to burn kerosene. First it is easier to start on gas than kero, so you see two tank and a switchover valve on the kero engine. Second kero has more carbons per molecule than gasoline - so you have to change the carb / intake to add heat so it stays as a mist and doesn't fall out as a liquid when it's cold - so you had to add ducts to heat the carb/intake manifold. Next and last, kero has more hydrogen atoms per molecule than gas - so it makes a bigger explosion when it does fire. The engine is basically an air pump. So if the amount of explosion is greater, you have to make less pressure in the air pump (called compression ratio in an engine) to compensate.

They used to say better living through chemistry - that may not be true - but different engines from different chemistry surely is.

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