Abstract:
The present invention teaches an ethanol modifier and a clean ethanol fuel comprising the modifier. The ethanol modifier comprises the following components in stated weight percentages: sugar remover 12-17%; emulsifier 2-5%; antioxidant 2-6%; preservative 2-6%; antiaging agent 3-8%; cleaning agent 1-3%; anti-wearing agent 7-10%; combustion promoter 12-15%; octane enhancing additive 22-28%; and compatibilizer 18-30%. All of the components are commercially-available and readily prepared. The clean ethanol fuel comprising the ethanol modifier of the present invention is better than the national 93 octane gasoline standard, and can satisfy the European IV discharge standard.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119 and the Paris Convention Treaty, this application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 200610112307.6 filed on Aug. 31, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The invention relates to the technical field of fuel modifiers, and more particularly, to an ethanol modifier capable of modifying ethanol into vehicle fuel and applications thereof.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     With the growing demand for petroleum and crude oil shortage, the application of ethanol as vehicle fuel is being promoted largely in order to solve the growing energy deficits. Ethanol is a renewable resource, does not generate harmful substances during its combustion, and thus is an environmentally friendly clean fuel. Ethanol can be applied to supplement or replace the limited petroleum resource, and shield the environment from the hazards of vehicle exhaust. However, compared with petroleum, ethanol fuel has many drawbacks. 1) Ethanol is a low carbon alcohol, and has good water solubility and a poor lubrication property. If ethanol is used directly as vehicle fuel, it will result in the increase of friction at the inner wall of the cylinder and thus a rapid increase of temperature. Dry combustion could occur, and the vehicle engine could be worn out quickly shortening the useful life of the engine. (2) Ethanol is generally produced by fermentation; fecula is firstly converted into sugar, and sugar is then hydrolyzed into ethanol, with the help of bioenzymes. During production, the non-hydrolyzed sugar is often not removed completely and persists in the ethanol. This non-hydrolyzed sugar will be converted into caramel at high temperature; the caramel will deposit in the cylinder during combustion to form carbon deposit, influence the normal operation of the engine. 3) Ethanol has a certain corroding and expanding effect on the plastic and rubber parts of the vehicle. Acetic acid possibly generated during combustion of ethanol also has a certain corroding effect on the vehicle engine; 4) Ethanol has a higher flash point than gasoline, and is not easily ignited at low temperature.  
         [0006]     Currently, various ethanol cleaning fuels and modifiers serving to add ethanol into gasoline are available. However, these ethanol cleaning fuels and modifiers are prepared by adding 10-30% ethanol into petroleum gasoline. In these solutions, refined gasoline, rather than ethanol, is used as fuel. Although the generation of the harmful substances, such as CO, hydrocarbons, ketone, benzole, can be reduced from the combustion of these fuels, it does not change fundamentally the influence on the environment pollution and the dependence on the petroleum resource, and cannot be applied to replace completely the gasoline as vehicle fuel.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an ethanol modifier capable of modifying ethanol into clean fuel, so as to avoid the use of petroleum gasoline.  
         [0008]     To achieve the above objective, there is provided an ethanol modifier, prepared with the below components in weight percentage: sugar remover 12-17%; emulsifier 2-5%; antioxidant 2-6%; preservative 2-6%; antiaging agent 3-8%; cleaning agent 1-3%; anti-wearing agent 7-10%; combustion promoter 12-15%; octane enhancing additive 22-28%; and compatibilizer 18-30%. The sugar remover is selected from butyl acetate, isoamyl acetate, ethyl acetate, and mixtures thereof. The emulsifier is an alkylphenol ethoxylate. The antioxidant is selected from 2,6-butylated hydroxytoluene, 2,6-tert-butyl phenol, and mixtures thereof. The preservative is selected from a benzotriazole, a benzotriazole derivative, an alkyl phosphoramidate, or mixtures thereof. The antiaging agent is selected from phenyl-α-naphthylamine, phenyl-β-naphthylamine; and mixtures thereof. The cleaning agent is selected from a naphthenate, petroleum sulfonate, barium alkybenzene sulfonate, and their mixtures. The anti-wearing agent is a chlorinated paraffin. The combustion promoter is selected from tetrachlorethylene, methyl carbonate, and their mixtures. The octane enhancing additive is selected from methyl tert-butyl ether, tert-amyl methyl ether, isopropyl ether, and their mixtures. The compatibilizer is selected from isopropanol, isobutyl alcohol, normal butanol, isooctanol, and their mixtures.  
