With regard to speed, comfort, and a dense network of destinations, the popularity of air transport is on the rise. For this reason, jet fuel is a commodity with rapidly growing consumption and interesting refinery margins. At the same time, however, it is becoming a focus of attention in terms of reducing negative environmental impacts. As a response to these trends, it will be necessary to coprocess alternative petroleum fractions with sustainable aviation components in oil refineries. Six alternative jet fuel samples of different origin were used to investigate their jet fuel-specific properties, that is, aromatics (from 0 to 59.7 vol%), smoke point (from 12.2 to >50 mm), freezing point (from −49 to <−80 °C) and net specific energy (41.2–43.7 MJ·kg−1), and these properties were compared to standard hydrotreated straight-run Jet A-1 kerosene. The properties of the components studied differed significantly with respect to each other and to the requirements of Jet A-1. Nevertheless, the properties could be well correlated. This provides an opportunity to study possible synergies in blending these components. It was also found that the current methods and instruments used do not always allow a precise determination of the smoke point (>50 mm) and freezing point (<80 °C).
Physicochemical properties of three biofuels suitable for combustion in automotive diesel engines were compared. Two samples represented commercial hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) with different low temperature properties, one sample represented traditional biodiesel, fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). One HVO sample and FAME were blended into mineral diesel fuel to form two series of mixed fuels. One series represented mixed fuels containing 7, 20, 30, and 50 vol.% of HVO, the other series represented mixed fuels containing the same amount of FAME. All pure fuels as well as all prepared blends were then analyzed and evaluated. The composition and properties of HVO samples are discussed in detail as well as the influence of biocomponents on properties of mixed fuels.
A proposal was formulated at the University of Chemical Technology (UCT) Prague in 2016 to implement the project approach in teaching technology subjects. A grant was awarded for an Operational Program Research Development and Education project called "Education Improvement – UCT Prague Priority" from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. The project's main goals were that UCT graduates would understand the application of chemistry in practice simultaneously in the context of the given field of study, as well as the law, economy, safety and environmental impact, realize the importance of viability and profitability of technical projects, learn about usable methods applied in the implementation of technical projects, and get acquainted with the principles of creation of teams and team work. A team of teachers and outside consultants from practice have been created. Using the Internet and personal contacts, experience with the use of project approach in teaching at the Czech universities has been gathered. Experience from the project approach in teaching at UCT Prague has been summed up. Basic 12 modules of real-life technical projects have been defined and described in a Methodical Handbook which also includes a number of tools for students. A new subject has been created on the use of scheduling software. A total of 8 technology subjects have been selected for piloting of the project in 2018–2021, employing the created tools. The experience with teaching the pilot subjects was used in the lifelong education of the university teachers. The results will also be used for the teaching other technology subjects at UCT Prague. It can be expected that the project will contribute to a better employability of fresh graduates, their faster adaptation to the requirements of practice, a faster career growth, and that it will improve the feedback from graduates to the teaching staff and their activities at UCT Prague.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.