What Is Winter Diesel ? Why It Is Important For Indian Army

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The News

India’s armed forces may soon be using winter diesel for operations in high altitude areas such as Ladakh.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) has sought approval from the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) of the armed forces to approve winter diesel usage for the army vehicles.

Regular diesel fuel contains paraffin wax which is added for improving viscosity and lubrication.
At low temperatures, the paraffin wax thickens or “gels” and hinders the flow of the fuel in the car engine.
Gel point is the temperature at which diesel fuel freezes solid and can no longer flow by gravity or be pumped through fuel lines.
This phenomenon happens when a fuel reaches a low enough temperature whereby enough wax crystals have formed to prevent any movement in the oil.
For diesel this is usually around −8 °C
For Petrol this is at -68 °C

Using kerosene to dilute diesel to make it usable – more air pollution and damage to modern diesel engines.
Pre heating the fuel tank – dangerous.

Anti-gel additives are commonly added to diesel or biodiesels where cold temperature is expected.
They act to reduce the formation of wax crystals in the fuel, thereby lowering the pour point and the gel point of the fuel.

What are the armed forces using in this area currently?
IOCL and other oil marketing companies provide the armed forces with Diesel High sulphur Pour Point (DHPP -W) to armed forces for operations in these areas which also has a pour point of -30°C.

The winter-grade diesel developed by IOC has a low pour point (the temperature below which the liquid loses its flow characteristics) of -33° Celsius, making it capable of withstanding the extreme winter weather conditions in Ladakh
It also meets Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specification of BS-VI grade.
The winter-grade diesel is being produced by the Panipat Refinery of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
The special winter-grade diesel will help to reduce the hardships faced by the local people for transportation and mobility during the harsh winter months.