Jet Fuel Is Now So Cheap It’s Being Blended for Use by Ships
20th September 2020
The fuel that powers passenger planes is normally among the most expensive oil products, but in a sign of the times the coronavirus has turned it into a blending component for typically cheaper shipping fuel.
Straight-run kerosene, usually processed into jet fuel, is now being used to make very low-sulfur fuel oil for the maritime industry amid a plunge in consumption by airlines. Higher than normal amounts of diesel and vacuum gasoil are also finding their way into shipping fuel.
September 20th, 2020 at 23:33
Typically, ships burn the cheapest crap they can get, and ships are designed to use almost anything that will burn. In port, they have to meet environmental regulations, so they will usually use diesel. It produces a lot less smoke, and the oldest environmental regulations around are the visible emissions limitations at ports. At sea, they burn the cheap stuff and leave a trail of smoke.
Kerosene = diesel = No. 2 fuel oil = jet fuel. It’s all the same cut from the distillation tower, but there are different limitations on sulfur content. (And they are dyed differently to make sure the correct taxes are paid.) Some jet fuel contains naphtha, so it’s average molecular weight is a bit lighter than Jet A.
The big drop in gasoline usage and the reduced number of flights have resulted in an excess of No. 2. In a catalytic cracker (cat cracker), you can change the percentages of gasoline and diesel by changing the catalyst that you use. During spring and summer, cat crackers make more gasoline. Fall and winter they make more No. 2. No money in gasoline, you make No. 2 because it takes effort to break the larger oil molecules into 12-ish carbon molecules than 8-ish ones, and it keeps longer.
Driving is starting to pick up. Gas prices are steadily rising to sustainable levels. A cold winter is predicted, so that will empty storage tanks in the north. Tell your friends in the north this is a good time to fill the heating fuel tank.