Creation of Multi-Component Fuels without use of Thermal-Catalytic Methods
Authors: Bortkevich Sergey V. , Boldyrev Aleksey M. , Kostrov Sergey A. , Wooden William O. 
Published: February 2016

This paper presents a new method and technology to create different types of fuels from water-fuel emulsions and multi-component mixtures as two potential solutions to the fuel-energy problem.

The technology consists of specialized hydrodynamic devises that convert crude oils which can have high water cuts into homogeneous high-octane gasoline or diesel whilst not greatly degrading the octane number. The new method does not require thermal treatment and/or catalysts. As the process reaches 94–98% of product output, mazut or any other analogous heavy fuel is added prior to the sprayer/injector.

The add-mixed fuels can consist of: gas/oil plus water; diesel plus water; mazut and waste products of chemical processing plus water; liquid fuel plus coal dust plus water, for just some possibilities.

The specialized hydrodynamic devices can (i) create various emulsions, dispersions and suspensions; (ii) atomize liquids and include saturation with flammable/non-flammable gases (iii) resolve problems with enhancement of thermo-mass-transfer processes in multi-component, multiphase substances, and (iv) resolve the problem with utilization of heavy hydrocarbon fraction sediments in fuel storage tanks by means of mixing them with the tank fuel in required proportions.

The paper provides the results of lab experiments and pilot implementations.

Introduction

At present there are theoretical and experimental studies showing the possibility to substantially intensify the mass and heat-transfer and chemical processes in multi-phase substances, i.e. fluid-gas-solid particle(s) mixtures. Such improvement is based on the effects of transforming wave and oscillatory motions of the fluid phase and solid particles into controlled motions of the whole system inclusive of its components and phases1. Various types of systems can be affected: emulsions, suspensions, aerosols, etc. used in technological processes included in power engineering, oil refinery and petrochemistry, are just some examples.

Under conditions of non-linear resonance, small oscillatory motions of a multiphase system can affect changes on the main motion of such system or its equilibrium state. This in turn allows for control of the state of whole system. Such control can be provided by:either external periodical forces like low or high frequency vibrations,ac electric or magnetic fields orinternal (passive) means in devices wherein the required oscillatory motions can be induced, for instance, by the auto-oscillation phenomenon.

One type of device that can create oscillatory motions is the hydro-dynamic generator (HDG) which uses the energy of fluid flow to generate vibrations. Besides non-linear oscillatory effects hydro-dynamic generators can affect treatment of multiphase substances in the regime of cavitation. In such regimes of caviation, at the molecular level, polymeric hydrocarbon chains are disrupted through electrolytic substitution. The process intensifies as cavitation bubbles collaspse causing local, very sharp increases in temperature to several thousand degrees Celcius and increases in pressure to hundreds of MPa.