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The feasibility of using ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD), synthetic paraffinic kerosene (S-8), military grade jet fuel (JP-8) and commercial B20 blend (20% v biodiesel in ULSD) in a power generator equipped with a compression ignition (CI) engine was investigated according to the MIL-STD-705C military specifications for engine-driven generator sets. Several properties of these fuels such as cetane number, lubricity, viscosity, cold flow properties, heat of combustion, distillation temperatures, and flash point, were evaluated. All fuels were tested for 240 hours at a stationary load of 30 kW (60% of full load) with no alteration to the engine calibrations. The brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake thermal efficiency (BTE), frequency, and power of the generator using S-8, JP-8 and B20 were compared with the baseline fuel ULSD.

Clean, very low sulfur fuels produced from domestic resources are of interest to the U.S. Military to enhance supply security and reliability versus continuing to rely on the supply of fuels that are either manufactured from an increasing percentage of imported oil or imported in increasing amounts as finished products. [1]* Synthetic Fischer-Tropsch (FT) fuel is one type of fuel that can be produced from domestic resources. FT fuels can be produced from a variety of non-petroleum feed stocks, such as natural gas, coal, petroleum coke, or even biomass and various wastes. Starting with reforming or gasification processes, the FT technology first produces synthesis gas (syngas) which is subsequently processed to high-boiling hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons are then hydrocracked, hydroisomerized, and/or hydroprocessed to produce the desired liquid fuels. The military has a Single Battlefield Fuel Policy which mandates use of the JP-8/JP-5/Jet A-1 aviation turbine fuels.