COMPOSITION FOR CLEANING COMBUSTION ENGINE SYSTEMS

Abstract

A composition for cleaning a combustion engine system. The composition comprises a hydrocarbon. The hydrocarbon comprises respective first and second hydrocarbons. The first hydrocarbon comprises a lubricant, wherein the lubricant has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of less than 80° C. The second hydrocarbon comprises an aromatic hydrocarbon, wherein the aromatic hydrocarbon has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of greater than 62° C. The composition further comprises an oxygen donor. The oxygen donor comprises respective first and second oxygen donors. The first oxygen donor comprises a hydroxyl group and has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of from 45° C. to 95° C. The second oxygen donor comprises a carbonyl group or an ether group and has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of from 50° C. to 120° C.

Claims

1. A composition for cleaning a combustion engine system, wherein the composition comprises: a hydrocarbon, wherein the hydrocarbon comprises respective first and second hydrocarbons, wherein the first hydrocarbon comprises a lubricant, wherein the lubricant has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of less than 80° C., wherein the second hydrocarbon comprises an aromatic hydrocarbon, wherein the aromatic hydrocarbon has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of greater than 62° C.; and an oxygen donor, wherein the oxygen donor comprises respective first and second oxygen donors, wherein the first oxygen donor comprises a hydroxyl group and has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of from 45° C. to 95° C., and wherein the second oxygen donor comprises a carbonyl group or an ether group and has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of from 50° C. to 120° C.

2. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the first oxygen donor has from five to eight carbon atoms in an individual chemical compound.

3. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the hydroxyl group is a primary alcohol.

4. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the first oxygen donor has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of from 50° C. to 93° C.

5. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the first oxygen donor comprises one or more of: benzyl alcohol, 2-methylbutan-1-ol, 2-ethylbutan-1-ol, or 2-ethyl hexanol.

6. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the second oxygen donor has from five to eight carbon atoms in an individual chemical compound.

7. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the second oxygen donor has from one to four oxygen atoms in an individual chemical compound.

8. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the second oxygen donor has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of from 55° C. to 115° C.

9. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the second oxygen donor comprises one or more of: di(propylene glycol) methyl ether, cyclopentanone, 1-butoxy-2-propanol, 3-octanone, 2-butoxyethan-1-ol, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether, 1-phenylethan-1-one, diethyl butanedioate, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethanol, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy) ethanol, or 2-(2-butoxyethoxy) ethanol.

10. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of less than 70° C.

11. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant comprises one or more of: kerosene, odourless kerosene, mineral oil, white spirits, hydrodesulphurized heavy naphtha (petroleum), solvent-refined heavy naphtha (petroleum), hydrotreated heavy naphtha (petroleum), hydrocarbons C.sub.9-C.sub.11 isoalkanes, hydrocarbons C.sub.10-C.sub.12, isoalkanes, or hydrocarbons C.sub.11-C.sub.12, isoalkanes.

12. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the aromatic hydrocarbon comprises C10 aromatic hydrocarbon blend.

13. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the composition comprises hydrocarbon and oxygen donor in a ratio of from 5:5 to 7:3.

14. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the composition comprises hydrocarbon and oxygen donor in a ratio of 6:4.

15. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the composition comprises a biocide.

16. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the composition has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of greater than 55° C.

17. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the lubricant comprises odourless kerosene and the aromatic hydrocarbon comprises C10 aromatic hydrocarbon blend; and wherein the first oxygen donor comprises benzyl alcohol and the second oxygen donor comprises dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether.

18. A composition according to claim 17, wherein the composition comprises 10% by volume odourless kerosene, 50% by volume C10 aromatic hydrocarbon blend, 20% by volume benzyl alcohol, and 20% by volume dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether.

19. A composition according to claim 17, wherein the composition has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of greater than 63° C.

20. A method of cleaning a combustion engine system, wherein the method comprises: passing a composition into an engine of the combustion engine system, wherein the composition is according to claim 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] A composition for cleaning a combustion engine system is described, wherein the composition comprises a hydrocarbon and an oxygen donor.

[0050] The hydrocarbon comprises respective first and second hydrocarbons. The first hydrocarbon comprises a lubricant, wherein the lubricant has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of less than 80° C. The second hydrocarbon comprises an aromatic hydrocarbon, wherein the aromatic hydrocarbon has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of greater than 62° C.

