Frozen jet fuel triggers hundreds of American Airlines cancellations

[jakeXT]

Source: FOX 4 News

Frozen jet fuel is wreaking havoc with the nation's air travelers on Monday.

Officials with American Airlines said it's so cold that fuel supplies are frozen at multiple airports in the Midwest and Northeast, including American's hub at Chicago O'Hare.

American spokesman Matt Miller said the airline has already canceled 750 flights on Monday and more cancellations are likely.

Miller said there's little to no snow or precipitation causing the delays – it's the bitterly cold temperatures.


Read more: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/24374572/frozen-airline-fuel-triggers-hundreds-of-american-airlines-cancelations

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Are there additives one could use? What are the Canadians using?

"The fuel and glycol supplies are frozen at (Chicago O'Hare) and other airports in the Midwest and Northeast," said Andrea Huguely, a spokeswoman for American Airlines Group. "We are unable to pump fuel and or de-ice."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/06/usa-weather-idUKL2N0KG17Z20140106

[Fastcars]

1. I would guess it is a lot like the diesel that trucks use

Higher grade diesel has a much lower temperature before it gels, then there are additives you use in the #1 diesel when it gets insanely cold like it is now. The higher grade stuff is considerably more expensive and the additives even more so. Companies try to get by with the least amount of either they can get away with.

AA probably took a gamble and thought they had enough high grade fuel mixed in with the lower grade to keep it from gelling. It appears they lost.

[jakeXT]

10. United Airlines is just slower

American Airlines said temperatures are so cold at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport that fuel and de-icing liquids were actually frozen. United Airlines said its fuel is pumping slower than normal in Chicago.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2014/01/06/0106-Historic-freeze-disrupts-US-travel.html

[louis-t]

37. I would imagine that once it starts freezing

there's nothing that can be done.

[uppityperson]

2. Isn't it colder up at altitude or do they have something that keeps fuel lines from

freezing up their? Yes, I do not know this.

[W T F]

14. Aircraft fuel systems use oil/fuel heat exchangers but, fuel does freeze at -40F

[Art_from_Ark]

23. The last time I flew,

the flight monitor showed the outside temperature to be as low as -81F.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Had not considered that as one of the problems of this cold weather.

What keeps gasoline from freezing in our car tanks????

[happyslug]

11. Freezing point of Gasoline is negative 40 degrees

The "pour point" is when a liquid starts to exhibits signs it is converting to a solid,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pour_point

The "pour point" for Diesel is about 1 degree Celsius (or just above the freezing point of water or just above 32 degree Fahrenheit)/

http://mmf.cu.edu.tr/otomotiv/duyurular/fuel%20laboratuvar%20foyu.pdf

Pour points tend to be 4.5 to 5 degrees Celsius (8-10 degree Fahrenheit) below the Cloud point of a liquid:
http://books.google.com/books?id=hqtjpxw88ugC&pg=PA104&lpg=PA104&dq=Pour+point+gasoline&source=bl&ots=Kabjy8Awwr&sig=41Bvwj8CdOGti67EjcX3YsO3TDA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2kHLUtHhCsmfkQe_1YCAAw&ved=0CCsQ6AEwADgo#v=onepage&q=Pour%20point%20gasoline&f=false


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_point

Diesel/Kerosene/Home hearing oil/Jet Fuel A contains waxes and as such starts to become solids at temperatures well above Gasoline. What I have seen the "Cloud Point" for Diesel is around 30 degrees Fahrenheit (When you start to see the fuel to become solid), and its "Pour point" is around 20 degrees (At which point is starts to have solid particles in the mix). Gasoline "Pour Point", "Cloud point" and Freezing point are the same negative 40 degrees (Which is also the freezing point of Diesel and Jet Fuel) do to the lack of such waxes in gasoline.

Thus while gasoline is usable down to -40, degree, Diesel starts to be marginal right at the freezing point o water and noticeable problem starts at about 18 to 20 degree Fahrenheit.

Side Note: I did not use the term Fahrenheit or Celsius for the -40 degree comment, for -40 Celsius is the same as -40 Fahrenheit. It is the only point where the two scales are the same.

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. Thank you for the detailed info.

I love learning..."stuff".

[MADem]

24. Great post--I, too, like learning stuff and DU is a wonderful resource in that regard.

Thanks again for taking the time to explain it all!

[Beacool]

34. Thank you.

Like the others said, I too like learning "stuff".

[happyslug]

35. It took me a couple of hours to find that stuff...

But I already knew that Diesel was a problem below the freezing point of water, but gasoline did not. Thus as I tried to find a definite answer "Cloud point" and "Pour Point" kept coming up and took me a while to determine that these varied and thus no definite number (And no one wanted to give a number for it does vary and that variation is enough to change whole calculations), but a proximate number did exist. That approximate number was the Freezing point of water for the "Cloud Point" about 8-10 degree Fahrenheit below that for the "Pour Point" but the actual "Freezing point" for Diesel and Gasoline is the same -40 degrees (With some variation able to stay liquid till -47 degree).

