PERFORMANCES

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new diesel composition containing a specific low quantity of glycerol ketal or acetal as an additive improving the cetane number and lubricity performances of the diesel composition.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cetane number or CN is an indicator of the combustion speed of diesel fuel.

Cetane number is an inverse function of a fuel's ignition delay, and the time period between the start of injection and the first identifiable pressure increase during combustion of the fuel. In a particular diesel engine, higher cetane fuels will have shorter ignition delay periods than lower cetane fuels.

In short, the higher the cetane number the more easily the fuel will combust in a compression setting (such as a diesel engine). Therefore higher-cetane fuel usually causes an engine to run more smoothly and quietly.

Generally, diesel engines operate well with a CN from 40 to 55. Fuels with higher cetane number have shorter ignition delays, providing more time for the fuel combustion process to be completed. Hence, higher speed diesel engines operate more effectively with higher cetane number fuels.

In Europe, diesel cetane numbers were set at a minimum of 38 in 1994 and 40 in 2000. The current standard for diesel sold in European Union, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland is set in EN 590, with a minimum cetane index of 46 and a minimum cetane number of 51. Premium diesel fuel can have a cetane number as high as 60.

In North America, most states adopt AST D975 as their diesel fuel standard and the minimum cetane number is set at 40, with typical values in the 42-45 range. Premium diesels may or may not have higher cetane, depending on the supplier. Premium diesel often use additives to improve CN and lubricity, detergents to clean the fuel injectors and minimize carbon deposits, water dispersants, and other additives depending on geographical and seasonal needs. California diesel fuel has a minimum cetane of 53. Under the Texas Low Emission Diesel (TxLED) program there are 110 counties where diesel fuel must have a cetane number of 48 or greater, or else must use an approved alternative formulation or comply with the designated alternative limits.

Biodiesel from vegetable oil sources have been recorded as having a cetane number range of 46 to 52, and animal-fat based biodiesels cetane numbers range from 56 to 60. Dimethyl ether is a potential diesel fuel as it has a high cetane rating (55-60) and can be produced as a biofuel.

Accurate measurements of the cetane number are rather difficult, as it requires burning the fuel in a rare diesel engine called a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine, under standard test conditions. The operator of the CFR engine uses a hand-wheel to increase the compression ratio (and therefore the peak pressure within the cylinder) of the engine until the time between fuel injection and ignition is 2.407ms.

The resulting cetane number is then calculated by determining which mixture of cetahe (hexadecane) and isocetane (2,2,4,4,6,8,8-heptamethylnonane) will result in the same ignition delay.

The industry standard for measuring cetane number is ASTM D-613 (ISO 5165).

Usual additives to raise the cetane number are Alkyl nitrates, mainly 2-ethylhexyl nitrate and di-tert-butyl peroxide. 2-ethylhexyl nitrate is classified as dangerous for environment, toxic to aquatic life with long last lasting effects, acute toxicity and harmful in contact with skin, if swallowed or by inhalation, di-tert-butyl peroxide has acute aquatic toxicity, chronic aquatic toxicity and germ cell mutagenicity.

The CN is an important factor in determining the quality of diesel fuel, but not the only one; other measurements of diesel's quality include (but are not limited to) energy content, density, lubricity, cold-flow properties and sulphur content.

Lubricity is the measure of the reduction in friction and/or wear by a lubricant.

The lubricity of a substance is not a material property, and cannot be measured directly. Tests are performed to quantify a lubricant's performance for a specific system. This is often done by determining how much wear is caused to a surface by a given wear-inducing object in a given amount of time. Other factors such as surface size, temperature, and pressure are also specified. For two fluids with the same viscosity, the one that results in a smaller wear scar is considered to have higher lubricity. For this reason lubricity is also termed a substance's anti-wear property.

In a modern diesei engine, the fuel is part of the engine lubrication process. Diesel fuel naturally contains compounds that provide lubricity, but because of regulations in man countries (such as the US and the EU), sulphur must be removed from the fuel before it can be sold, and the hydrotreatment of diesei fuel to remove sulphur also removes the compounds that provide lubricity. Reformulated diesei fuel that does not have biodiesel added has a lower lubricity and requires lubricity improving additives to prevent excessive engine wear.

A suitable diesei fuel lubricity standard has been established by using the HFRR method (ISO 12156-1 standard): the HFRR wear scar diameters (WSD) obtained after testing a diesei fuel must be lower than 460 μιη to ensure that this fuel has sufficient lubricity. When necessary, better lubricity can be restored easily by adding additives. However, these additives must have good physical and chemical stability alone or after incorporation in multifunctional formulation. They must also be fully compatible with other additives that may be present in the fuel such as flow improvers, wax antisettling additives, detergents etc.

To verify this physical and chemical compatibility and to ensure that each additive maintain its full efficiency after being mixed with others in multifunctional formulations or in fuel itself, no harm tests are carried out.