         [0009]     In certain embodiments of the present invention, the naphthenate is barium naphthenate or manganese naphthenate; the petroleum sulfonate is petroleum barium sulfonate or petroleum sodium sulfonate.  
         [0010]     In certain embodiments of the present invention, the benzotriazole derivative is benzotriazole fat ammonium salt or benzotriazole-formaldehyde-ammonium condensate (trade name T551); the alkyl in the alkyl phosporamidate is octane, nonane, or their mixture.  
         [0011]     In certain embodiments of the present invention, preferably, butyl acetate is selected as sugar remover; alkylphenol polyoxyethylene, TX-4, is selected as emulsifier; 2,6-butylated hydroxytoluene is selected as antioxidant; benzotriazole is selected as preservative; phenyl-α-naphthylamine is selected as antiaging agent; barium naphthenate is selected as cleaning agent; chlorinated paraffin is selected as anti-wearing agent; tetrachlorethylene is selected as combustion promoter; methyl tert-butyl ether is selected as octane enhancing additive; and a liquid mixture of isopropyl and isobutyl alcohol with a weight ratio of 1:1 is selected as compatibilizer.  
         [0012]     In certain embodiments of the present invention, the alkylphenol polyoxyethylene is selected from TX-4, TX-7, and TX-10.  
         [0013]     In certain embodiments of the present invention, the components that form the ethanol modifier are commercially-available.  
         [0014]     Chlorinated paraffin with a concentration of 52% in weight may be adopted due to the lack of pure chlorinated paraffin on the market.  
         [0015]     In accordance with the present invention, the ethanol modifier is prepared by the steps of: firstly adding the compatibilizer proportionally into a mixing plant; adding solids, such as the antioxidant and preservative, and the thick component into the mixing plant; mixing the added components at a speed of 80-1000 revolutions per minute to form a solvated and uniform liquid mixture; adding other components into the mixing plant; mixing the components at a speed of 200-1000 revolutions per minute until the various components are uniformly distributed.  
         [0016]     In accordance with the present invention, clean ethanol fuel is prepared by mixing ethanol modifier and ethanol, the ethanol modifier and the ethanol are proportioned by weight with a ratio of 1:4-15.6. In certain embodiments, the weight concentration of the ethanol is 95-100%.  
         [0017]     In certain embodiments of the present invention, the clean ethanol fuel is prepared by: adding the ethanol modifier and ethanol according to the proportion by weight into a mixing tank, and then mixing the components with a speed of 200-1000 round per minute at normal temperature and pressure until the two components are mixed uniformly.  
         [0018]     In the clean ethanol fuel, the sugar remover is capable of clearing the carbon deposit generated from the combustion of sugar components contained in the ethanol, and improving the combustion performance of the ethanol. The antioxidant can increase the antioxidation capability and stability of the ethanol. The preservative can reduce the corrosion of ethanol fuel to the metal components such as copper, iron, and aluminum. The antiaging agent can reduce effectively the expansion and aging effect of ethanol fuel to the rubber components so that the hermetic performance of the various components can be ensured. The combustion promoter can enhance efficiently the combustibility of ethanol fuel at low temperature. The anti-wearing agent can not only contribute to the intersolubility of various components, but also improve the oiliness and increase the lubricating ability of the ethanol fuel and reduce the operation noise of the vehicle engine. The octane enhancing additive can increase the octane number of the ethanol fuel and thus avoid detonation, and thereby to ensure the smooth combustion of ethanol fuel and to increase the power force. The compatibilizer is a high carbon ethanol mixture and serves to improve the mutual solubility of various components. The emulsifier is a surface active agent having a good oil solubility and emulsifiability, and thus can eliminate the influence of large size water molecule on the combustibility of ethanol. As the main component of the ethanol clean fuel, the ethanol must have a purity higher than 95% (by weight).  
         [0019]     The ethanol modifier of the present invention can modify ethanol into a clean vehicle fuel, which can satisfy the requirement of the European IV discharge standard. The maximum content of ethanol in one ton of clean ethanol fuel is 840-940 kg. The preparation method of the clean ethanol fuel using the ethanol modifier of the present invention is simple. First, the various components to form the ethanol modifier are mixed uniformly and then are added to the ethanol; secondly, the ethanol and the various components are mixed thoroughly to form clean ethanol fuel.  