[0051] The oxygen donor comprises respective first and second oxygen donors. The first oxygen donor comprises a hydroxyl group and has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of from 45° C. to 95° C. The second oxygen donor comprises a carbonyl group or an ether group and has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of from 50° C. to 120° C.

[0052] Advantageously, the composition has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of greater than 55° C.

[0053] One example of the disclosure is described in table 1 below.

Example 1

[0054]

TABLE-US-00001 Amount (% Flash Component by volume) point C10 aromatic hydrocarbon blend 50 >63° C  . Odourless kerosene 10 37-65° C.   Benzyl alcohol 20 93° C. Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether 20 75° C.

[0055] The composition of example 1 has a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of greater than 63° C.

[0056] The hydrocarbon in example 1 comprises a first and a second hydrocarbon. The first hydrocarbon is odourless kerosene and the second hydrocarbon is C10 aromatic hydrocarbon blend.

[0057] C10 aromatic hydrocarbon blend is an aromatic hydrocarbon. In example 1 above, the 010 aromatic hydrocarbon blend is BAS150® (CAS number 64742-94-5). In other examples, the 010 aromatic hydrocarbon may be any of: Solvent Naphtha, Shellsol 150®, Atosol 150®, Solvesso 150®, Aromatic Solvent 010 or Kocosol 150®, or any other 010 aromatic hydrocarbon blend.

[0058] Odourless kerosene acts as a lubricant, i.e. odourless kerosene is a lubricant.

[0059] The oxygen donor of example 1 comprises a first and a second oxygen donor. The first oxygen donor comprises benzyl alcohol and the second oxygen donor comprises dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether. Benzyl alcohol is an aromatic alcohol and therefore comprises a hydroxyl group and an aromatic group. Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether comprises a hydroxyl group and an ether group.

[0060] In some examples, kerosene may be dearomatized. In other examples, kerosene may comprise aromatic structures. Odourless kerosene may be desulphurised. The flash point of kerosene is estimated to be over 62° C. with no definitive upper limit, but generally likely to be no more than 80° C. Kerosene may be a mixture of saturated hydrocarbons varying in carbon chain length from C.sub.7 to C.sub.18 (or in some examples from C.sub.12 to C.sub.16). In some examples, the carbon chain is branched, or straight chained (aliphatic), or cyclic (cycloalkanes). In other examples, the carbon chain comprises aromatic structures, for example, benzene and derivatives thereof.

[0061] To clean a combustion engine system, a composition according to examples of the disclosure is passed into an engine of the combustion engine system.

[0062] The combustion engine system may comprise a two or four stroke engine, and may be used, for example, to power vehicles such as cars or boats or other machines such as lawnmowers.

[0063] In some examples, the composition is passed directly into the engine. In such examples, the fuel line to the engine is disconnected and the engine is connected to a means for passing the composition directly into the engine.

[0064] In other examples, the composition is introduced into the fuel tank and is passed into the engine from the fuel tank. In such examples, the fuel tank may already contain a quantity of fuel. The amount of composition added is predetermined by the quantity of fuel contained in the tank, and wherein the amount of composition added is in the range of 0.5 to 0.75 litres per 15 litres of fuel. In use, the composition passes into the engine through the fuel injection system during normal operation of the combustion engine system.

[0065] From the engine, the combustion products of the composition pass through the catalytic converter and out through the exhaust system. It is understood that the composition generates an organic acid vapour on combustion in the engine, for example, which comprises a carboxylic acid vapour.

[0066] It has been found that compositions according to the disclosure used as described above improve performance of, and decrease emissions from, combustion engine systems.

[0067] Combustion engine systems are commonly used to power vehicles and other machines. In some examples, a combustion engine system comprises a fuel storage system, an internal combustion engine, a fuel injection system for introduction of fuel into the engine, a catalytic converter, and an exhaust system.

[0068] It is understood that compositions according to the disclosure improve performance of, and decrease emissions from, combustion engine systems by reducing or removing deposits from, for example, the fuel storage system, the internal combustion engine, the fuel injection system for introduction of fuel into the engine, the catalytic converter, and/or the exhaust system.

