Does an additive exist to decrease the freezing point of jet fuel? I have found an additive that decrease the freezing point generated by drops of water (appears between 0 and -10°C), but I'm needing to reduce the freezing of the fuel (-45°C).
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2Jet A freeze at -40 C. Jet A-1 freeze at -47 C. Maybe just switch to jet A-1? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_fuel – vasin1987 Oct 11 '18 at 18:46
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Isn't stuff called Prist used to prevent freezing? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_system_icing_inhibitor – CrossRoads Oct 11 '18 at 19:00
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1You may want to elaborate a bit on your use case to help us out. Jet fuel already has a pretty low freezing point and airplanes have no problem keeping it liquid throughout a flight. Spacecraft generally solve the issue with tank insulation which may be of interest to you. – Dave Oct 12 '18 at 00:01
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Concur with @vasin1987, Switch to Jet A-1 and problem solved. – Juan Jimenez Oct 12 '18 at 07:52
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There is an additive known as a Fuel System Icing Inhibitor (FSII), it is designed to be mixed with the fuel of non-fuel heated aircraft i.e military. Mixed in at about 0.10-0.15% is optimal to reduce the formation of ice crystals, which will stop it freezing.
Source: http://www.advancepetro.com/fsii.htm
Alternatively, Jet A-1 fuel has a freezing point of -47°C, which is below your threshold and could be useful. Or if Jet A-1 is unavailable you could try Jet B which has a lower freezing point of -60°C, but is more dangerous to handle, and is less prevalent and hence unavailable at many locations.
Jamie Le Bas
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anti icing is clearly a different thing. more to prevent the water content from icing, not prevent the fuel content from freezing. – user3528438 Oct 13 '18 at 20:47
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It was also mentioned somewhere around here that some newer engines are not allowed to be used with Jet-B. – Jan Hudec Oct 14 '18 at 09:14
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Welcome to Av.SE. There is also JP-4 that can go down to -57°C. JP-8 is Jet A-1 plus more additives that may have better availability in the US than Jet A-1. – OSUZorba Oct 15 '18 at 01:52
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Question to Wehrner von Braun: "Why did you name it Saturn?". Answer: "It was the one after Jupiter!"
The lower freezing jet fuel is Jet B.
Jet fuel (kerosene) is taken from a higher boiling fraction than "naphtha" (gasoline) when refining crude oil. A mixture of kerosene and naphtha will lower the freezing point. This is how Jet B is made.
Before doing this in your garage, make sure there is no water in the mix, as frozen ice crystals will be present at much higher temperatures.
Robert DiGiovanni
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1Also, don't do this in your garage, as Jet B burns/explodes much more enthusiastically than Jet A-1, and at much lower temperatures. – Vikki Sep 07 '19 at 00:26