No. 2 Fuel Oil Vs. Diesel

Fuel oil classes, including fuel oil no. 2 and diesel fuels, are extracted in the refining process for crude petroleum. They can be categorized as either a distillate fuel (a fuel oil distilled off during the refining process that is used for heating, electric power generation and in combustion engines) or as a residual fuel (the remaining liquid left after the distillation of the petroleum.) Fuel oils 1, 2 and 4 are used for heating, and are all very similar to diesel fuels.

Similarities

Diesel fuels are approximately the same as fuel oils that are used for heating, including fuel oil no. 2. All of these fuel oils comprise complex mixtures of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. These fuel oils consist of approximately 80 to 90 percent aliphatic alkanes (parraffins) and cycloalkanes (naphthenes) that are hydrogen saturated, 10 to 20 percent aromatics and 1 percent olefins.

Diesel Fuel

Diesel fuel is a liquid fuel that is used in diesel engines; it is essentially the same as fuel oil no. 2 except that it has a limited cretane number, a measurement of the quality of combustion for the diesel during the compression ignition.

Fuel Oil No. 2

Fuel oil no. 2 is the diesel fuel that vehicles with diesel engines use for operation; it is sometimes referred to as "road diesel." It is also used for heating.

References

• Amerada Hess Corporation: No. 2 Fuel Oil MSDS
• CDC: Fuel Oils, Chemical and Physical Information
• International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry: residual fuel/oil
• State of Nebraska: Glossary