The main liquid fuels obtained from crude oil or hydrocarbons are:
(in descending order of NCV Net Calorific Value)

 ► Petrol

The high-octane unleaded petrol SP95 and SP98 and high-octane unleaded petrol SP95-E10 (with 10% ethanol content). SP98 unleaded petrol is more detergent and corrosive for rubber parts. SP95 and SP98 unleaded petrol contains a high proportion of very toxic aromatic components. The NCV of petrol is in the order of 47.30 MJ/kg

Its density ranges from 720 to 775 kg/m3 according to European regulatory standard EN228.

There are other types of petrol, like white spirit and other cleaning solvents, aviation gasoline only for piston engines.
For jet engines, JetA1- Kerosene is used, see further on.

CSR 1-2-02 of Chambre Syndicale du Raffinage (Petroleum Employer's Federation) for SP95 - edition of 1st Sept. 2010

CSR 1-3-01 of Chambre Syndicale du Raffinage for SP98 - edition of 1st Sept. 2010

CSR 1-4-02 of Chambre Syndicale du Raffinage for SP95 E10 - edition of 1st Sept. 2009


► Diesels or diesel oils

This is in fact a fuel oil Nr 4, very similar to our so-called domestic heating oil. The densities and viscosities of diesels and domestic heating oils are very similar.
Their cetane number is virtually identical. Only their sulphur content differs significantly: 10 ppm for diesel since 2009 and 1000 ppm for domestic heating oil.

Its density ranges from 820 to 845 kg/m3 according to European regulatory standard EN590-CSR402A.

There is also a so-called gazole dit pêche with a density of between 820 and 860 kg/m3


► Domestic heating oil

Since domestic heating oil is less taxed than diesel, it is red for checking purposes.
This is the fuel we use to heat our homes.

The NCV of fuel oils is in the region of 42,5 MJ/kg Its density ranges from 830 to 880 kg/m3

► Paraffin oil (liquid fuel for standalone heaters)

This is also commonly found under the name "kerosene", which is sold in twenty-litre cans in all superstores for home heating purposes.

The NCV of fuel oils is in the region of 42,5 MJ/kg CSR 3-4-00 - Chambre Syndicale du Raffinage CLAMC - 01/09/2010

Oil companies include packs of chemical additives in varying degrees

With all these fuels, oil companies include packs of chemical additives for fuels in varying degrees in order to improve or alter such and such a characteristic.

In so doing they are following the new engine technologies developed by the manufacturers, who also have to meet new environmental standards for pollution control, and who are also under pressure from the public, consumers and environmental associations to provide ever cleaner and more environmentally-friendly engines and fuels. These many additives are offered by the chemicals industry, singly or more often than not in packs of additives containing several.

For instance, since superstores have their own service stations, they buy these packs of fuel additives from leading global designers of chemical additives for fuels like INNOSPEC, ROHM HAAS, TOTAL . . . and these packs of additives, which are delivered in drums, are added at the request of such and such a brand in the fuel depots on additivation lines. The same goes for nearly all companies, which mostly only repackage all the additives found on the shelves of specialist stores into bottles and other containers.
In fact one could say that not all fuels are as good as one another, and it is true to say that the diesel of one brand is not necessarily as efficient as that of another. It is also the integration of these packs of chemical additives that partly accounts for price differentials between petroleum distribution brands.
All the packs of additives in use today for these purposes are highly chemical products originating from major chemical industry operators specializing in petroleum products. Apart from the chemicals industry, there is only one other way of improving our fuels: a package of organic enzymes found in nature.

There are numerous chemical additives or packs of fuel  additives for our petrol, diesel and fuel oil, and they always have a clearly-defined function.


The main ones include:

- Detergent additives: these make for a cleaner diesel injection system and thereby maintain efficient engine output; there are diesel oil detergent additives to improve standard diesel, which improve the atomization of the diesel and make for better combustion.

- Demulsifiers: if there is any water at all in the diesel oil, even in very small quantities, this causes a turbid effect and adversely affects engine output, mainly by reducing the lubricating power of the fuel and by causing premature wear of the injection system, and a phenomenon of corrosion not only in the tanks and circuits of vehicles, but also much further upstream, in diesel oil depots.  Demulsifiers limit such risks.

- Defoamers: defoamers for diesel oil represent a consumer benefit rather than a technical benefit. When you fill up with diesel, foam is inevitably produced, and this can represent as much as 5% of the tank's capacity. Some diesels contain an additive that reduces the amount of foam, which lets you fill your tank to the brim and avoids any risk of overspill, .

