Empirical equations and economical study for blending biofuel with petroleum jet fuel

Distillate of upgraded palm biodiesel was blended in different volume percentages (5, 10, 15, and 20%) with jet A-1. The mixture can be used as a replacement for petroleum Jet fuel. Physical properties of blends were measured and compared with those of jet A-1. Empirical equations were developed to predict the properties of blended fuel, including density, kinematic viscosity, freezing point, H/C ratio, and acid value. The statistical analysis indicated that the proposed equations predictions agree well with the experimental data. The predicted model shows an (R-2) between 0.99-0.98, indicating good fitting between the experimental data and proposed model. The distillate of upgraded palm biodiesel was miscible with the kerosene jet A-1 in all volume fractions under study 5-20%. The economic analysis shows that the production cost per unit of the produced bio jet fuel was much higher than the selling price of the petroleum jet fuel. This price difference is due to the raw materials cost; as the palm oil used is nearly three times that of crude oil. The economic evaluation study reveals that the operating cost of prepared bio jet equals to 2360 $/ton, which is a promising result. (C) 2017 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Cairo University.