Improvements in the Measurement of Distillation Curves. 2. Application to Aerospace/Aviation Fuels RP-1 and S-8

Abstract

In a previous paper, a number of improvements in the method and apparatus used for the measurement of distillation curves for complex hydrocarbon fluid mixtures were presented. These improvements included the addition of a composition-explicit channel of data, improved temperature control and measurement, and improved and less uncertain volume measurement. In this paper, we demonstrate the improved approach with application to two complex hydrocarbon fluids, rocket propellant 1 (RP-1) and a synthetic JP-8 that is designated as S-8. RP-1 is a long-established hydrocarbon fuel that continues to be widely used since it was first developed in the 1950s. Modern versions of this fluid are produced from a narrow-range kerosene fraction that is processed to reduce unsaturated compounds and also sulfur-containing hydrocarbons. S-8 is a synthetic substitute for fluids such as JP-8 and Jet-A. It is produced with the Fischer Tropsch process from natural gas. As these new and reformulated fluids gain increasing application, especially in aviation/aerospace application, it will be increasingly important to have material characterization test procedures that are reproducible and that have a sound and fundamental basis. This will allow modeling of the properties and guide further refinement of the fluids.

Thermodynamic, transport, and chemical properties of reference JP-8

“…The modifications to the classical measurement provide for (1) temperature and volume measurements of low uncertainty, (2) temperature control based upon fluid behavior, and most important, (3) a composition-explicit data channel in addition to the usual temperature-volume relationship [5][6][7][8]. This latter modification is achieved with a new sampling approach that allows precise qualitative as well as quantitative analyses of each fraction, on the fly.…”

Advanced Distillation Curve Measurement with a Model Predictive Temperature Controller

“…As the fluid becomes more and more polydisperse in terms of components, the classical sigmoid shape (for example, of the binary shown in Fig. 4) flattens and becomes more linear [6]. The addition of methanol causes two obvious effects.…”

“…1, with additional details provided in Figs. 2 and 3 [4][5][6]. Since the major modifications have been discussed in detail elsewhere, only a summary will be provided here.…”

“…The temperature profile applied to the enclosure is calculated either with an equation-of-state [7] or it is determined from a previous distillation curve measurement of the fluid [6]. Instead of testing with a prepared binary mixture, in these studies we used a standard 91 research octane number (RON) gasoline and oxygenated mixtures thereof.…”

Composition-Explicit Distillation Curves of Waste Lubricant Oils and Resourced Crude Oil: A Diagnostic for Re-Refining and Evaluation

“…Improvements to the traditional distillation apparatus include (1) a composition-explicit data channel for each distillate fraction (for both qualitative and quantitative analysis), (2) temperature measurements that are true thermodynamic state points that can be modeled with an equation of state, (3) temperature, volume and pressure measurements of low uncertainty suitable for equation of state development, (4) consistency with a century of historical data, (5) an assessment of the energy content of each distillate fraction, (6) qualitative, quantitative and trace chemical analysis of each distillate fraction, (7) assessment of the corrosivity and stability of each distillate fraction. The new method is called the composition-explicit or advanced distillation curve technique (ADC) (Bruno, 2006a;2006b;Bruno and Smith, 2006a;2006b;Ott and Bruno, 2007a;Smith and Bruno, 2006;. A schematic diagram of the instrument is presented in Fig.…”