The quality of the fuel is not least affected by the quality of the engine and the entire fuel system . Today, manufacturers in Russia also offer diesel fuel GOST 305-82. The state standard, developed back in 1982, is already out of date, as, incidentally, is the fuel itself, which until recently was manufactured according to it.
GOST 305-82
Created back in the Soviet Union, this standard, which governs the manufacture of diesel fuel, is interstate. It defines both the technical conditions of production and the characteristics of the fuel, which was intended for cars, industrial units and ships with high-speed diesel engines.
Modern fuel, manufactured according to international European standards, has virtually replaced diesel fuel from the market, for the production of which the old GOST was used. Diesel EURO, in addition to having significantly higher performance, is also much more environmentally friendly.
However, even today it is believed (at least in the post-Soviet space) that fuel in which various permitted additives can be used has some advantages due to its versatility and a wide range of operating temperatures.
Application area
Diesel fuel (GOST 305-82) was used until recently for military, agricultural equipment, diesel ships and old-style trucks.
This fuel was used for heating low-rise buildings located far from central heating. The combination of low prices and sufficiently high energy efficiency allowed to save the cost of maintaining houses.
Why in the past? The 1982 state standard was replaced by GOST 305-2013, which entered into force on January 2015. And it clearly states that GOST 305-2013 diesel fuel is not sold through public gas stations and is intended for high-speed and gas turbine engines both within the country and in the countries of the Customs Union (Kazakhstan and Belarus).
Main advantages
So, the main advantages are versatility and operating temperatures. In addition, consider the advantages of the good old diesel fuel its operational reliability, proven for decades; the possibility of long-term storage without deterioration of technical characteristics; increase engine power.
GOST 305-82 diesel fuel is easily filtered, contains a small amount of sulfur compounds and does not destroy engine parts.
The indisputable advantage of diesel fuel is its low price in comparison with other types of liquid fuel.
The main disadvantage
The main disadvantage of fuel, due to which, in fact, its use is limited, is the low environmental friendliness class. Diesel fuel GOST 305-82 (2013) belongs to the class K2. And today, even fuels with environmental friendliness class K3 and K4 are banned from circulation in the territory of the Russian Federation.
Diesel fuel brands
The old GOST installed three grades of fuel, the new one - four. The temperature ranges of their use and characteristics are also slightly different.
Parameters (GOST) of summer diesel fuel (L): operating temperature - from minus 5 ° , flash point for general-purpose diesel engines - 40 ° , for gas turbine, ship and diesel - 62 ° .
The same flash point for off-season fuel (E), the working temperature of which begins at minus 15 ° C.
Winter fuel (W) is used at temperatures up to minus 35 ° and up to minus 25 ° . And if in the 1982 technical conditions the operating temperature range was determined by the solidification temperature of the fuel, then the new document deals with the filtration temperature - minus 35 ° C and minus 25 ° C, respectively.
Arctic (A) diesel fuel GOST 305-82 could be used starting from a temperature of minus 50 ° C. In the new document, this limit was raised by five degrees, called the recommended temperature of 45 ° C and above.
Types of diesel fuel
GOST 52368-2005 diesel fuel (EURO) is divided into three types according to the mass content of sulfur:
- I - 350 mg;
- II - 50 mg;
- III - 10 mg per kg of fuel.
According to GOST 305-82, diesel fuel is divided into the following types, depending on the percentage of sulfur:
- I - fuel of all grades, in which the proportion of sulfur is not more than 0.2%;
- II - diesel fuel with a sulfur content for grades L and Z - 0.5%, and for grade A - 0.4%.
The new GOST 305-2013, approaching international standards, divides the fuel into two types according to the mass content of sulfur, regardless of brand. Type I refers to fuel with a sulfur content of 2.0 g, and to Type II - 500 mg per kilogram of fuel.
Even type II contains sulfur one and a half times more than fuel of type I, which meets international standards.
A large amount of sulfur is harmful emissions into the atmosphere, but also good lubricating properties of the fuel at the same time.
Legend
In GOST 305-82, fuel was marked with the capital letter L, Z, or A (summer, winter, or arctic, respectively), mass fraction of sulfur, flash point of summer, and pour point of winter fuel. For example, Z-0.5 minus 45. The highest grades, the first or without it, characterizing the quality of the fuel are indicated in the passport for the batch.
Diesel fuel (GOST R 52368-2005) is marked with the letters DT, the grade or class is indicated depending on the values of filterability and turbidity, as well as the type of fuel I, II or III.
There is a document for the Customs Union that regulates fuel requirements, including its symbol. It includes the letter designation DT, brand (L, Z, E or A) and an environmental coefficient from K2 to K5, showing the sulfur content.
Since there are a lot of documents, the concept of grade is different, and the characteristics are indicated in more detail in the quality certificate, today it’s not uncommon for ads like “Sale of diesel fuel pipe grade 1 GOST 30582005”. That is, all parameters and fuel quality comply with the specified standard, except for the sulfur content.
The main characteristics of diesel fuel
The most important performance indicators that characterize diesel fuel GOST 305-82 (2013) are: cetane number, fractional composition, density and viscosity, temperature characteristics, mass fractions of various impurities.
