Fuels and Fuel Additives – Overview

This chapter provides a condensed explanation of the refinery operations that convert crude oil into fuels and compositions of the different fuels. It details the range of fuel additives used in the different fuels. Distillate fuels are needed in larger proportions than are naturally present in crude oil. Alkylates are the products of the sulphuric acid-catalysed reactions of short chain alkenes, usually butylene or propylene, with isobutene. Finished fuels from a refinery are usually made up by blending a range of distillate streams – a range that can be several streams in a complex refinery. Fuels with boiling points higher than those of gasoline are generally known as middle distillates: jet fuel, kerosene, diesel fuel and heating oil. Additives for some applications, such as detergents, are used in most fuels though specific details vary from fuel type to fuel type.