Diesel fuel is quite old butStill demanded type of fuel for piston diesel engines. And if earlier its area of application was limited due to poor quality and toxic products of combustion, now more and more cars are equipped with diesel engines, and scientists are working to improve performance and make diesel fuel environmentally friendly.
What is diesel fuel
Diesel fuel is a heavy fraction of oil, which are based on hydrocarbons with a high - 200-350 ° C - boiling point. Used as a fuel in diesel engines and gas diesel engines.
Why precisely in diesel?Because unlike gasoline engines, in which a mixture of gasoline and air is ignited by a spark, in a diesel piston engine, the fuel self-ignites with strong compression.
Externally, diesel fuel is transparent, with a greater viscosity than gasoline, a liquid whose color can be both yellow and brown in different shades. The color is affected by resins in the fuel composition.
When burned, any fuel produces energy.Diesel fuel, in addition to this main task, performs several important functions in the operation of the engine. It lubricates sliding surfaces in fuel injectors and pumps, cools the walls of the combustion chamber and regulates exhaust parameters on engines.
Diesel use
Sea and river ships, diesel locomotives, military and agricultural machinery, trucks - almost all heavy vehicles run on diesel engines.
Last decades popular in developedEurope becomes a passenger car that runs on diesel. Fuel consumption by 40% in a diesel engine is less, and the tractive effort, power, throughput and safety of exhaust gases are higher than in gasoline.
Diesel fuel is economical to operate.and the cost of fuel. It is used in diesel electric generators of stationary and mobile power plants, in boilers of autonomous heating systems.
Solar oil, which is popularly called simplydiesel fuel is a residual diesel fuel with high viscosity and boiling point up to 400 ° C. This type of fuel is used for low-speed engines on water and railway transport, tractors. In addition, solarium impregnated skin in the leather industry. Solar oil is part of the lubricant-coolant during the processing of metals by cutting and quenching fluid during their heat treatment.
Main characteristics
Cetane number (the main parameter of dieselfuel) characterizes the flammability of the fuel. It determines the period of delay of combustion of the working mixture, that is, the time that passes between the injection of fuel into the cylinder and the beginning of its combustion. The shorter this period of time, the higher the cetane number, and the duration of engine warming up is shorter. True, this increases the opacity of the exhaust, which becomes critical when the cetane number is above 55.
For fuel injection and injection processes, its viscosity is important, on which the lubricating characteristics also depend.
Its density and efficiency depend on the density of diesel fuel, because the higher the density, the more energy is generated during combustion.
An important characteristic is the amount of sulfur that diesel fuel contains. These are sulfur compounds that reduce the corrosion resistance of the fuel system.
On the quality of diesel fuel says andthe limiting temperature of filterability, that is, such a temperature at which diesel fuel thickens so that it does not pass at all or very slowly passes through a filter with certain dimensions.
It is below the cloud point, that is, the temperature at which the paraffin contained in the fuel begins to crystallize.
Types of diesel fuel
Until 2015, diesel fuel in Russian standardsdivided by species. In the state standard, introduced in January 2015, the division coincides with the division into environmental classes in accordance with the European standard and occurs depending on the sulfur content in the fuel. The sulfur content of not more than 350, 50 and 10 mg / kg corresponds to type I, type II and type III for obsolete and environmental classes K3, K4 and K5 for the new state standard, respectively.
It is not recommended to use fuel in whichhigh sulfur content, as this increases the harmful emissions into the atmosphere, accelerates corrosion and wear of the fuel system elements, respectively, increases the cost of frequent replacement of filters and oil.
Diesel grades
Diesel grades differ intemperature below which fuel cannot be used. The limiting temperature of filterability is used as a criterion. Moreover, summer and off-season diesel fuel is broken down by grade with this indicator not lower than -20 ° С.
Grade A is characterized by a temperature not lower than 5 ° C above zero. For each of the following grades B, C, D, E and F, the index decreases by 5 ° C.
An example would be EURO diesel fuel,grade C, type II and III or in the new version of ecological classes K4 and K5 with a filterability temperature up to five degrees below zero and a sulfur content not exceeding 50 and 10 milligrams per kilogram of fuel.
Diesel Classes
The division into classes of diesel fuel for winter or cold climates occurs not only by the filterability temperature, the second characteristic is the cloud point.
Diesel grade | The maximum temperature filterability, ° C | Cloud point, ° С | |
1 | 0 | -20 | -10 |
2 | 1 | -26 | -16 |
3 | 2 | -32 | -22 |
4 | 3 | -38 | -28 |
5 | 4 | -44 | -34 |
If in the designation of diesel fuel after the designation of diesel fuel there is not a letter, but a number, then it is winter or arctic fuel.
Diesel brands
According to the physico-chemical properties, performance characteristics and conditions of use, diesel fuel is divided into four types, which are marked with capital letters of the alphabet:
- Summer (L), which includes fuel types A, B, C, D with a maximum filterability temperature from +5 to -10 ° C. This diesel fuel can be used at temperatures not lower than 0 ° C.
- Interseasonal (E), varieties E and F, with temperatures up to -15 and -20 ° C, respectively, used in the fall, when the air temperature ranges from +5 to -5 ° C.
- Winter (B), which is divided into classes from 0 to 3 and filterability temperature in the range from -20 to -38 ° C and is used at air temperature not lower than minus 20 ° C
- Arctic (A) class 4 fuel with a limitfilterability temperature minus 44 ° С and ambient temperature up to minus 50 ° С (in documents a negative value is often accompanied by the word “minus” rather than an icon to avoid inaccuracies).
Fuel marking
Марки дизельного топлива включают наименование (DT), grade or class depending on the conditions of use and environmental class. That is, the mark contains only two parameters: the sulfur content and the limiting filterability temperature.
Today it is possible to meet designations and new, andobsolete, for example, diesel fuel winter EURO 5 grade F, which stands for winter diesel fuel with a sulfur content of not more than 50 mg / kg and a maximum filterability temperature of up to minus 20 ° C, that is, the most used fuel in the Russian winter with high environmental requirements .
До сих пор попадается и такая маркировка L-0,2-62, that is, the highest grade summer fuel, indicating the amount of sulfur (200 mg / kg) and a flash point of 62 ° C. Flash point is not the main indicator, but with other characteristics being equal, fuel with a higher temperature is considered the best for fire safety.
How to store diesel fuel
For the average consumer who has a private car with a diesel engine, the question of storing diesel fuel is not worth it.
But for industries where fuel is bought in bulk and stored for a long time, the problem of storage is very relevant.
Storage of diesel fuel is possible at a temperature of 20 ° C for a year and at a temperature above 300C From six months to a year in sealed containers protected from direct sunlight.
При хранении топливо не должно контактировать с copper, brass or zinc, so that the fuel is not clogged by chemical reaction products with these metals. In addition, it should be protected from moisture and dust and should not have additives that can decompose during storage. For example, in types of diesel fuel with a high environmental class, additives are added to increase lubricating properties that decompose very quickly.
The efficiency of this fuel is high, its scopeThe application is steadily increasing. There are new brands of diesel fuel and new sources of its production. Now there are already new developments, and diesel fuel is produced not only from oil. Maybe the future belongs to diesel fuel from vegetable oils.
