Solvent consumption in supercritical ethanol, propanol or butanol treatment of either refined pre-extracted lignin or comparatively impure lignin-rich solid residual from hydrothermally pretreated lignocellulosic biomass can be minimized by conducting the reaction at very high loading of lignin to solvent. Comparatively impure, crude lignin-rich solid residual can be directly converted by supercritical alcohol treatment to significantly diesel-soluble lignin oil without requirement for pre-extraction or pre-solubilisation of lignin or for added reaction promoters such as catalysts, hydrogen donor co-solvents, acids, based or H2 gas. O:C ratio of product oil can readily be obtained using crude lignin residual in such a process at levels 0.20 or lower.

A multi-stage process for the production of an ISO 8217 compliant Product Heavy Marine Fuel Oil from ISO 8217 compliant Feedstock Heavy Marine Fuel Oil involving a Reaction System composed of one or more reactor vessels selected from a group reactor wherein said one or more reactor vessels contains one or more reaction sections configured to promote the transformation of the Feedstock Heavy Marine Fuel Oil to the Product Heavy Marine Fuel Oil. The Product Heavy Marine Fuel Oil has a Environmental Contaminate level has a maximum sulfur content (ISO 14596 or ISO 8754) between the range of 0.05 mass % to 1.0 mass. A process plant for conducting the process for conducting the process is disclosed that can utilize a modular reactor vessel.

A multi-stage process for the production of an ISO 8217 compliant Product Heavy Marine Fuel Oil from ISO 8217 compliant Feedstock Heavy Marine Fuel Oil involving a Reaction System composed of one or more reactor vessels selected from a group reactor wherein said one or more reactor vessels contains one or more reaction sections configured to promote the transformation of the Feedstock Heavy Marine Fuel Oil to the Product Heavy Marine Fuel Oil. The Product Heavy Marine Fuel Oil has a Environmental Contaminate level has a maximum sulfur content (ISO 14596 or ISO 8754) between the range of 0.05 mass % to 1.0 mass. A process plant for conducting the process for conducting the process is disclosed that can utilize a modular reactor vessel.

Proposed is a pretreatment desulfurization system including a desulfurization agent storage tank for storing a liquid-phase pretreatment desulfurization agent and a metering pump for supplying the liquid-phase pretreatment desulfurization agent from the desulfurization agent storage tank to a fuel supply line through which marine fuel oil is supplied to a marine engine in a predetermined ratio. Since a fluid mixture composed of the marine fuel oil and the pretreatment desulfurization agent is supplied to the marine engine, sulfur oxides are adsorbed and removed during combustion of the fluid mixture.

The disclosure relates to fuel additive compositions including heavy paraffinic distillates and lighter petroleum distillates, in particular with the heavy paraffinic distillates including a mixture of hydrotreated and/or saturated components and solvent-dewaxed and/or branched components. The disclosure further relates to fuel compositions including the fuel additive composition and a liquid or solid combustible fuel. Related methods include methods of making the fuel compositions and methods of burning the fuel compositions. The resulting fuel compositions have several improved combustion properties such as improved combustion efficiency, improved combustion energy/calorie content, reduced sulfur generation, and reduced ash generation.

The present invention relates to a method of marking a petroleum hydrocarbon by adding to and uniformly mixing with said petroleum hydrocarbon a chemical marker of general formula (I)

##STR00001##

wherein two of the residues R.sup.1-R.sup.10 are independently of each other selected from C.sub.1-C.sub.4-alkoxy, and eight of the residues R.sup.1-R.sup.10 are independently of each other selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and C.sub.1-C.sub.4-alkyl, as well as to a composition of a petroleum hydrocarbon comprising a petroleum hydrocarbon and at is least one chemical marker of general formula (I). The presence and concentration of the chemical marker of general formula (I) in the composition of the petroleum hydrocarbon can be advantageously determined by laser ionization coupled with mass spectrometry or by laser ionization coupled with ion mobility spectrometry.

For the shipping industry, these fuels provide solutions to long outstanding technical problems that heretofore hindered supply of low sulfur marine fuels in quantities needed to meet worldwide sulfur reduction goals. When ships on the open seas burn cheap low grade heavy bunker oils high in sulfur, nitrogen and metals, the SOx, NOx, and metal oxides go to the environment. This invention converts essentially all of each barrel of crude feed to a single ultraclean fuel versus conventional refining where crude feed is cut into many pieces, and each piece is sent down a separate market path meeting various different product specifications. When in port, ships can generate and sell electricity to land based electrical grids to offset fuel cost in an environment-friendly manner.

A method of producing a nanoemulsion is disclosed that provides an oleaginous base fuel, and water in an amount of at least 10 wt %. A first nonionic surfactant, a second nonionic surfactant and a third nonionic surfactant are mixed in substantially equal weight ratios into a surfactant mixture. The surfactant mixture is mixed with the water and the base fuel to form the nanoemulsion fuel. A nanoemulsion fuel composition can comprise an external oleaginous phase comprised of base fuel, an internal aqueous phase comprised of water, and a surfactant mixture comprised of a plurality of surfactants. The first surfactant can be derived from ethylene oxide, the second surfactant and the third surfactant are detergents having a fatty acid.

Proposed is a pretreatment desulfurization method for marine fuel oil. The method includes a step of preparing a pretreatment desulfurization agent including (a) at least one oxide selected from the group consisting of SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, TiO2, MgO, MnO, CaO, Na2O, K2O, and P2O3, (b) at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Li, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Sr, Cd, and Pb, and (c) at least one liquid composition selected from the group consisting of sodium tetraborate (Na2B4O7.10H2O), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sodium silicate (Na2SiO3). and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The method also includes a step of feeding the pretreatment desulfurization agent to a fuel supply line through which marine fuel oil is supplied to a marine engine at a certain ratio so that a fluid mixture containing the marine fuel oil and the pretreatment desulfurization agent is supplied to the marine engine, thereby adsorbing and removing sulfur oxides during combustion of the fluid mixture.

The invention relates to polymer compositions with improved manageability, The invention also relates to a polymer composition obtainable by radical polymerisation of A) 95-40 wt. % of a monomer mixture comprising Ai) 65-98 wt. % of at least alkyl (meth)acrylate having a linear C.sub.16-C.sub.40 alkyl radical and Aii) 2-35 wt. % of at least one comonomer selected from (meth)acrylates and (meth)acrylamides, which supports an optionally substituted aromatic radical bonded via an alkylene, alkenylene, oxyalkylene or polyoxyalkylene group to the ester group of the (meth)acrylate or to the amide group of the (meth)acrylamide, in the presence of B) 5-60% by weight % of at least one ethylene copolymer. The invention further relates to a method for the preparation and use thereof as flow improvers for paraffin-containing hydrocarbon oils.