Self-lubricating diesel fuel and method of making and using same
AssigneeShell Oil Company
InventorsJiafu Fang, Selda Gunsel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A diesel fuel comprising a mixture of normal paraffins and branched paraffins. The normal paraffins present in the diesel fuel is less than about 99% by weight; and the aromatic content in the diesel fuel is less than about 10% by weight. The diesel fuel has a cetane number of at least 40 and a sulfur content of less than about 100 ppm. Optionally, the diesel fuel may further include cycloparaffins, i.e., naphthenes. To increase the lubricity of the diesel fuel, a lubricity additive, such as fatty acid methyl ester, can be added to the diesel fuel.
Claims33
A self-lubricating diesel fuel composition comprising primarily paraffins, the composition comprising:
- a quantity of one or more normal paraffins;
- a sulfur content of about 200 ppm or less;
- a flashpoint of greater than 140° F.;
- and,
- an aromatic content of from about 0.5% to less than about 9% by weight of the self-lubricating diesel fuel composition;
- wherein the quantity of one or more normal paraffins is (a) sufficient to produce a cetane number of 40 or more but (b) less than about 99% by weight of the self-lubricating diesel fuel composition;
- wherein the self-lubricating diesel fuel composition exhibits a coefficient of friction of less than 0.3 when tested using a high frequency reciprocating test rig at 60° C.
A method for protecting a fuel injector pump when operating an engine using a diesel fuel composition comprising primarily paraffins, the method comprising:
- providing a diesel fuel composition comprising a quantity of one or more normal paraffins sufficient to produce a cetane number of 40 or higher , the normal paraffin content being less than about 99% by weight of the diesel fuel composition;
- providing the diesel fuel composition with an aromatic content of from about 0.5% to less than about 9% by weight, thereby producing a self-lubricating diesel fuel composition having a sulfur content of about 200 ppm or less and a coefficient of friction of less than 0.3 when tested using a high frequency reciprocating test rig at 60° C.;
- and,
- operating the engine comprising the fuel injector pump without component failure burning the self-lubricating diesel fuel composition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.