The distillation curve and sooting propensity of a typical jet fuel

•Flames of Jet A were examined with an emphasis on the effect of distillate fractions on soot formation.•A key surrogate of kerosene produces far less soot nuclei in premixed flames.•The high-boiling point end of the distillation curve nucleates far more soot particles.•Sooting properties in diffusion flames are less sensitive to fuel composition variations. Real jet fuels are complex mixtures of many organic components, some of which are aromatic compounds. Towards the high-temperature end of the distillation curve, some of the fuel components are multi-ring compounds. A small amount of these high molecular weight species in the fuel could impact soot nucleation in practical engines especially when the fuel is injected as a spray. This work aims to highlight the variation of the sooting propensity of jet fuels as a function of distillate fractions and to examine the validity of a surrogate fuel in emulating soot production from real fuels. Particle size distribution functions and soot volume fractions are studied in a series of laminar premixed stretch-stabilized ethylene flames doped with Jet A, its various distillate fractions, and the 2nd generation MURI surrogate. Soot formation as a result of doping real jet fuel and its distillate fractions is also investigated in counterflow and coflow diffusion flames. The results show that the higher-boiling distillates mostly influence soot nucleation and produce substantially more soot in nucleation controlled flames than the light molecular fraction and jet fuel as received, while such an effect is seen to be small in flames where soot production is controlled by surface growth. The potential impact of distillate fractions on soot nucleation propensities is discussed.