Process of Making Jet Fuel

Drilling

Because standard gasoline has a low flashpoint, it is ignited fairly easily. For safety reasons, aircraft engines are designed to run on a fuel with a higher flashpoint. Modern jet aircraft use a special engine fuel known as Jet-A, which is pure kerosene distilled from oil. The first step in the process of making jet fuel is to obtain this crude oil.
Oil resources are buried in the earth and must be drilled in order to be accessed. Once crude oil is pumped from the ground, it can be processed and formulated to serve as aircraft fuel.

Heating

Crude oil must be heated to isolate different components. This heating process begins to separate oil into different layers: less dense components rise to the top, while denser particles stay at the bottom.
Once separated by heat, these different liquids can be collected. Using this method, kerosene is isolated from other petroleum substances such as gasoline.

Purifying and Delivering

Kerosene that has been separated from crude oil is further purified. This purification is done to remove impurities such as aromatics which can cause problems when the fuel is burned.
Once extracted, kerosene is placed in storage tanks. These tanks are used to transport the fuel safely, and deliver it to airports and military bases to be used as jet fuel.

References

• Aviation Fuel Information
• Kerosene and Jet-A Production