Editing Kerosene (section)

===As fuel===
{{Home heating fuels}}

====Heating and lighting====
The fuel, also known as heating oil in the UK and Ireland, remains widely used in [[kerosene lamp]]s and lanterns in the developing world.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/ccfaa1ba-d0f1-11e5-831d-09f7778e7377 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/ccfaa1ba-d0f1-11e5-831d-09f7778e7377 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|title=Lightbulb moment for M-Kopa|newspaper=Financial Times|date=17 March 2016|last1=Aglionby|first1=John}}</ref> Although it replaced [[whale oil]], the 1873 edition of ''Elements of Chemistry'' said, "The vapor of this substance [kerosene] mixed with air is as explosive as gunpowder."<ref>{{Cite book
| last = Cooley | first = Le Roy Clark
| title = Elements of Chemistry: for Common and High Schools
| publisher = Scribner, Armstrong
| year= 1873
| page = 98
}}</ref> This statement may have been due to the common practice of adulterating kerosene with cheaper but more volatile hydrocarbon mixtures, such as [[naphtha]].<ref>{{Cite book
| first1 = Benjamin Johnson | last1= Crew
| first2 = Charles Albert  |last2=Ashburner
| title = A Practical Treatise on Petroleum
   | publisher = Baird |year = 1887
| pages = 395. This reference uses "benzene" in the obsolescent generic sense of a volatile hydrocarbon mixture, now called benzine, petroleum ether, ligroin, or naphtha, rather than the modern meaning of [[benzene]] as the specific aromatic hydrocarbon C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>6</sub>}}</ref>
Kerosene was a significant fire risk; in 1880, nearly two of every five New York City fires were caused by defective kerosene lamps.<ref>{{Cite book
| last = Bettmann  | first = Otto
| title = The Good Old Days – They Were Terrible!
| publisher = Random House
| year = 1974
| page = 34
| isbn = 978-0-394-70941-3
}}</ref>

In [[developing country|less-developed countries]] kerosene is an important source of energy for cooking and lighting. It is used as a [[cooking]] fuel in [[portable stove]]s for [[Backpacking (wilderness)|backpackers]]. As a heating fuel, it is often used in portable stoves, and is sold in some [[filling station]]s. It is sometimes used as a heat source during power failures.

[[File:Kerosene truck Aichi Japan.jpg|thumb|A truck delivering kerosene in Japan]]
[[File:Kerosene Storage Tank.jpg|thumb|Kerosene storage tank]]
Kerosene is widely used in Japan and [[Chile]] as a home heating fuel for portable and installed kerosene heaters. In [[Chile]] and Japan, kerosene can be readily bought at any filling station or be delivered to homes in some cases.<ref name="Nagoya">{{cite web|title=Heating Your Home in Winter: Kerosene Fan Heater|url=http://www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/en/e/archives/423|website=Nagoya International Center|date=30 November 2011|access-date=3 November 2016|archive-date=3 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803130914/http://www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/en/e/archives/423}}</ref>
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, kerosene is often used as a heating fuel in areas not connected to a [[natural gas|gas]] pipeline network. It is used less for cooking, with [[Liquefied petroleum gas|LPG]] being preferred because it is easier to light. Kerosene is often the fuel of choice for range cookers such as [[Rayburn range|Rayburn]]. Additives such as RangeKlene can be put into kerosene to ensure that it burns cleaner and produces less soot when used in range cookers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Additives (KeroKlene and Range Klene)|url=https://craggsenergy.co.uk/info/kerosene/|publisher=Craggs Energy|access-date=30 May 2017|date=25 January 2016|archive-date=29 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329155604/https://craggsenergy.co.uk/info/kerosene/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Amish]], who generally abstain from the use of electricity, rely on kerosene for lighting at night.
More ubiquitous in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, [[kerosene heater|kerosene space heaters]] were often built into kitchen ranges, and kept many farm and fishing families warm and dry through the winter. At one time, citrus growers used a [[smudge pot]] fueled by kerosene to create a pall of thick smoke over a grove in an effort to prevent freezing temperatures from damaging crops. "[[Salamander heater|Salamanders]]" are kerosene space heaters used on construction sites to dry out building materials and to warm workers. Before the days of electrically lighted road barriers, highway construction zones were marked at night by kerosene fired, pot-bellied torches. Most of these uses of kerosene created thick black smoke because of the low temperature of combustion.

