4 ms·

That's worrying. Jet fuel is hellaciously toxic and I wonder how prepared shipboard operators are to handle the proper safety precautions.

mlindner 6y ago
Uh what? Jet fuel is basically the same as kerosene. It's no more toxic than gasoline or any other hydrocarbon.
sp332 6y ago
Bunker fuel is usually awful too, and this stuff has less sulfur at least.
- melling 6y ago
  i thought new restrictions on sulfur largely reduced emissions in shipping. https://e360.yale.edu/features/at-last-the-shipping-industry-begins-cleaning-up-its-dirty-fuels https://e360.yale.edu/features/at-last-the-shipping-industry...
  - controversia 6y ago
    It does. An interesting side effect is that it could cause more CO2 https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi_1K2hnfnrAhXQxFkKHeciAKoQFjAAegQIBhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdpi.com%2F2071-1050%2F12%2F1%2F165%2Fpdf&usg=AOvVaw29ZXCjynMAq7WgG8EaVOnT https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c.... Also sulfur has a love hate relationship with global warming. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-12-22/new-shipping-fuel-rules-are-good-for-health-bad-for-climate https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-12-22/new-sh...
  - sp332 6y ago
    I hadn't realize the new restrictions were that low.
- gibolt 6y ago
  For anyone unaware, bunker fuel is an absolutely nasty mixture. Ships are able to do anything they want once in international waters, which means it just gets dumped on the regular only to then follow environmental rules when at a destination.
ars 6y ago
Jet fuel is just kerosene. Why do you say it's hellaciously toxic? It's pretty similar to other fuels like gasoline. In rural areas you can buy kerosene at gas stations, there are no special precautions above and beyond the same ones used for gasoline for cars. Perhaps you're thinking of fuel for fighter jets? Because some of those can be incredibly toxic.
- dehrmann 6y ago
  There's also Avgas. That's still leaded.
  - fuzzfactor 6y ago
    Still dyed green when leaded, blue when unleaded became available in recent decades.
- TylerE 6y ago
  It isn't "just kerosene". It it MOSTLY kerosene, but as usual it's the last 1% that kills you - various additives to prevent things like icing and corrosion, and benzene and various napthas.
  - fuzzfactor 6y ago
    Kerosine came first as a high-flash-point (for safety reasons) lamp fuel somewhat comparable to whale oil. Gasoline is very volatile intentionally, but kerosine is supposed to be not-so-easy to ignite. If you ever had to light a kerosine furnace on a cold winter day, you can drop a number of lit matches right into an ounce of it and a few will simply be extinguished before one finally catches fire. Later, Diesel type engines could then then run on it, generally better than they could on the animal and vegetable oils which are similar enough. Then came jet engines and industrial turbines. Benzene and light naphthas are low-flash-point gasoline-range hydrocarbon components not found in measurable amounts in jet fuel. However, other hydrocarbons found in jet fuel could one day be determined to be just as much of a political pollutant as Benzene. It's possible for the same diesel-range tank to pass all modern specifications for kerosine, diesel, and jet, though rarely done. Kerosine still has a lamp burning test, diesel has cetane requirement, turbo has various stability and trace metal specs, not shared with the other usages. No. 1 Diesel is lighter and allows for better acceleration (but use gasoline when you really need to accelerate uphill) so it's great for Mercedes or big pickup owners, No. 2 diesel is the heavier stuff for long haul trucking MPG. YMMV
TheSpiceIsLife 6y ago
Mayn't your thinking about hydeazine? It is used in sons jets, eg the F16 emergency power unit is fired by hydra one, but it's not usually called 'jet fuel', more like rocket fuel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrazine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrazine
rodgerd 6y ago
It's certainly polluting, but it's no 80s Formula 1 fuel: "It should be mentioned that the final versions of these synthetic fuels had been very expensive, up to $ 300 per litre, and also in some cases very poisonous." https://forums.autosport.com/topic/34397-bmws-exotic-fuel-in-the-brabham-in-1983-is-this-story-true/?p=664981 https://forums.autosport.com/topic/34397-bmws-exotic-fuel-in...
riffic 6y ago
jet fuel is routinely dumped if needed: https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/airplane-fuel-dumping-landing-weight/ https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/airplane-fuel-dumpin...

