Course: BFM 202 Biodiesel Production

Lecture

Conventional Diesel Fuel (DF)
Credits
BFM 202 Biodiesel Production Unit 1 Reading has been adapted from "ENGY 131 Unit 1 Commentary: What is biodiesel?" by Southeastern Illinois College.

ENGY 131 Biodiesel Production course content by Southeastern Illinois College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Except where indicated otherwise.

Conventional Diesel Fuel (DF)

Diesel fuel in the U.S. is classified as No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 DF by the standard ASTM D975 and originates from the middle distillates of petroleum refining.

See an animation of the distillation column here:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/oil-refining2.htm

DF1 or No. 1 DF is obtained at the 170 - 270^oC boiling range of distillation in the refining column where kerosene and jet fuel are obtained. It is used in high-speed engines which operate with wide variations of engine load and speed. It is the fuel used at abnormally low temperatures of operation.

DF2 or No. 2 DF is obtained at the 180 - 340^0C boiling range. This fuel is best used as transportation fuel, as is biodiesel, at high engine speeds with heavier loads at uniform speeds. it is used in engines requiring less volatility.

DF4 or No. 4 DF normally contains residual fuel oil and is normally used with low or medium-speed engines that operate under a sustained load near constant speed.

Clean DF has significantly reduced amounts of aromatics and/or sulfur.