         [0020]     Since the various components forming the ethanol modifier are commercially-available chemicals, and the preparation method is simple. The ethanol can be modified into vehicle clean fuel without the addition of gasoline, and the modified ethanol fuel can satisfy the requirement of national 93 octane gasoline standard. The ethanol modifier can be applied widely as the additive for the industrial ethanol and biological ethanol to prepare a vehicle clean fuel. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]     The present invention will hereinafter be described further according to the examples.  
       EXAMPLE 1  
       [0022]     The various components forming the ethanol modifier are prepared according to the below weight percentages: butyl acetate 15%; alkylphenol polyoxyethylene TX-4 3%; 2,6-butylated hydroxytoluene 3%; benzotriazole 3%; phenyl-α-naphthylamine 3%; barium naphthanate 2%; tetrachloroethylene 14%; chlorinated paraffin 8%; methyl tert-butyl ether 26%; the mixture of isopropanol and isobutyl alcohol 23%, the ratio of isopropanol and isobutyl alcohol is 1:1 by volume.  
         [0023]     In accordance with the present example, the ethanol modifier is prepared by the steps of: mixing the isopropanol and isobatyalcohol proportionally and then adding them into a mixing plant; adding solids, such as butylated hydroxytoluene and benzotriazole, and the thick components into the mixing plant; mixing in a speed of 200 revolutions per minute to dissolve and dilute the added components into an uniform liquid; adding the other modifier components into the mixing plant and mixing at a speed of 800 revolutions per minute until the various components are uniformly distributed to obtain the ethanol modifier.  
         [0024]     In accordance with the present example, the ethanol clean fuel is prepared with the steps of: adding 160 kg ethanol modifier prepared in Example 1 and 840 kg ethanol with a concentration of 95% in weight percentage into a mixing apparatus; mixing in a speed of 600 revolutions per minute to distribute uniformly the added ethanol modifier and the ethanol to obtain the clean ethanol fuel.  
         [0025]     The test results on the performance of the clean ethanol fuel and their comparison with the national 93 octane gasoline standard are listed in Table 1. It is evident that the clean ethanol fuel can satisfy or even exceed the national 93 octane gasoline standard.  
         [0026]     The monitored results of the vehicle discharge by using the clean ethanol fuel of example 1 is as below: 
    Monitored car: Lu A-M4068 Citroen DC7163SX;     Engine number: 0179242     Total travel distance: 174186 km    
 
         [0030]     Monitored results of CO and HC discharge  
                                                                                                                                             Monitored result                CO (%)   HC (ppm)                First   Second   Third       First   Second   Third           Fuel status   time   time   time   Average   time   time   time   Average                    Clean   High idle   064   065   066   065   101   102   109   104       Ethanol   speed       Fuel   Low idle   095   091   093   093   282   280   284   282           speed                  
 
       EXAMPLE 2  
       [0031]     The various components forming the ethanol modifier are mixed according to the below weight percentages: ethyl acetate 6%; butyl acetate 8%; alkylphenol polyoxyethylene TX-7 2.5%; 2,6-butylated hydroxytoluene 2.5%; benzotriazole 3.5%; phenyl-α-naphthylamine 2%; phenyl-β-naphthylamine 2%; manganese naphthanate 2.5%; tetrachloroethylene 15%; chlorinated paraffin 7%; methyl tert-butyl ether 23%; the mixture of normal butanol and isooctanol 26%, the ratio of normal butanol and isooctanol being 7:3 by volume.  
         [0032]     In accordance with the present example, the ethanol modifier is prepared by the steps of: mixing the normal butanol and isooctanol in given proportions and then adding them into a mixing plant; adding the solids, such as butylated hydroxytoluene and benzotriazole, and the thick components into the mixing plant; mixing at a speed of 200 revolutions per minute to dissolve and dilute the added components into an uniform liquid mixture; adding the remaining components into the mixing plant and mixing at a speed of 800 revolutions per minute until the various components are uniformly distributed to obtain the ethanol modifier.  