- Anti-corrosion additives: the phenomenon of corrosion is inherent to the workings of a diesel and fuel oil engine, and causes loss of efficiency by altering the injection system. New injection systems, with increasingly higher pressure levels (common rail), no longer allow undesirable substances such as water to be present, even in very small quantities.

- Pro-cetane additives: these additives improve the spontaneous combustion of the diesel.

- Cold resistance additives: these additives have been developed by oil companies to reduce the crystallization of paraffins in the diesel, above all in periods of cold weather of course.

- Lubricity additives: the presence of water, or EMAGs (plant matter such as rape) … decreases the lubricating power of the diesel. These so-called lubricity additives have been designed to attenuate this decrease in lubricating power.

- Odour-reducing additives: like the defoamers, these represent a consumer benefit rather than a technical benefit. These chemical additives mask the odours of diesels when they are used.

- Antioxidants: like any fuel, petrol alters over time and loses its energy output efficiency. To attenuate and delay this oxidization, the chemicals industry that specializes in the design of fuel additives has developed antioxidants to prevent the formation of undesirable matter due to the petrol ageing.

- Biocides: these highly chemical additives are developed to remove living contamination that can proliferate in our diesel oils and fuel oils. for more information

- and many more besides: additive improving the CFPP cold filter plugging point, additive improving combustion, etc…

► The petroleum industry has a Technical Committee...

The petroleum industry that specializes in this field has a European Technical Committee for Manufacturers of Additives.

And this trade association is itself a member of CEC Co-ordinating European Council. This is the highest authority in the field of on-road engines (in the broad sense of the term) and their peripheral devices.
All chemical additives (there are also additives for lubricants) incorporated by a known and recognized oil company has naturally been approved by CEC before market release, and they are thus compatible with motorizations, existing fuels and the fuel additives they already contain.

If you, a consumer or a professional, choose to put an additive in your petrol or domestic fuel oil tank, proceed as follows to make sure it has been approved: has the additive been approved by the CEC and does it meet the regulatory standard governing the fuel you are adding it to? Too many additives are simply mixtures of highly chemical components made in local or regional workshops, unsuitable for fuels and under brand names sometimes unknown outside a region or a county. Their web sites can be very revealing regarding the seriousness of the companies and the risks you run.

The Xbee organic additive is in no way chemical, and only comprises a very comprehensive package or organic enzymes extracted from the leaves of trees with a base of aviation fuel. A single package of efficiency for your fuels, free of chemicals.

With the increasing number of fuel additives on the market, how to choose the right one?

Some tips and suggestions …

- Choose the product itself, not the salesman trying to sell it to you!

- Ask the salesman to provide his guarantees: does his additive meet the prevailing regulatory standard governing the fuel you want to add it to? he should be able to provide you with a test from a recognized and impartial laboratory of this essential guarantee (INTERTEK, IESPM, SGS for instance).

- Ask him for the Safety Data Sheet of the proposed additive: the density of his additive should be as close as possible to that of your fuel, otherwise it will not blend well (or at all) with the said fuel!
The flash point should not be too low: there is a fuel additive on the market with a flash point of only 12°C, with all the storage and handling risks that it entails. It is also important to closely read this safety data sheet to identify the components of the additive if they are listed, as well as the list of risks to health and the environment. This safety data sheet should originate from a competent authority, duly identified and easy to contact.
If not enough information is available on its components, demand a DNV (Det Norske Veritas or equivalent) analysis, which will reveal the precise composition of the additive. Too many manufacturers use highly chemical components that will sooner or later be detrimental to the alloys in your engines, in particular in biocides: heavy metals, sulphur, ethyl, salts, acids, even pesticides . . .

- Take the time to visit their web sites, and above all look for approvals and other certifications (from bona fide laboratories and recognized bodies, not the testimonials of local garage owners!), and the testimonials of professionals, including those who are in the same line of business as you (with the names and telephone numbers to double-check if necessary).

- Choose a package of additives or enzymes rather than a single additive: for more or less the same price, it is advisable to choose a complete package-type product (anti-bacteria, proven cleaning efficiency, less polluting emissions, better combustion, etc.) rather than a single product that, for instance, will only reduce bacteria.

- Check the price-to-dose ratio: an additive at 27 euros per litre is much cheaper than one at 8.50 euros … if the former comes in a ratio of 4,000:1 and the latter in a ratio of 1,000:1.

- Is environmental protection important to you in your everyday life and for the future of your children and grandchildren? If so, choose an organic additive or package rather than an additive originating from the chemical industry.


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Sources :

www.cdp.org

http://www.dnv.com/

► Glossary