EMULSIFIER PACKAGE WITH A BRANCHED AND OPTIONALLY WITH A PROPOXYLATED SURFACTANT FOR FUEL EMULSION

Abstract

A method for powering a diesel engine with a fuel emulsion involves preparing the fuel emulsion by emulsifying a fuel and water in the presence of an emulsifier package, which contains a branched surfactant of the formula (I) as defined below and optionally, a propoxylated surfactant of the formula (II) as defined below. A fuel emulsion for powering a diesel engine is also provided.

Claims

1: A method for powering a diesel engine with a fuel emulsion, the method comprising: preparing the fuel emulsion by emulsifying a fuel and water in the presence of an emulsifier package which comprises a branched surfactant of the formula (I)
R.sup.aO-(AO.sup.a).sub.mR.sup.a(I), in which R.sup.a is a branched C.sub.1-32 alkyl, AO.sup.a is an ethylene oxide radical, propylene oxide radical, butylene oxide radical, pentylene oxide radical, styrene oxide radical, or mixture thereof, m is a number from 1 to 100, and R.sup.a is hydrogen or C.sub.1-4 alkyl; and wherein the emulsifier package additionally comprises a propoxylated surfactant of the formula (II)
R.sup.bO-(AO.sup.b)R.sup.b(II), in which R is a linear or branched C.sub.6-32 alkyl, AO.sup.b is a mixture of ethylene oxide radical and propylene oxide radical, n is a number from 1 to 100, and R.sup.b is hydrogen or C.sub.1-4 alkyl.

2: The method according to claim 1, wherein R.sup.a is a branched C.sub.8-14 alkyl.

3: The method according to claim 1, wherein R.sup.a is a branched tridecyl.

4: The method according to claim 1, wherein AO.sup.a is an ethylene oxide radical.

5: The method according to claim 1, wherein R.sup.b is a linear C.sub.10-22 alkyl.

6: The method according to claim 1, wherein R.sup.b is a linear or branched C.sub.16-18 alkyl.

7: The method according to claim 1, wherein R.sup.a and R.sup.b are hydrogen.

8: The method according to claim 1, wherein the emulsifier package comprises the branched surfactant and the propoxylated surfactant in a weight ratio of 10:1 to 1:10.

9: The method according to claim 1, wherein the emulsifier package comprises 1 to 99 wt % 5 to 90 wt %, 10 to 80 wt %, or 20 to 70 wt % of the branched surfactant.

10: The method according to claim 1, wherein the emulsifier package comprises 1 to 99 wt %, 5 to 90 wt %, 10 to 80 wt %, or 20 to 70 wt % of the propoxylated surfactant.

11: The method according to claim 1, wherein the emulsifier package contains up to 10 wt % of an ionic surfactant.

12: The method according to claim 1, wherein the emulsifier package comprises at least 10, 30, or 50 wt % of water, an organic solvent, or a mixture of water and the organic solvent.

13: The method according to claim 1, wherein the fuel emulsion comprises the emulsifier package in an amount of 0.05 to 0.4 wt %, based on the diesel.

14: The method according to claim 1, wherein the fuel emulsion comprises 40 to 80 wt % water.

15: The method according to claim 1, wherein the fuel is marine fuel.

16: A fuel emulsion for powering a diesel engine, as defined in claim 1.

17: The method according to claim 8, wherein the emulsifier package comprises the branched surfactant and the propoxylated surfactant in a weight ratio of 4:1 to 1:4.

18: The method according to claim 11, wherein the emulsifier package contains up to 1 wt % of the ionic surfactant.

Description

EXAMPLES

[0161] The emulsifier packages were prepared by mixing the emulsifiers and distilled water as indicated in Table 1 and an aqueous solution of emulsifiers was obtained.

[0162] The samples for testing the emulsion stability were prepared by mixing the additive package with diesel fuel. The amount of emulsifier used was 0.05% based on total volume of emulsion, including fuel and water, for all experiments in Table 1.

[0163] The used diesel fuel was a marine diesel oil of the type DMA according to DIN ISO 8217 a clear liquid diesel, free of additive packages and had a density of about 0.83 to 0.85.

[0164] The emulsion was prepared with a Silverson L5 high shear lab emulsifier based on rotor-stator principle within 10 sec at 7500 rpm at room temperature.

[0165] Then the emulsified samples were put in a graduated cylinder which was allowed to stand for up to 30 min. The amount of separated water phase was determined. For example, if 8 ml separated water phase was detected in the 80 ml total volume sample, it corresponded to an emulsion stability of 90%. If no separated water phase was detected this corresponded to 100% emulsion stability. The values are given in Table 1.

[0166] The following surfactants were used:

Branched surfactants of formula (I): [0167] Nonionic A: C.sub.10 oxoalcohol ethoxylated, pure, hydroxy number about 150 mg KOH/g. [0168] Nonionic B: Isotridecanol ethoxylate, 70% active content in water, pour point about 0 C. according to ISO 3016. [0169] Nonionic C: Isotridecanol ethoxylate, 70% active content in water, HLB about 18.

Propoxylated Surfactants of Formula (II):

[0170] Nonionic D: C.sub.16/18 Fatty alcohol alkoxylated, pour point about 15 C. (ASTM D 7346)

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Additive Packages (all amounts in wt %) and Emulsion stability (lower part) Examples 1 2 3 4 5 Water 87.5 87.5 Nonionic A 100 Nonionic B 100 Nonionic C 12.5 100 10 Nonionic D 2.5 Ratio Fuel:Water 1:1.4 1:1.4 1:1.4 1:1.4 1:1.4 1 min. 99% 99% 99% 99% 99% 2 min. 97% 99% 99% 99% 99% 5 min. 82% 99% 99% 99% 96% 10 min. 80% 99% 99% 99% 91% 20 min. 70% 98% 99% 99% 83% 30 min. 64% 97% 98% 99% 73%