Can Jet Engines Run Without Gasoline?

[BigFly]

I don't know a lot about jet engines and how they exactly work but is it possible to run a jet engine without gasoline? Are there any different fuels that can be used for the engine to give more propulsion or give it more time in the air?

 

[Averagesupernova]

Typically jet engines do NOT run on gasoline. They burn something close to kerosene.

 

[Cyrus]

Probably more than you want to know about jet engines:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_engine

Jet fuel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_fuel

*I remember reading about the guys at Skunk Works adding Boron into the fuel to increase the energy for tactical interceptors. It would allow them to get up to altitude and speed very fast. But I don't think it ever went into use due to techincal issues.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip_fuel

 

[FredGarvin]

Without a fuel, there is nothing in the cycle that would really accelerate the flow through the engine. You have to have some kind of energy source.

You wouldn't want to play around with gasoline in a turbine. It has a tendency to explode. It's too volatile. The fuels arena is a very active area of research. The current state of the art really has different fuels with different energy contents and operational parameters to allow the particular vehicle to operate in its required regime. It does play a role in overall efficiency. However, like the internal combustion engines in cars, one runs into the same problem of finding anything better in terms of energy content per unit mass of fuel.

 

[rbeale98]

you can run a jet engine on hydrogen as a fuel source

 

[minger]

As said you need a fuel, however you can use water to increase performance. Google water injection.

Gas Turbines work very similarily to your car's engine, except certain steps happen at constant pressure rather than volume and vice versa, and of course it's continual.