A number of types of additives have already been proposed in order to improve lubricity of diesels. Antiwear additives have thus been added to diesei fuels, some of these being known in the field of lubricant, as for example, fatty acid esters and unsaturated fatty acid dimers, aliphatic amines, esters of fatty acids, diethanolamine and long chain aliphatic monocarboxylic acids, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,252,889, 4,185,594, 4,204,481, 4,208,190 and 4,428,182. Most of these additives exhibit a sufficient lubricating power, but at very high concentrations, and this is economically highly disadvantageous for purchase. US7789918 discloses a lubricity improver composition for use in low sulfur diesei comprising of 0.1-10% by weight of ester derivative derived from cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL esters). WO 0136568, EP 1230328, JP 2003 5149537 describe inventions related to additive mixture comprising of a) reaction product formed after reaction of a dicarboxylic acid or a derivative thereof with a long chain, aliphatic amine b) natural fatty acid ester, c) the use of said additive mixture for improving the lubricity of fuels and for improving engine resistance to wear, in addition to fuel and lubricant compositions containing said additive mixtures.

Several other patents which describe the use of additive for low sulfur diesel are WO 03/020851, WO 96/23855, WO 98/04656 and FR 2772 784 A.

In US2003/0163949, it is proposed to use large quantities of glycerol acetals and ethers thereof as additives or as formulation bases for gas oils and leading to significant reductions in particulate emissions. Ethers tend to form unstable peroxides when exposed to oxygen. Ethyl, isobutyl, ethyl tert-butyl, and ethyl tert-pentyl ether are particularly hazardous in this respect.

One of the objects of the invention is to propose an improved diesel composition. In particular, this invention aims to provide a higher cetane number composition which has also better lubricity behavior.

A further object of the invention was to propose a cetane booster and/or lubricity improver, which was effective at lower dosage.

Another objective of the present invention is to propose a cetane booster and/or lubricity improver that is at least partially originated from bi-resources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention thus proposes a diesel composition comprising at least one diesel fuel and from 0.01 to 0.8% by volume of at least one compound of formula I below:

wherein

Ri and R ₂ , independently from one another, are selected in the group consisting of: a linear or branched C1-C12 alkyl, a C4-C12 cycloalkyl or an aryl. R ₃ is H, a linear or branched alkyl, a cycloalkyl or a -C(=0)R ₄ group, with R ₄ being a linear or branched C1-C4 alkyl or a C5-C6 cycloalkyl.

The present invention also proposes the use of at least one compound of formula I decsribed above according to all the possible embodiments and combinations thereof to increase the cetane number of a diesel composition, the lubricity of a diesel composition or both the cetane number and the lubricity of a diesel composition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The diesel composition of the invention comprises at least one diesel fuel and from 0.01 to 0.8% by volume of at least one compound of formula I below:

wherein

Ri and R ₂ , independently from one another, are selected in the group consisting of: a linear or branched C1-C12 alkyl, a C4-C12 cycloalkyl or an aryl.

R ₃ is H, a linear or branched alkyl, a cycloalkyl or a -C(=0)R ₄ group, with R ₄ being a linear or branched C1-C4 alkyl or a C5-C6 cycloalkyl. In a preferred embodiment, Ri and R2, independently from one another, are selected in the group consisting of: methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, n-propyl, isobutyl, n-butyl, tert-butyl, n-pentyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl or phenyl.

Advantageously, in formula I above R ₃ is H or a -C(=0)R group, with R ₄ being methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, n-propyl, isobutyl, n-butyl or tert-butyl. One preferred embodiment is when Rl and R2 are methyl and R3 is H. In this case, the compound is commercially available, for example under the name Augeo ^® Clean Multi, Augeo ^® SL191 or Solketal. This compound can be synthesized by reaction between glycerol and acetone, under well-known classical conditions.

In another embodiment, Rl is methyl, R2 is isobutyl and R3 is H. In this case, the compound is commercially available, for example under the name Augeo ^® Clean Plus. This compound can be synthesized by reaction between glycerol and methyl-isobutyl ketone, under well- known classical conditions.

In a third embodiment, Rl is methyl, R2 is phenyl and R3 is H. In this case, the compound is commercially available, for example under the name Augeo ^® Film HB. This compound can be synthesized by reaction between glycerol and acetophenone, under well-known classical conditions.

Another possibility is to have Rl and R2 are methyl and R3 is a -C(=0)R4 group, with R4 being methyl. In this case, the compound is commercially available, for example under the name Augeo ^® ACT. This compound can be synthesized by transesterification of Solketal with an alkyl acetate under well-known classical conditions.

Glycerol can be obtained as a coproduct from biodiesel production during the transesterification of triglycerides.

The compounds of formula I of the invention, have very good performance in the application, low odor and no toxicity to humans or environment. In addition, their use induces no security issues because of their high flash point. They are sustainable alternatives to existing cetane and lubricity improvers in diesel application as they meet the three pillars of sustainability (economical, environmental and social). It is also a favorable embodiment when a blend of two or more compounds of formula I is used in the diesel composition according to the invention. . This blend preferably comprises Augeo ^® Clean Multi and Augeo ^® Clean Plus, in a weight ratio from about 30:70 to 70:30, and even more preferably 50:50. Another advantageous blend comprises Augeo ^® Clean Plus and Augeo ^® ACT, in a weight ratio from about 30:70 to 70:30, and even more preferably 60:40.