[0069] It is understood that a contributing factor in the removal or reduction of deposits from the catalytic converter and exhaust system is the action of the organic acid vapour which results from the combustion of the composition in the engine.

[0070] The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which the material will ignite, when given an ignition source. Accordingly, flash point is used as a measure to classify whether a volatile material is flammable, highly flammable or extremely flammable.

[0071] The correspondence between flash point and flammability classification may differ depending on the jurisdiction and regulatory code of practice. However, the lower the flash point, the more flammable the liquid.

[0072] By way of example only, in one such regulatory code of practice ‘Extremely flammable’ liquids have a flash point lower than 0° C., ‘Highly flammable’ liquids have a flash point below 21° C. (but which are not extremely flammable), and flammable liquids have a flash point equal to or greater than 21° C. and less than or equal to 55° C.

[0073] By way of example only, in another such regulatory code of practice ‘flammable’ liquids have a flash point equal to or greater than 23° C. and less than or equal to 60° C. in the occupational safety and health administration's (OSHA's) hazard communication standard. Above 60° C., a liquid is classified as ‘combustible’ in this standard, which is a category 4 liquid.

[0074] A composition having a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of greater than, for example, 55° C. covers compositions having a flash point greater than 55° C. Accordingly, a composition having a flash point, measured according to ASTM D93, of greater than 60° C. covers compositions having a flash point greater than 60° C.

[0075] By the above measure, compositions according to the disclosure are not classified as ‘flammable’, ‘highly flammable’ or ‘extremely flammable’, but in some codes of practice are instead classified as ‘combustible liquids’. Accordingly, such compositions are significantly less hazardous to use and less problematic to transport and store than known compositions which are classified as ‘flammable’, ‘highly flammable’ or ‘extremely flammable’. However, use of compositions according to examples of the disclosure results in a broadly similar or improved reduction in emissions and improvement in performance over existing compositions.

[0076] In known compositions the oxygen donor comprises low flash point solvents such as acetone (first oxygen donor) and isopropyl alcohol (second oxygen donor). Accordingly, such known compositions have a relatively low flash point, and are therefore hazardous to use and problematic to transport and store.

[0077] Example first oxygen donors of the present disclosure have a relatively higher flash point than known first oxygen donors, but have a comparable solvency.

[0078] Solvency power is typically measured by the Kauri-Butanol Value (KB value) of the solvent. The KB value is a measure of solvency power whereby the higher the KB value, the higher the solvency power.

[0079] Example second oxygen donors of the present disclosure have a relatively higher flash point than known second oxygen donors, but have a comparable solubility in water.

[0080] Furthermore, in known compositions xylene may be used as an aromatic hydrocarbon. To further increase the flash point of the composition aromatic hydrocarbons with a higher flash point are used, for example, C10 aromatic hydrocarbon blend.

[0081] There is thus described a composition and method with a number of advantages as detailed above.

[0082] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. For instance, each of the aromatic hydrocarbon, the lubricant, the first oxygen donor, and the second oxygen donor could be a mixture of different compounds, for example, selected from the groups specified.

[0083] Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described.

[0084] Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions may be performable by other features whether described or not.

[0085] Although features have been described with reference to certain embodiments, those features may also be present in other embodiments whether described or not.

[0086] The term “comprise” is used in this document with an inclusive not an exclusive meaning. That is any reference to X comprising Y indicates that X may comprise only one Y or may comprise more than one Y. If it is intended to use “comprise” with an exclusive meaning then it will be made clear in the context by referring to “comprising only one . . . ” or by using “consisting”.

[0087] In this brief description, reference has been made to various examples. The description of features or functions in relation to an example indicates that those features or functions are present in that example. The use of the term “example” or “for example” or “may” in the text denotes, whether explicitly stated or not, that such features or functions are present in at least the described example, whether described as an example or not, and that they can be, but are not necessarily, present in some of or all other examples. Thus “example”, “for example” or “may” refers to a particular instance in a class of examples. A property of the instance can be a property of only that instance or a property of the class or a property of a sub-class of the class that includes some but not all of the instances in the class. It is therefore implicitly disclosed that features described with reference to one example but not with reference to another example, can where possible be used in that other example but does not necessarily have to be used in that other example.

[0088] Whilst endeavoring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.