LNG & LPG vs. Kerosene in Fueling Aircrafts Essay

LNG & LPG vs. Kerosene in Fueling Aircrafts - Essay Example Indeed, there are high-tech types of aircrafts in the world that use different forms of energy, improved technology, and carrying many passengers. Nevertheless, there are other factors that affect the operations in the aviation industry that include environmental factors, price of fuel and other aircraft equipment, and the development of more effective and convenient sources of energy (Federal Aviation Administration, 2009). However, this paper will address the issue of fueling different types of aircrafts in different parts of the world and at different environments. More so, the paper will compare all relevant factors that relate to the usage of kerosene, LPG, and LNG in fueling aircrafts. Ideally, powerful piston engines and jet turbines that run aircraft engines require more combustible and complicated engine fuels than other engines including vehicles. Most importantly, the technological development of aircraft fuels and other relevant technological advancements have a huge impa ct on the engine fuels that aircrafts use today. Indeed, the invention of jet engines propagated a big challenge for engine designers since such engines require fuels that take time to vaporize not like Avgas that turns to gaseous state so easily. Nevertheless, the newly invented equally have other requirements thus mandating the aircraft engineers to use kerosene or a kerosene-gasoline mix instead of gasoline alone. Furthermore, certain types of aircraft operations require specific types of fuel to operate. However, regardless of the used type of jet fuel, all jet fuels must attain the standards aircraft turbine engines and fuel systems requirements. Actually, all aircraft engine fuels must be free from oxidation deposits in high-temperature zones and must be pristine. In the aviation industry, aircraft engineers rate the effectiveness of jet fuels according to its level of octane (U.S Centennial of Flight Commission, n.y). In fact, aircraft engineer prescribe high amounts of octan e in jet fuels as they effectively permit a powerful piston engine to burn its fuel. For many years, the aviation industry used the same kind of gasoline to power aircraft engines. However, after various studies and engine technological developments, they realized that gasoline was not efficient for powering the large, powerful engines used by piston-driven airplanes. Hence, the introduction of JET B fuel in civilian aviation. Though expensive, JET B fuel performs superbly in cold-weather performance and is in the class of naphtha-kerosene. Nevertheless, JET B fuel has a lighter composition making it dangerous to handle and thus not applicable in cold weather. Notably, aircraft combustors demand for jet fuels that are smokeless, that atomize and combust at low temperatures, and release adequate heat. Such fuels should also ignite with controlled radiation and cause no attack to hot turbines (ALGLAS, 2012). Furthermore, long-duration flights, and high altitudes equally necessitate fo r jet fuels with specified requirements. However, flight engineers use petroleum to manufacture almost all jet fuels in the world today. Nevertheless, we still have a small percentage of jet fuels from oil sands, shale oil, natural gas, and coal. Actually, kerosene and paraffin oil-based fuel are the most common jet fuels mostly known as JET A-1.Indeed, JET A-1fuel draws world recognition as it complies with international standards of jet fuel specifications (ALGLAS, 2012). There are concerned efforts to develop other jet fuel plants and move away from the high cost synthetic fuels manufacturers. Indeed, the United States America imports synthetic fuel since it does not have Fischer-Tropsch plants to manufacture jet fuel. Assuredly,