Jet fuel is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is clear to straw colored. The most common fuels are Jet A and Jet A-1 which are produced to an internationally standardized set of specifications. The only other jet fuel that is commonly used in civilian turbine engine-powered aviation is called Jet B and is used for its enhanced cold-weather performance.
Jet fuel is a mixture of a large number of different hydrocarbons. The range of their sizes (molecular weights or carbon numbers) is restricted by the requirements for the product, for example, freezing point or smoke point. Kerosene-type jet fuel (including Jet A and Jet A-1) has a carbon number distribution between about 8 and 16 carbon numbers; wide-cut or naphtha-type jet fuel (including Jet B), between about 5 and 15 carbon numbers.