The difference between Diesel/Jet Fuel A/Home heating oil/Kerosene (hereafter referred to as "Diesel&quot l and Gasoline is do to the existence of "waxes" inside Diesel AND the absence of those "waxes" in gasoline and other naphtha based fuels. Not a problem above Freezing, but a huge problem starting with freezing point of water (Which itself varies depending on attitude, it is 32 degree Fahrenheit at sea level, but I had a high school teacher who tested when the freezing point was my old Pittsburgh High School and said it was 31 degrees. Attitude affects the freezing point for the higher the attitude, the lower the air pressure and thus the lower the freezing point. Another factor that comes into play is barometric pressure (Which is air pressure) that goes up and down (and thus must be constant when testing is being done i.e. another source of "error" is any calculation that sets the exact point of Freezing, Pour Point or Cloud Point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_refining_processes

Thus I use the term "Approximate" when I did my thread, to many variable to give an exact number, but at the same time most people just what to know approximately when something happens not the exact point.

More on refining oil:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_catalytic_cracking

[Beacool]

36. Your efforts are appreciated, particularly by those of us who don't have the time

to do our own research (I'm at work).

[happyslug]

4. First you can heat the fuel tanks...

Last edited Mon Jan 6, 2014, 08:35 PM - Edit history (1)

The second thing is mix in gasoline if the problem is the tanks, but I suspect the problem is NOT the fuel tanks but the fuel hoses.

Most fuel tanks are underground and ground temperatures tends to be the same as local average temperature for the year i.e. if the average temperature for you area is 54 Degree, ground temperatures tends to be 54 degrees. Remember average temperature includes both SUMMER and WINTER temperatures.

Given that fuel tanks are almost always underground (for safety AND for the additional strength the ground gives to the fuel tanks) the problem is almost NEVER the fuel tanks themselves, but the hoses from the fuel tanks to the jets. These are probably unheated and as such subject to freezing if the temperatures gets low enough.

Remember this is the coldest temperatures I have seen since the 1970s. That is 40 years of NOT have to deal with sub Zero Fahrenheit temperatures. In Canada, I suspect the hoses are insulated better and may even have electrical heating elements in them. The ones in the US may also have electrical heating elements, but no one has tested those electrical heating elements in 40 years and are now finding them not working. Thus portable heaters have to be brought out to heat the hoses.

As to the fuel itself, in Winter most people who burn diesel fuel convert to #1 Diesel Fuel, which is Diesel fuel that is closer to gasoline then regular Diesel fuel. Thus my comment that they go with something with more gasoline in it.

This cite says Diesel #1 is "more volatile" then Diesel #2, the reason is Diesel #1 has more gasoline in it. Gasoline is a "Volatile" fuel as oppose to Diesel/Kerosene/jet Fuel

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-diesel-fuels.html

What is the difference between Diesel Fuel #2, Kerosene, Jet Fuel and home heating oil? Tax rate. There are some technical differences, but the error rate in those technical terms exceeds the differences between he fuel (i.e no real difference). Now Diesel Fuel tends to have added elements to work in diesel engine better, but that does not mean you can not use it as jet fuel, kerosene or home heating oil.

http://generalaviationnews.com/2011/03/17/jet-a-versus-diesel-fuel/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_oil

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_fuel

[jakeXT]

6. I found an interesting pdf

When the commercial jet industry was developing in the 1950s, kerosine-type fuel was chosen
as having the best combinations of properties. Wide-cut jet fuel (JetB) still is used in some parts
of Canada and Alaska because it is suited to cold climates. But kerosine-type fuels – Jet A and
Jet A-1 – predominate in the rest of the world.

Jet A is used in the United States while most of the rest of the world uses Jet A-1. The important
difference between the two fuels is that Jet A-1 has a lower maximum freezing point than Jet A
(Jet A: – 40°C, Jet A-1: – 47°C). The lower freezing point makes Jet A-1 more suitable for long
international flights, especially on polar routes during the winter.
However, the lower freezing point comes at a price. Other variables being constant, a refinery can
produce a few percent more Jet A than Jet A-1 because the higher freezing point allows the incorpo-ration
of more higher boiling components, which in turn, permits the use of a broader distillation
cut. The choice of Jet A for use in the United States is driven by concerns about fuel price and
availability. Many years of experience have shown that Jet A is suitable for use in the United States.

http://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/2478.pdf

[Fred Sanders]

8. So the cheaper Jet A is OK for America until it isn't.

[jakeXT]

9. The temperatures aren't that low, I wonder what it is.

Is it the water in the fuel, or is the quality not fulfilling the norm of Jet A ?

