Advanced thermally stable jet fuels

Technical Report · Sun Jan 31 04:00:00 EST 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/775227· OSTI ID:775227

Schobert, H H

The Pennsylvania State University program in advanced thermally stable coal-based jet fuels has five broad objectives: (1) Development of mechanisms of degradation and solids formation; (2) Quantitative measurement of growth of sub-micrometer and micrometer-sized particles suspended in fuels during thermal stressing; (3) Characterization of carbonaceous deposits by various instrumental and microscopic methods; (4) Elucidation of the role of additives in retarding the formation of carbonaceous solids; (5) Assessment of the potential of production of high yields of cycloalkanes by direct liquefaction of coal. Future high-Mach aircraft will place severe thermal demands on jet fuels, requiring the development of novel, hybrid fuel mixtures capable of withstanding temperatures in the range of 400--500 C. In the new aircraft, jet fuel will serve as both an energy source and a heat sink for cooling the airframe, engine, and system components. The ultimate development of such advanced fuels requires a thorough understanding of the thermal decomposition behavior of jet fuels under supercritical conditions. Considering that jet fuels consist of hundreds of compounds, this task must begin with a study of the thermal degradation behavior of select model compounds under supercritical conditions. The research performed by The Pennsylvania State University was focused on five major tasks that reflect the objectives stated above: Task 1: Investigation of the Quantitative Degradation of Fuels; Task 2: Investigation of Incipient Deposition; Task 3: Characterization of Solid Gums, Sediments, and Carbonaceous Deposits; Task 4: Coal-Based Fuel Stabilization Studies; and Task 5: Exploratory Studies on the Direct Conversion of Coal to High Quality Jet Fuels. The major findings of each of these tasks are presented in this executive summary. A description of the sub-tasks performed under each of these tasks and the findings of those studies are provided in the remainder of this volume (Sections 1 through 5).

• Research Organization: Federal Energy Technology Center, Morgantown, WV (US); Federal Energy Technology Center, Pittsburgh, PA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: FG22-92PC92104
• OSTI ID: 775227
• Report Number(s): DE--FG22-92PC92104-08
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
02 PETROLEUM
AIRCRAFT
COAL LIQUEFACTION
CYCLOALKANES
FUEL ADDITIVES
HEAT SINKS
JET ENGINE FUELS
PYROLYSIS
THERMAL DEGRADATION