HIGH PERFORMANCE HYDROCARBON FUELS FOR SUPERSONIC PROPULSION

Hydrocarbon fuels capable of meeting high performance standards in advanced supersonic propulsion systems can be produced in substantial volume at reasonable cost from petroleum streams by hydrogenating aromatic concentrates or processing certain cuts from selected crudes. These fuels are rich in poly-cyclic naphthenes and thermally stable, comparable in most respects to synthetic hydrocarbons prepared by expensive chemical syntheses.