         [0033]     In accordance with the present example, clean ethanol fuel is prepared by the steps of: adding 200 kg ethanol modifier prepared as above and 800 kg ethanol having a concentration of 95% by weight into a mixing apparatus; distributing uniformly the added ethanol modifier and the ethanol to obtain the clean ethanol fuel having an ethanol concentration of 82-85% by weight. The test results of the performance of the clean ethanol fuel and their comparison with the national 93 octane gasoline standard are listed in Table 2.  
         [0034]     The ethanol fuel in accordance with the example 2 of the present invention offers a good starting performance at low temperature, a powerful driving force, and a strong anti-oxidation capability, and can be stored for a long time without decomposition.  
       EXAMPLE 3  
       [0035]     The various components forming the ethanol modifier are prepared according to the below weight percentages: butyl acetate 15%; tetrachloroethylene 14%; chlorinated paraffin 8%; butylated hydroxytoluene 4%; benzotriazole 4%; phenyl-α-naphthylamine 4%; methyl tert-butyl ether 26%; alkylphenol polyoxyethylene TX-10 3%; manganese naphthanate 2%; and the mixture of isopropanol and normal butanol 20%, the ratio of isopropanol and normal butanol being 1:1 by volume.  
         [0036]     In accordance with the present example, the ethanol modifier is prepared by the steps of: mixing the normal butanol and isopropanol proportionally and then adding them into a mixing plant; adding the solids, such as butylated hydroxytoluene and benzotriazole, and the thick components into the mixing plant; mixing in a speed of 200 revolutions per minute to dissolve and dilute the added components into an uniform liquid mixture; adding the remaining components into the mixing plant and mixing at a speed of 800 revolutions per minute until the various components are uniformly distributed to obtain the ethanol modifier.  
         [0037]     In accordance with the present example, clean ethanol fuel is prepared by the steps of: adding 210 kg ethanol modifier prepared as above in example 3 and 790 kg ethanol having a concentration of 95% by weight into a mixing apparatus; mixing at an increasing speed in the range of 600-800 revolutions per minute for 10-15 minutes to distribute uniformly the combined ethanol modifier and the ethanol; and allowing the mixed liquid to stand for 15 minutes to obtain clean ethanol fuel. The test results on the performance of the clean ethanol fuel of example 3 and their comparison with the national 93 octane gasoline standard are listed in Table 3.  
         [0038]     The clean ethanol fuel in accordance with the example 3 of the present invention offers a high octane number, a powerful driving force, a good starting performance at low temperature, and low discharge pollutants.  
       EXAMPLE 4  
       [0039]     The various components to form the ethanol modifier are prepared according to the below weight percentages: butyl acetate 14%; tetrachloroethylene 12%; chlorinated paraffin 9%; butylated hydroxytoluene 5%; benzotriazole fat ammonium salt 3%; phenyl-α-naphthylamine 3%; methyl tert-butyl ether 25%; nonyl phenol polyoxyethylene ether 4%; barium naphthanate 3%; the mixture of isopropanol and octanol 22%, the ratio of isopropanol and octanol being 6:4 by volume.  
         [0040]     In accordance with the present example, the ethanol modifier is prepared by the steps of: mixing the isopropanol and octanol in the stated proportions and then adding them into a mixing plant; adding the solids, such as butylated hydroxytoluene and benzotriazole fat ammonium salt, and the thick components into the mixing plant; mixing at a speed of 200 revolutions per minute to dissolve and dilute the added components into an uniform liquid mixture; adding the remaining components into the mixing plant and mixing at a speed of 800 revolutions per minute until the various components are uniformly distributed; allowing the mixed liquid to stand for 15 minutes and filtering any impurities by decanting to obtain the ethanol modifier.  
         [0041]     In accordance with the present example, the clean ethanol fuel is prepared by the steps of: adding and mixing 200 kg ethanol modifier prepared as above in example 4 and 800 kg ethanol with a concentration of 95% by weight in an apparatus; distributing uniformly the added ethanol modifier and the ethanol to obtain clean ethanol fuel. The concentration of ethanol in the ethanol fuel of the present example is about 81%. The test results of the performance of the clean ethanol fuel and their comparison with the national 93 octane gasoline standard are listed in Table 4.  
         [0042]     The ethanol fuel in accordance with the example 4 of the present invention not only offers a good starting performance, a powerful driving force, and a good accelerating capability, but also can be combusted completely, and thus is applicable for vehicle having a high compression ratio. Besides, the ethanol fuel generates fewer pollutants in its discharge exhaust, and thus is a clean fuel.