In the diesel composition according to the invention, it is particularly preferred to have the compound of formula I present in an amount of 0.05 to 0.5% by volume of the total volume of the diesel composition.

The diesel fuel can comprises a diesel fuel of petroleum origin or a mixture of alkylic esters derived from vegetable oils.

The present invention also proposes the use of at least one compound of formula I decsribed above according to all the possible embodiments and combinations thereof to increase the cetane number of a diesel composition, the lubricity of a diesel composition or both the cetane number and the lubricity of a diesel composition.

The introduction of the compound of formula I above into gas oil and/or into a mixture of vegetable oil esters leads to diesel motor fuels making it possible to increase the cetane number and the lubricity performance with respect to a fuel not containing the products in question.

The following examples illustrate the invention in a nonlimiting way. DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Fig.l to 3 correspond to cetane number measurement diagrams as a function of the quantity of Augeo ^® SL191 added for three different diesel fuels. Those figures are related to Examples 1 to 3.

Fig. 4, 5 and 6 are respectively lubricity, cetane number and sulfur content measurement diagrams as a function of the quantity of Augeo ^® SL191 added into a diesel fuel described in Example 4. EXAMPLES

Methods of measure

For the examples below, the parameters have been measured according to the standards indicated in the below table I.

Table I - methods of measure

Tests and results

Cetane number and lubricity results have been measured for different types of diesel, including biodiesel, after the addition of Augeo SL191 and a reasonable time of stirring (approximately ten minutes), to homogenize the solution.

Example 1: Gazole Biofree EN590

Gazole Biofree EN590, also known as EN590 B0, it is a ultra low sulfur diesel, without the bio-component (biodiesel or FAME = fathy acid methyl esther). It is a traded cut globally, commercially available mainly in Europe. The table II below indicates its mainly specifications.

Property Unit Lower limit Upper limit Test method

Cetane index 46,0 - EN ISO 4264

Cetane number 51,0 - EN ISO 5165

Density at 15°C kg/m ³ 820 845 EN ISO 3675, EN ISO 12185

Polycyclic aromatic

%(m/m) - 11 EN ISO 12916

hydrocarbons

Sulphur content mg/kg - 10,0 EN ISO 20846, EN ISO 20884

Flash point °C Above 55 - EN ISO 2719

Carbon residue (on

%m/m - 0,30 EN ISO 10370

10% distillation residue)

Ash content % (m/m) - 0,01 EN ISO 6245

Water content mg/kg - 200 EN ISO 12937

Total contamination mg/kg - 24 EN ISO 12662

Copper

strip corrosion (3 rating Class 1 Class 1 EN ISO 2160

hours at 50 °C)

Oxidation Stability g/m ³ - 25 EN ISO 12205

Lubricity, corrected

wear scar diameter μιη - 460 EN ISO 12156-1

(wsd 1,4) at 60 "C

Viscosity at 40 °C mm ² /s 2,00 4,50 EN ISO 3104

Distillation recovered

%V/V 85 <65 EN ISO 3405

at 250 °C, 350 °C

95%(V/V) recovered

°C - 360

at

Fatty acid methyl

% (V/V) - 7 EN 14078

ester content

Viscosity at 40 °C mm ² /s 2,00 4,50 EN ISO 3104

Table II

Augeo SL91 was added in the concentrations indicated below, and the cetane number was measured according with the standard already mentioned. The table III below indicates the results obtained.

Table III diagram of this example is presented on Fig.l. Example 2: Gazole Biofree US

This type of diesel specifications are mentioned in ASTM D975 ULSD, and it also has no FAME content. The cetane number specification is minimum 40.

Augeo SL91 was added in the concentrations indicated below, and the cetane number was measured according with the standard already mentioned.The table IV below indicates the results obtained.

Table IV

The diagram of this example is presented on Fig.2.

Example 3: Biodiesel

Biodiesel is also known as FAME, fathy acid methyl esther, and its specifications are mentioned at standard EN ISO 14214.

Augeo SL91 was added in the concentrations indicated below, and the cetane number was measured according with the standard already mentioned.The table V below indicates the results obtained.

Table V

The diagram of this example is presented on Fig.3.

Example 4: Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel

This type of diesel requirement is ultra-low sulfur content, and the specific value will depend on the region. In USA the limit is 15ppm, while in Europe is lOppm (as indicated in EN590). The table VI below is showing the results obtained for this diesel when in presence of Augeo SL191 as an additive.

Table VI

The diagram of this example is presented on Fig.4, 5 and 6.

The above results show that at very low dosage, as is being proposed, the component of Formula I is able to improve not only the cetane number of different types of diesel commercialy available in the market, but also the lubricity.