The Kerosene/Jet Fuel category covers refinery streams and finished products commonly referred to by the generic term “kerosene”. The 6 substances in this category are complex petroleum derived substances, have a boiling range of approximately 302 to 554 °F (150 to 290 °C) and a carbon range of approximately C9 –C16. Kerosenes are the lighter end of a group of petroleum substances known as middle distillates, the heavier end being gas oils. Kerosene may be obtained either from the atmospheric distillation of crude oil (straight-run kerosene) or from cracking of heavier petroleum streams (cracked kerosene). The kerosenes can be further treated by a variety of processes to remove or reduce the levels of undesirable components, e.g. sulfur, nitrogen or olefinic materials. This additional processing also reduces compositional variation and enriches components that improve performance (cycloalkanes and isoalkanes).
In the United States, Kerosenes are primarily used as aviation turbine fuel for civilian (using Jet A or Jet A-1) and military (using JP-8 or JP-5) aircraft. The substances in this category share many physical properties that also make them suitable as blending components for finished fuels such No. 1-K kerosene (for heating and illumination), and No. 1 grades of fuel oil, diesel fuel, and gas turbine oil. The kerosene-range substances have broadly overlapping chemical composition and closely related physical properties.
To meet the HPV Challenge, the Testing Group has thoroughly evaluated the substances within the Kerosene/Jet Fuels category and has made all of the reliable human health and ecological hazard data available to the public. The Testing Group believes the physical and chemical similarities among the streams in this category allow toxicology data on one material to be extrapolated to the others.