mlindner 6y ago

Uh what? Jet fuel is basically the same as kerosene. It's no more toxic than gasoline or any other hydrocarbon.

sp332 6y ago

Bunker fuel is usually awful too, and this stuff has less sulfur at least.

melling 6y ago
i thought new restrictions on sulfur largely reduced emissions in shipping. https://e360.yale.edu/features/at-last-the-shipping-industry-begins-cleaning-up-its-dirty-fuels https://e360.yale.edu/features/at-last-the-shipping-industry...
- controversia 6y ago
  It does. An interesting side effect is that it could cause more CO2 https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi_1K2hnfnrAhXQxFkKHeciAKoQFjAAegQIBhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdpi.com%2F2071-1050%2F12%2F1%2F165%2Fpdf&usg=AOvVaw29ZXCjynMAq7WgG8EaVOnT https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c.... Also sulfur has a love hate relationship with global warming. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-12-22/new-shipping-fuel-rules-are-good-for-health-bad-for-climate https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-12-22/new-sh...
- sp332 6y ago
  I hadn't realize the new restrictions were that low.
gibolt 6y ago
For anyone unaware, bunker fuel is an absolutely nasty mixture. Ships are able to do anything they want once in international waters, which means it just gets dumped on the regular only to then follow environmental rules when at a destination.

ars 6y ago

Jet fuel is just kerosene. Why do you say it's hellaciously toxic? It's pretty similar to other fuels like gasoline. In rural areas you can buy kerosene at gas stations, there are no special precautions above and beyond the same ones used for gasoline for cars. Perhaps you're thinking of fuel for fighter jets? Because some of those can be incredibly toxic.

dehrmann 6y ago
There's also Avgas. That's still leaded.
- fuzzfactor 6y ago
  Still dyed green when leaded, blue when unleaded became available in recent decades.
TylerE 6y ago
It isn't "just kerosene". It it MOSTLY kerosene, but as usual it's the last 1% that kills you - various additives to prevent things like icing and corrosion, and benzene and various napthas.
- fuzzfactor 6y ago
  Kerosine came first as a high-flash-point (for safety reasons) lamp fuel somewhat comparable to whale oil. Gasoline is very volatile intentionally, but kerosine is supposed to be not-so-easy to ignite. If you ever had to light a kerosine furnace on a cold winter day, you can drop a number of lit matches right into an ounce of it and a few will simply be extinguished before one finally catches fire. Later, Diesel type engines could then then run on it, generally better than they could on the animal and vegetable oils which are similar enough. Then came jet engines and industrial turbines. Benzene and light naphthas are low-flash-point gasoline-range hydrocarbon components not found in measurable amounts in jet fuel. However, other hydrocarbons found in jet fuel could one day be determined to be just as much of a political pollutant as Benzene. It's possible for the same diesel-range tank to pass all modern specifications for kerosine, diesel, and jet, though rarely done. Kerosine still has a lamp burning test, diesel has cetane requirement, turbo has various stability and trace metal specs, not shared with the other usages. No. 1 Diesel is lighter and allows for better acceleration (but use gasoline when you really need to accelerate uphill) so it's great for Mercedes or big pickup owners, No. 2 diesel is the heavier stuff for long haul trucking MPG. YMMV

TheSpiceIsLife 6y ago

Mayn't your thinking about hydeazine? It is used in sons jets, eg the F16 emergency power unit is fired by hydra one, but it's not usually called 'jet fuel', more like rocket fuel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrazine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrazine

rodgerd 6y ago

It's certainly polluting, but it's no 80s Formula 1 fuel: "It should be mentioned that the final versions of these synthetic fuels had been very expensive, up to $ 300 per litre, and also in some cases very poisonous." https://forums.autosport.com/topic/34397-bmws-exotic-fuel-in-the-brabham-in-1983-is-this-story-true/?p=664981 https://forums.autosport.com/topic/34397-bmws-exotic-fuel-in...

riffic 6y ago

jet fuel is routinely dumped if needed: https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/airplane-fuel-dumping-landing-weight/ https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/airplane-fuel-dumpin...