Cetane Number: University of Karbala College of Engineering Third Stage

University of Karbala
College of Engineering
Third Stage
Cetane number
By: Karrar Heidar Sarhan
Supervisor: Dr. Haider Nazim
) ‫( تقرير التدريب الصيفي‬

● Introduction
Cetane number (cetane rating) is an indicator of the combustion

speed of diesel fuel and compression needed for ignition. It
plays a similar role for diesel as octane rating does for gasoline.
The CN is an important factor in determining the quality of
diesel fuel, but not the only one; other measurements of diesel
fuel's quality include (but are not limited to) energy content,
density, lubricity, cold-flow properties and sulphur content.
Definition:
Cetane number (or CN) is an inverse function of a fuel's

ignition delay, the time period between the start of ignition and
the first identifiable pressure increase during combustion of the
fuel. In a particular diesel engine, higher cetane fuels will have
shorter ignition delay periods than lower Cetane fuels. Cetane
numbers are only used for the relatively light distillate diesel
oils. For heavy (residual) fuel oil two other scales are used,
CCAI and CII.
* Cetane rating unit

● Typical values
Generally, diesel engines operate well with a CN from 48 to
50. Fuels with lower cetane number have longer ignition
delays, requiring more time for the fuel combustion process to
be completed. Hence, higher speed diesel engines operate more
effectively with higher cetane number fuels.
In Europe, diesel cetane numbers were set at a minimum of 38

in 1994 and 40 in 2000. The current standard for diesel sold in
European Union, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland is set in EN
590, with a minimum cetane index of 46 and a minimum cetane
number of 51. Premium diesel fuel can have a cetane number
as high as 60.
In Finland, premium diesel fuels sold by Filling station chains

St1 (Diesel Plus), Shell (containing GTL) and ABC (Smart
Diesel) have a minimum cetane number of 60 with the typical
value being at 63. Neste MY Renewable Diesel sold in Finland
has a minimum cetane number of 70.
In North America, most states adopt ASTM D975 as their

diesel fuel standard and the minimum cetane number is set at
40, with typical values in the 42-45 range. Premium diesel fuel
may or may not have higher cetane number depending on the
supplier. Premium diesel often use additives to improve CN
and lubricity, detergents to clean the fuel injectors and
minimize carbon deposits, water dispersants, and other
additives depending on geographical and seasonal needs.
California diesel fuel has a minimum cetane of 53.
Under the Texas Low Emission Diesel (TxLED) program there
are 110 counties where diesel fuel must have a cetane number
of 48 or greater, or else must use an approved alternative
formulation or comply with the designated alternative limits.
Neste MY Renewable Diesel sold in North America has a

cetane number of 75-85.
● Measuring cetane number

Accurate measurements of the cetane number are rather
difficult, as it requires burning the fuel in a rare diesel engine
called a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine, under
standard test conditions. The operator of the CFR engine uses a
hand-wheel to increase the compression ratio (and therefore the
peak pressure within the cylinder) of the engine until the time
between fuel injection and ignition is 2.407ms. The resulting
cetane number is then calculated by determining which mixture
of cetane (hexadecane) and isocetane (2,2,4,4,6,8,8-
heptamethylnonane) will result in the same ignition delay.
Ignition Quality Tester (IQT)
Another reliable method of measuring the derived cetane

number (DCN) of diesel fuel is the Ignition Quality Tester
(IQT). This instrument applies a simpler, more robust approach
to CN measurement than the CFR. Fuel is injected into a
constant volume combustion chamber at approximately 575 °C
and 310 psi.
The time between the start of injection and the recovery of the
combustion chamber pressure to 310 psi is defined as the
ignition delay. This measured ignition delay is then used to
calculate the DCN of the fuel. The fuel's DCN is then
calculated using an empirical inverse relationship to ignition
delay. Because of the reproducibility, material cost, and speed
of the IQT, this has been the definitive source for DCN
measurements of fuels since the late 2000s.
Fuel ignition tester
Another reliable method of measuring the derived cetane

number of diesel fuel is the Fuel Ignition Tester (FIT). This
instrument applies a simpler, more robust approach to CN
measurement than the CFR. Fuel is injected into a constant
volume combustion chamber in which the ambient temperature
is approximately 575 °C. The fuel combusts, and the high rate
of pressure change within the chamber defines the start of
combustion. The ignition delay of the fuel can then be
calculated as the time difference between the start of fuel
injection and the start of combustion. The fuel's derived cetane
number can then be calculated using an empirical inverse
relationship to ignition delay.
Cetane index
Another method that fuel-users control quality is by using the

cetane index (CI), which is a calculated number based on the
density and distillation range of the fuel. There are various
versions of this, depending on whether metric or Imperial units
are used, and how many distillation points are used. These days
most oil companies use the '4-point method', ASTM D4737,
based on density, 10% 50% and 90% recovery temperatures.
The '2-point method' is defined in ASTM D976, and uses just
density and the 50% recovery temperature. This 2-point
method tends to overestimate cetane index and is not
recommended. Cetane index calculations can not account for
cetane improver additives and therefore do not measure total
cetane number for additized diesel fuels. Diesel engine
operation is primarily related to the actual cetane number and
the cetane index is simply an estimation of the base
(unadditized) cetane number.
● Reference
- Werner Dabelstein, Arno Reglitzky, Andrea Schütze and

Klaus Reders "Automotive Fuels" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia
of Industrial Chemistry, 2007, Wiley-VCH,
Weinheim.doi:10.1002/14356007.a16_719.pub2
- bosch.de (German) Archived December 24, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine
- "St1 Diesel plus -20 °C Product Data Sheet" (PDF). 2018-03-
15.
- "Shell Diesel Summer -20 °C Product Data Sheet" (PDF).
2018-03-15.
- "NEOT DIESEL -10/-20, NEOT DIESEL -10/-20 Premium
Smart Diesel Data Sheet" (PDF). 2018-03-15.
- "Neste MY Renewable Diesel Product Data Sheet" (PDF).
2019-01-01.
- "Specs table" (PDF). www.arb.ca.gov. Archived from the
original (PDF) on 2017-02-21. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
- "Texas Low Emission Diesel (TxLED) Program". TCEQ.
- "Renewable Diesel Performance: No Odor and Lower
Maintenance". Neste in North America. 2019-02-13. Retrieved
2020-01-15.
- dorfketal.com Archived August 8, 2007, at the Wayback
Machine

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University of Karbala

Supervisor: Dr. Haider Nazim

) ‫( تقرير التدريب الصيفي‬

Cetane number (cetane rating) is an indicator of the combustion

Cetane number (or CN) is an inverse function of a fuel's

* Cetane rating unit

In Europe, diesel cetane numbers were set at a minimum of 38

In Finland, premium diesel fuels sold by Filling station chains

In North America, most states adopt ASTM D975 as their

Neste MY Renewable Diesel sold in North America has a

● Measuring cetane number

Ignition Quality Tester (IQT)

Another reliable method of measuring the derived cetane

Fuel ignition tester

Another reliable method of measuring the derived cetane

Another method that fuel-users control quality is by using the

- Werner Dabelstein, Arno Reglitzky, Andrea Schütze and

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