A notable exception, discovered in the early 19th century, is the use of a [[gas mantle]] mounted above the wick on a kerosene lamp. Looking like a delicate woven bag above the woven cotton wick, the mantle is a residue of mineral materials (mostly [[thorium dioxide]]), heated to [[incandescence]] by the flame from the wick. The [[thorium]] and [[cerium]] oxide combination produces both a whiter light and a greater fraction of the energy in the form of visible light than a [[black body]] at the same temperature would. These types of lamps are still in use today in areas of the world without electricity, because they give a much better light than a simple wick-type lamp does.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} Recently, a multipurpose lantern that doubles as a cook stove has been introduced in India in areas with no electricity.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110216013917/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/lanstove-a-lamp-thats-also-a-stove/143262-11.html Lanstove:A lamp that's also a stove]. Ibnlive.in.com (14 February 2011). Retrieved on 2 June 2015.</ref>

====Cooking====
[[File:Rippingille Albion Lamp Coy c1900 advert.jpg|thumb|upright|Advertisement for an oil stove, from the Albion Lamp Company, Birmingham, England, c. 1900]]
[[File:Old Kerosene stoves.jpg|thumb|left|Old kerosene stoves from India]]

In countries such as Nigeria, kerosene is the main fuel used for cooking, especially by the poor, and kerosene stoves have replaced traditional wood-based cooking appliances. As such, increases in the price of kerosene can have a major political and environmental consequence. The Indian government subsidizes the fuel to keep the price very low, to around 15 U.S. cents per liter as of February 2007, as keeping the price low discourages dismantling of forests for cooking fuel.<ref>{{Cite news
| last = Bradsher
| first = Keith
| title = Fuel Subsidies Overseas Take a Toll on U.S.
| newspaper = New York Times
| date = 28 July 2008
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/business/worldbusiness/28subsidy.html
| access-date = 22 February 2017
| archive-date = 5 January 2018
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180105201219/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/business/worldbusiness/28subsidy.html
| url-status = live
}}</ref> In Nigeria, an attempt by the government to remove a fuel subsidy that includes kerosene met with strong opposition.<ref>{{Cite news
| last = Ibikun
| first = Yinka
| title = Nigeria Kerosene Too Expensive For Oil-Rich Country's Poor
| newspaper = Huffington Post
| date = 25 July 2011
| url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/25/nigeria-kerosene-too-expensive_n_908837.html
| access-date = 11 December 2012
| archive-date = 7 January 2014
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140107091438/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/25/nigeria-kerosene-too-expensive_n_908837.html
| url-status = live
}}</ref>

Kerosene is used as a fuel in [[portable stove]]s, especially in [[Primus stove]]s invented in 1892. Portable kerosene stoves are reliable and durable in everyday use, and perform especially well under adverse conditions. In outdoor activities and mountaineering, a decisive advantage of [[Portable stove#Pressurized liquid fuel stoves|pressurized kerosene stove]]s over [[Portable stove#Gas cartridge stoves|gas cartridge stoves]] is their particularly high thermal output and their ability to operate at very low ambient temperatures in winter or at high altitude. Wick stoves like Perfection's or wickless like Boss continue to be used by the Amish and off grid living, and in natural disasters where there is no power available.

==== Engines ====
In the early to mid-20th century, kerosene or [[tractor vaporizing oil]] was used as a cheap fuel for [[tractor]]s and [[hit-and-miss engine]]s. A [[petrol-paraffin engine]] would start on gasoline, then switch over to kerosene once the engine warmed up. On some engines, a heat valve on the manifold would route the exhaust gasses around the intake pipe, heating the kerosene to the point where it was vaporized and could be ignited by an [[electric spark]].

In Europe following the Second World War, automobiles were similarly modified to run on kerosene rather than gasoline, which they would have to import and pay heavy taxes on. Besides additional piping and the switch between fuels, the [[head gasket]] was replaced by a much thicker one to diminish the compression ratio (making the engine less powerful and less efficient, but able to run on kerosene). The necessary equipment was sold under the trademark "Econom".<ref name="Corporation1951">{{cite book|last=Baer|first=Frederick H.|title=Popular Science December 1951|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nCEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA2-PA193|chapter=Report from abroad on kerosene-fed cars|date=December 1951|publisher=Bonnier Corporation|page=193}}</ref>

