TONY-UBAH CHIEMERIWO CHIMBUCHI
3655018
READING ASSIGNMENT ON CETANE NUMBERS
Cetane also hexadecane or isocetane is a colourless gas with formula c16h34. It ignites easily
when exposed to a small amount of heat and was therefore given a perfect cetane rating of 100.
Cetane numbt5er is an indicator of the speed of combustion of diesel fuel and compression
needed for ignition. It plays a similar role for diesel as octane rating does for gasoline. It is a
measurement of the quality or performance of diesel fuel. The higher the number, the better the
fuel burns.
Where octane rating measures/represents how well a fuel can resist pre-ignition due to
compression so that a fuel ignites only from the spark plug, cetane number measures the delay in
the ignition time of the fuel. It is how minimized the delay is between when the fuel is injected
into the chamber and when the combustion begins.
A higher cetane number indicates that the time between when the fuel is injected into the
combustion chamber and when the fuel ignites is minimized. This means the fuel has the ability
to ignite more easily and readily due to compression. This shorter delay time results in more
complete fuel combustion.
Some examples of biodiesel fuels which are alternative fuels and their cetane numbers are:
Biodiesel from vegetable oil sources which have been recorded as having a cetane
number range of 46 to 52
Animal-fat based biodiesels cetane numbers range from 56 to 60
Dimethyl ether is a potential diesel fuel as it has a high cetane rating (55-60) and can be
produced as a biofuel.
