Use of a hydrocarbyl-substituted dicarboxylic acid for improving or boosting the separation of water from fuel oils and gasoline fuels

Abstract

Use of a hydrocarbyl-substituted dicarboxylic acid for improving or boosting the separation of water from fuel oils and gasoline fuels which comprise additives with detergent action. A Fuel additive concentrate comprising the said hydrocarbyl-substituted dicarboxylic acid, certain additives with detergent action and optionally other customary additives and solvents or diluents.

Claims

1. A method of improving separation of water from a fuel oil or a gasoline fuel, the method comprising: contacting (A) a polyisobutenylsuccinic acid having a polyisobutenyl substituent comprising 32 to 100 carbon atoms with a fuel oil or a gasoline fuel comprising (B) at least one nitrogen compound quaternized in the presence of an acid or in an acid-free manner, obtained by addition of a compound comprising at least one oxygen- or nitrogen-containing group reactive with an anhydride and additionally at least one quatemizable amino group onto a polycarboxylic anhydride compound and by subsequent quaternization, as an additive with a detergent action, and (C) as an additive component, an alkoxylation copolymer comprising at least one oxide selected from the group consisting of ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, and styrene oxide, as a dehazer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the alkoxylation copolymer (C) comprises ethylene oxide.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the alkoxylation copolymer (C) comprises propylene oxide.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the alkoxylation copolymer (C) comprises butylene oxide.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the alkoxylation copolymer (C) comprises styrene oxide.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the alkoxylation copolymer (C) further comprises an epoxy based resin.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the fuel oil further comprises as an additive component (D) at least one cetane number improver.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the fuel oil consists of: (a) 0.1 to 100% by weight of at least one biofuel oil based on one or more fatty acid esters, and (b) 0 to 99.9% by weight of one or more middle distillates of at least one origin selected from the group consisting of fossil origin, synthetic origin, vegetable origin, and animal origin, which are essentially hydrocarbon mixtures and are free of fatty acid esters.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the fuel oil consist of one or more middle distillates of at least one origin selected from the group consisting of fossil origin, synthetic origin, vegetable, and animal origin, which are essentially hydrocarbon mixtures and are free of fatty acid esters.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the fuel oil or gasoline fuel has at least one of the following properties: () a sulfur content of less than 50 mg/kg; () a maximum content of 8% by weight of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; and () a 95% distillation point (vol/vol) at not more than 360 C.

11. A fuel additive concentrate for a fuel oil, comprising: (A) 0.01 to 40% by weight of a polyisobutenylsuccinic acid having a polyisobutenyl substituent comprising 20 to 200 carbon atoms; (B) 5 to 40% by weight of at least one additive with detergent action, wherein the at least one additive is selected from the group consisting of (i) a compound comprising a moiety derived from succinic anhydride and having a hydroxyl group, amino group, amido, imido group, or a combination thereof; (ii) a nitrogen compound quaternized in the presence of an acid or in an acid-free manner, obtained by addition of a compound comprising at least one oxygen- or nitrogen-containing group reactive with an anhydride and additionally at least one quaternizable amino group onto a polycarboxylic anhydride compound and by subsequent quaternization; and (iii) a polytetrahydrobenzoxazine or a bistetrahydrobenzoxazine; (C) 0.01 to 5% by weight of an alkoxylation copolymer comprising at least one oxide selected from the group consisting of ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, and styrene oxide, as a dehazer; (D) 0 to 75% by weight of at least one cetane number improver; and (E) 0 to 50% by weight of at least one solvent or diluent.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the alkoxylation copolymer further comprises at least one epoxy based resin.

Description

EXAMPLES

(1) For evaluating the capability of the present hydrocarbyl-substituted dicarboxylic acid (A) of separating water from diesel fuels and gasoline fuels containing each an additive with detergent action, the corresponding standard test method according to ASTM D 1094 was applied. For this test, a glass cylinder was filled with 20 ml of water buffer and 80 ml of the diesel fuel and then shaken for 2 minutes. After the emulsion generated has been allowed to settle for a fixed period of time (5 minutes), the quantities (volumes) of the water loss and the time for 15 ml of water separation were determined.

(2) The test was carried through in a commercially available diesel fuel composed of 100% of middle distillates of fossil origin (DF1), in a commercially available biodiesel containing diesel fuel composed of 95% by weight of middle distillates of fossil origin and 5% by weight of FAME (DF2) and in a commercially available ethanol-free gasoline fuel according to EN 228 (GF).

(3) Two different hydrocarbyl-substituted dicarboxylic acids (A) were used: A1 was polyisobutenylsuccinic acid and A2 was polyisobutenylsuccinic anhydride. A2 was prepared by thermal en-reaction between polyisobuten (having an M.sub.n of 1000 and a content of 70 mol-% of terminal vinylidene double bonds) and maleic anhydride; A1 was prepared by hydrolysis of A2 with the equimolar amount of water at 100 C. for 16 hours.

(4) A1 or A2, respectively, was admixed to a usual diesel detergent package comprising as component (B)(i) the imide reaction product of polyisobutenylsuccinic anhydride, in which the polyisobutenyl radical has an M.sub.n of 1000, with 3-(dimethylamino)propylamine which is subsequently quaternized with methyl salicylate, as component (C2) a dehazer commercially available from Baker Petrolite under the name of Tolad 2898 and a commercially available polyether-modified polysiloxane antifoam (AF). The concentration of said compounds A1/A2, (B)(i), (C2) and AF in the fuel/water test system are given in the table below.

(5) The following Table 1 shows the results of the determinations:

(6) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Additives used with concentration [wt.-ppm] Example (A) (B)(i) (C2) AF Fuel 1a 0 24 2.5 5 DF1 1b A1: 5 24 2.5 5 DF1 1c A2: 5 24 2.5 5 DF1 2a 0 24 2.5 5 DF2 2b A1: 5 24 2.5 5 DF2 2c A2: 5 24 2.5 5 DF2 Evaluation: Water loss 15 ml water separation Example after 5 minutes [ml] after [sec] 1a 8 336 1b 0 200 1c 1 220 2a 20 655 2b 10 440 2c 5 300

(7) A1 was admixed to a usual gasoline detergent package comprising as component (B)(i) the imide reaction product of polyisobutenylsuccinic anhydride, in which the polyisobutenyl radical has an M.sub.n of 1000, with 3-(dimethylamino)propylamine which is subsequently quaternized with methyl salicylate, as component (B)(iv) a polyisobutenyl monoamine commercially available under the name of Kerocom PIBA (according to EP-A 0 244 616) and as component (C2) a dehazer commercially available from Baker Petrolite under the name of Tolad 2898. The concentration of said compounds A1, (B)(i), (B)(iv) and (C2) in the fuel/water test system are given in the table below.

(8) The following Table 2 shows the results of the determinations:

(9) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Additives used with concentration [wt.-ppm] Example (A1) (B)(i) (B)(iv) (C2) Fuel 3a 0 100 318 10 GF 3b 40 100 318 10 GF Evaluation: Water loss 15 ml water separation Example after 5 minutes [ml] after [min] 3a 20 >60 3b 0 1