JP-4, or JP4 (for "Jet Propellant") was a

jet fuel Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial a ...

, specified in 1951 by the U.S. government (MIL-DTL-5624). Its

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

code is F-40. It is also known as avtag.

Usage

JP-4 was a 50-50

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning " wax", and was re ...

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...

blend. It had a lower

flash point The flash point of a material is the "lowest liquid temperature at which, under certain standardized conditions, a liquid gives off vapours in a quantity such as to be capable of forming an ignitable vapour/air mixture". (EN 60079-10-1) The fl ...

than JP-1, but was preferred because of its greater availability. It was the primary U.S. Air Force jet fuel between 1951 and 1995. MC-77 is the Swedish military equivalent of JP-4.

Mixture

JP-4 was a mixture of

aliphatic In organic chemistry, hydrocarbons ( compounds composed solely of carbon and hydrogen) are divided into two classes: aromatic compounds and aliphatic compounds (; G. ''aleiphar'', fat, oil). Aliphatic compounds can be saturated, like hexane ...

and

aromatic In chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property of cyclic ( ring-shaped), ''typically'' planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in resonance (those containing delocalized electrons) that gives increased stability compared to satur ...

hydrocarbons. It was a flammable transparent liquid with clear or straw color, and a kerosene-like smell. It evaporated easily and floated on water. Although it had a low flash point (), a lit match dropped into JP-4 would not ignite the mixture. JP-4 froze at , and its maximum burning temperature was . JP-4 was a non-conductive liquid, prone to build up static electricity when being moved through pipes and tanks. As it is volatile and has a low flash point, the static discharge could cause a fire. Beginning in the mid-1980s an antistatic agent was added to the fuel to lower the charge buildup and decrease the corresponding risk of fires. Flow rates must be controlled, and all the equipment used must be electrically interconnected and well grounded. Commercial aviation uses a similar mixture under the name ''Jet-B'', though without the additional corrosion inhibitors and icing inhibitors included in JP-4.

Phase-out

The desire for a less flammable, less hazardous fuel led the U.S. Air Force to phase out JP-4 in favor of JP-8; the transition for USAF operations in Great Britain was made in 1979, and the change was completed throughout the USAF by the end of 1995.

Notes

References

* Faroon, Obaid; Mandell, Diane; Navarro, Hernan
''Toxicological Profile for Jet Fuels JP-4 and JP-7''

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a federal public health agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The agency focuses on minimizing human health risks associated with exposure to haz ...

, Atlanta, June 1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jp-4 Aviation fuels 1951 introductions

Usage

Mixture

Phase-out

See also

Notes

References