Jet and diesel fuel specifications help insure proper safety and engine performance. Metrics used for quantifying fuel ignition delay in engines include cetane number (CN) and derived cetane number (DCN). The cetane index (CI) correlations (ASTM methods D4737; D97606) estimate these values using density and distillation curve data, but the correlations were designed mostly for diesel fuel. Jet fuels and alternative fuels differ in composition from the fuels used in ASTM method development, so the CI may incorrectly predict CN and DCN. In this study, comparisons were made between DCNs or CNs and the corresponding CIs of various fuel-related systems to determine where the correlation predictions fail. The study examined bio-based and petroleum-based fuels, primary reference fuels, secondary reference fuels, pure components, mixtures of pure components with jet fuel, and surrogate fuel mixtures. For low cetane systems, isoalkanes were shown to cause the CI to overpredict the CN and DCN.

Evaluation of cetane index predictions of fuels, fuel mixtures cetane index predictions of fuels, fuel mixtures, and fuel surrogates

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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