Diesel is a light petroleum product, a mixture of complex hydrocarbons (a
bout 10-22 carbon atoms). Fuel for diesel engines. It is mainly prepared from diesel oil fractions produced in the processes of crude oil distillation, catalytic cracking, thermal cracking, hydrocracking, and petroleum coking; it can also be produced from shale oil processing and coal liquefaction. It is divided into two categories: light diesel oil (boiling point range is a
bout 180-370°C) and heavy diesel oil (boiling point range is a
bout 350-410°C). It is widely used in large vehicles, railway locomotives and ships.
The most important use of diesel is for diesel engines of vehicles and ships. Compared with gasoline, diesel has high energy density and low fuel consumption. Diesel has low energy consumption, so some small cars and even high-performance cars also switch to diesel.
On October 27, 2017, the list of carcinogens published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization was preliminarily compiled for reference. Diesel and light ends were included in the list of three types of carcinogens.