[Fred Sanders]

12. Wind chill and Jet A fuel...it IS that cold.

[jakeXT]

16. Wind chill affects only the cooling speed, but it won't get below the actual temperature

1. What is wind chill temperature? back

A. The wind chill temperature is how cold people and animals feel when outside. Windchill is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold. As the wind increases, it draws heat from the body, driving down skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature. Therefore, the wind makes it FEEL much colder. If the temperature is 0 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind is blowing at 15 mph, the wind chill is -19 degrees Fahrenheit. At this wind chill temperature, exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes.

2. Can wind chill impact my car's radiator or exposed water pipe?

A. The only effect wind chill has on inanimate objects, such as car radiators and water pipes, is to shorten the amount of time for the object to cool. The inanimate object will not cool below the actual air temperature. For example, if the temperature outside is -5 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind chill temperature is -31 degrees Fahrenheit, then your car's radiator will not drop lower than -5 degrees Fahrenheit.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/windchillfaq.shtml

[Fred Sanders]

19. I suspect the problem is NOT the fuel tanks but the fuel hoses.

[SoapBox]

27. Bingo!!!

Delayed over a couple of hours out DTW, Monday night, due to frozen hoses on fuel truck and then a fueling "cart". Finally with 2 fuelers, wrestling a frozen hose, they were able to connect and fuel our aircraft. When we finally got out of there, it was around -11 before wind chill.

It's hell!

[happyslug]

18. As I explained above, Jet Fuel A starts to freeze at the freezing point of water.

Jet Fuel/Diesel does NOT completely go solid till -40 degrees, but starts to convert to solid at about 20 degrees Fahrenheit. This appears to be do to the waxes in diesel, waxes NOT in gasoline.

[Bandit]

31. You would think that jets never fly in some Alaskan cities in the winter

However that just isn't true. Jets fly in and out of Fairbanks Alaska daily even when temps are below minus fifty. and I am not talking wind chill. I am talking temperature and people still drive their cars every day and heat their homes with diesel fuel..Something doesn't make sense here.

[jakeXT]

32. Every country and region has different additives in diesel fuel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_diesel_fuel

[happyslug]

33. As i said before it STARTS to Freeze at the Frezzing point of Water, but does nof fully freeze -40

And in Alaska and Canada, when they are NOT using heated hoses, they are using Jet Fuel B which is 70% Gasoline.

[happyslug]

15. Jet Fuel B is 70-% Gasoline

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_fuel

Given Gas turbine (which is what a jet engine is) can burn any liquid fuel, it is usable by jets.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

5. I have been stranded in the Canadian arctic twice because it was too cold to fly

In one case it was just a paperwork issue, the plane wasn't certified to be operated below -40, in the other the waste water system was frozen solid and it was way too long a flight to tell people to hold it.

[Fred Sanders]

7. At -50C or -58F all flight is hazardous and flights should be grounded....anyone any one taking off

at this moment at these temperatures in otherwise perfect conditions should cross their fingers.

[Cal Carpenter]

13. Wow, that's wild

I've never heard of this before.



( Here in SE Mich the temps are insanely low atm ~~~ it's -9 degrees, and -37 with the wind chill...)

[Fred Sanders]

17. Update from Chicago Weather Center Blog: West winds gusting over 30 mph combine with temps of -12

degrees to produce wind chills of -45 degrees.

[LiberalEsto]

20. A friend of ours had his flight canceled at Dulles in Virginia this morning

We couldn't figure out why. Thanks for posting this.

[YOHABLO]

22. I think everyone needs to get a hotel room and wait it out .. don't take a chance.

[Kablooie]

25. Why is only American Airline fuel freezing?

I don't hear this about any other airlines.

[jakeXT]

26. Southwest also, but I suspect it's just the equipment and not so much the fuel itself.

"The problem we - and other carriers - faced very early is the fueling pumper trucks wouldn't work," said American spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan. "Parts were frozen. Fuel nozzles were also frozen and had to be taken to a hangar to thaw out. It's slow going."

Southwest Airlines suspended flights at Chicago Midway airport on Monday, also citing fueling problems. United Continental Holdings canceled 460 flights at O'Hare, including 380 on regional carriers.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-weather-jetblue-20140106,0,2157061.story

[SoapBox]

28. Delta is having lots of problems too.

MSP, DTW, JFK, LGA, EWR, BOS to name a few.

[LiberalEsto]

30. JetBlue canceled a lot of flights yesterday too nt

[davidpdx]

29. Not a particularly good time to fly

Stay on the ground if you can.

I always avoid flying home during the winter as there is no telling what the conditions will be.