During the [[1973 oil crisis|fuel crisis of the 1970s]], Saab-Valmet developed and series-produced the [[Saab 99]] Petro that ran on kerosene, [[turpentine]] or gasoline. The project, codenamed "Project Lapponia", was headed by Simo Vuorio, and towards the end of the 1970s, a working prototype was produced based on the Saab 99 GL. The car was designed to run on two fuels. Gasoline was used for cold starts and when extra power was needed, but normally it ran on kerosene or turpentine. The idea was that the gasoline could be made from peat using the [[Fischer–Tropsch process]]. Between 1980 and 1984, 3,756 Saab 99 Petros and 2,385 [[Talbot Horizon]]s (a version of the Chrysler Horizon that integrated many Saab components) were made. One reason to manufacture kerosene-fueled cars was that, in Finland, kerosene was less heavily taxed than gasoline.<ref>Bakrutan: "Saab 99 Petro" by Petri Tyrkös, n. 4, 2008 {{Dead link|date=January 2022}}</ref>

Kerosene is used to fuel smaller-horsepower outboard motors built by Yamaha, Suzuki, and Tohatsu. Primarily used on small fishing craft, these are dual-fuel engines that start on gasoline and then transition to kerosene once the engine reaches optimum [[operating temperature]]. Multiple fuel Evinrude and Mercury Racing engines also burn kerosene, as well as jet fuel.<ref>
{{Cite news
| last  = Banse
| first = Timothy
| title = Kerosene Outboards: An Alternative Fuel?
| magazine = Marine Engine Digest
| date  = 7 July 2010
| url   = http://marineenginedigest.com/specialreports/kerosene-outboards.htm}}</ref>

Today, kerosene is mainly used in [[jet fuel|fuel for jet engines]] in several grades. One highly refined form of the fuel is known as [[RP-1]], and is often burned with [[liquid oxygen]] as [[Rocket propellant|rocket fuel]]. These fuel grade kerosenes meet specifications for [[smoke point]]s and [[freeze point]]s. The combustion reaction can be approximated as follows, with the molecular formula C<sub>12</sub>H<sub>26</sub> ([[dodecane]]):

: 2 C<sub>12</sub>H<sub>26</sub>(''l'') + 37 O<sub>2</sub>(''g'')&nbsp;→ 24 CO<sub>2</sub>(''g'')&nbsp;+ 26 H<sub>2</sub>O(''g''); [[Enthalpy|∆''H''˚]]&nbsp;= -7513 [[Joule|kJ]]

In the initial phase of liftoff, the [[Saturn V]] launch vehicle was powered by the reaction of liquid oxygen with RP-1.<ref name="Ebbing" >{{cite book|author=Ebbing, Darrell |title=General Chemistry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VakHAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA251|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-111-80895-2|pages=251–|date=3 December 2007}}</ref> For the five 6.4 meganewton sea-level thrust [[F-1 (rocket engine)|F-1]] rocket engines of the Saturn V, burning together, the reaction generated roughly 1.62&nbsp;×&nbsp;10<sup>11</sup> [[watt]]s (J/s) (162 gigawatt) or 217 million horsepower.<ref name=Ebbing/>

Kerosene is sometimes used as an additive in diesel fuel to prevent gelling or waxing in cold temperatures.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/diesel/presentations/keroseneblding.pdf Kerosene blending] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527233943/http://www.epa.gov/diesel/presentations/keroseneblding.pdf |date=27 May 2008 }}, (pdf from EPA)</ref>

Ultra-low sulfur kerosene is a custom-blended fuel used by the [[New York City Transit Authority]] to power its bus fleet. The transit agency started using this fuel in 2004, prior to the widespread adoption of [[ultra-low-sulfur diesel]], which has since become the standard. In 2008, the suppliers of the custom fuel failed to tender for a renewal of the transit agency's contract, leading to a negotiated contract at a significantly increased cost.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/nyregion/25fuel.html|title=How a Plan for Bus Fuel Grew Expensive|newspaper=The New York Times|date=25 September 2008|access-date=22 February 2017|archive-date=5 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105215847/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/nyregion/25fuel.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[JP-8]] (for "Jet Propellant 8"), a kerosene-based fuel, is used by the United States military as a replacement in diesel fueled vehicles and for powering aircraft. JP-8 is also used by the U.S. military and its NATO allies as a fuel for heaters, stoves, tanks, and as a replacement for diesel fuel in the engines of nearly all tactical ground vehicles and electrical generators.