Cetane number characterizes the flammability of the fuel. The higher this indicator, the less time passes from the injection of fuel into the working cylinder to the beginning of its burning, and therefore, the shorter the engine warm-up time.
The completeness of fuel combustion, as well as the toxicity of the exhaust gases, depends on the fractional composition. During the distillation of diesel fuel, the moment of complete boiling of a certain amount of fuel (50% or 95%) is recorded. The heavier the friction composition, the narrower the temperature range and the lower the lower boiling threshold, which means that self-ignition of the fuel in the combustion chamber occurs later.
Density and viscosity affect the processes of supply and injection of fuel, its filtering and efficiency.
Impurities affect engine wear, corrosion resistance of the fuel system, and the appearance of burning deposits in it.
The filterability limit temperature is such a low temperature at which the thickened fuel stops passing through the filter with cells of a certain size. Another temperature indicator is the cloud point, at which paraffin begins to crystallize, that is, diesel fuel becomes cloudy.
Characteristics GOST 305-2013 sets the same for all grades: cetane number, mass fraction of sulfur, acidity, iodine number, ash content, coking ability, pollution, water content. The differences relate to temperature , viscosity and fuel density. In GOST 305-82 there were also differences in coking properties.
Diesel fuel specifications
So, the cetane number for all grades of fuel is 45, the sulfur content is either 2.0 g or 500 mg per kg. These are the most important indicators characterizing fuel.
The density of diesel fuel according to GOST varies from 863.4 kg / cubic meter. m for fuel grades L and E up to 833.5 kg / cu. m for grade A, kinematic viscosity - from 3.0-6.0 sq. mm / s up to 1.5-4.0 sq. mm / s, respectively.
The fractional composition is characterized by a temperature range from 280 ° C to 360 ° C for fuel of all grades, with the exception of the Arctic, for which boiling temperatures range from 255 ° C to 360 ° C.
The characteristics (new GOST) of summer diesel fuel are no different from the characteristics of off-season fuel, with the exception of the limiting temperature of filterability.
The flash point of winter fuel for general-purpose diesel engines is 30 ° C, for gas turbine, ship and diesel - 40 ° C, for the Arctic - 30 ° C and 35 ° C, respectively.
Differences between diesel fuel GOST 305-82 (2013) and EURO
As far back as 1993, European quality standards set the cetane number not lower than 49. After seven years, the standard that determined the technical characteristics of EURO 3 fuel established more stringent indicators. The cetane number should be more than 51, the mass fraction of sulfur should be less than 0.035%, and the density should be less than 845 kg / cu. m. The standards were tightened in 2005, and today the international ones established in 2009 are in force.
Today in the Russian Federation diesel fuel is produced according to GOST R 52368-2005 with a cetane number above 51, a sulfur content of less than 10 mg / kg, a flash point of 55 ° C, and a density ranging from 820 to 845 kg / cu. m and filterability temperature from plus 5 to minus 20 ° C.
Even comparing the first two indicators, we can conclude that the diesel fuel GOST 305-2013 does not comply with modern environmental requirements.
Safety requirements
Since diesel fuel is a combustible liquid, safety measures relate primarily to protection against fire. Only 3% of its vapor in the total volume of air in the room is enough to provoke an explosion. Therefore, high demands are placed on the sealing of equipment and apparatus. Protected wiring and lighting are carried out, tools are used only those that do not even carve out a spark accidentally.
Important for compliance with safety regulations and storage conditions of diesel fuel GOST 305-82 (2013) are temperature indicators regarding the ability to burn.
Fuel grade | Auto-ignition temperature, ° | Ignition temperature limit, ° |
upper | lower |
Summer, off-season | 300 | 119 | 69 |
Winter | 310 | 105 | 62 |
Arctic | 330 | 100 | 57 |
It is especially important to observe safety measures and temperature conditions in places of long-term storage of many thousands of tons of diesel fuel, for example, at power plants.
Characteristics of diesel fuel for power plants
Diesel power plants today use fuel in accordance with GOST 305-82. The equipment on them is installed both domestic and foreign.
Foreign manufacturers do not recommend, but do not prohibit the use of diesel fuel GOST 305-82 (2013) with a high sulfur content of 0.5% and 0.4%.
For example, FGWilson recommends the use of the highest and first grades of all grades of fuel with a cetane number from 45, a sulfur content of not more than 0.2%, water and additives - 0.05%, a density of 0.835 - 0.855 kg / cu. dm. The fuel of type I GOST 305-82 (2013) corresponds to these characteristics.
The contract for the supply of diesel fuel to a power plant must indicate its physicochemical properties: cetane number, density, viscosity, flash point, sulfur content, ash content. Mechanical impurities and water are not allowed at all.
To check the quality of the supplied fuel and the compliance of its characteristics with the limits established by the state standard, the content of undesirable impurities and the flash point are determined. If equipment malfunctions are observed and its parts wear out intensively, other indicators are also determined.
GOST 305-82 is outdated and replaced, but the new document, put into effect from the beginning of 2015, did not so noticeably change the requirements for diesel fuel for high-speed engines. Maybe someday such fuel will be banned for use at all, but today it is still used both in power plants and diesel locomotives, heavy military equipment and trucks, whose fleet has been preserved since the days of the Soviet Union.