CA2088044C - Hydrocarbon fuel and fuel systems - Google Patents
Hydrocarbon fuel and fuel systems Download PDFInfo
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- CA2088044C CA2088044C CA002088044A CA2088044A CA2088044C CA 2088044 C CA2088044 C CA 2088044C CA 002088044 A CA002088044 A CA 002088044A CA 2088044 A CA2088044 A CA 2088044A CA 2088044 C CA2088044 C CA 2088044C
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- gasoline
- hydrocarbons
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- mixture
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Classifications
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
- C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE OR UNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; FIRELIGHTERS
- C10L1/00—Liquid carbonaceous fuels
- C10L1/02—Liquid carbonaceous fuels essentially based on components consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only
- C10L1/023—Liquid carbonaceous fuels essentially based on components consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only for spark ignition
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
- F02B—INTERNAL-COMBUSTION PISTON ENGINES; COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL
- F02B41/00—Engines characterised by special means for improving conversion of heat or pressure energy into mechanical power
Abstract
A liquid hydrocarbon gasoline is provided by rem-oving both the volatile and non-volatile components from C4-C12 gasoline to yield either a C6-C9 ar a C6-C10 intermediate gaso-line. The intermediate gaso-line of this invention can be combusted, in a stndard carbureted engine with less C4 and/or C5 priming than is required in standard C4-C12 gasoline, and thus provides adequate cold en-gine starting ability with lower Reid Vapor Pressure.
The C6-C9 and C6-C10 fuel can be combusted in a mod-ified engine without any pri-ming by gasiying the fuel.
The fuel is gasified by heat-ing it in a chamber in the absence of air; mixing the gas with air and then combusting the mixture. The gasified fuel is advantageous because it doesn't condense into droplets and thereby is combusted more completely in the gaseous state enhancing combustion efficiency. The fuels of this invention better facilitate alcohol addition than current gasolines because of their lower Reid Vapor Pressures.
The C6-C9 and C6-C10 fuel can be combusted in a mod-ified engine without any pri-ming by gasiying the fuel.
The fuel is gasified by heat-ing it in a chamber in the absence of air; mixing the gas with air and then combusting the mixture. The gasified fuel is advantageous because it doesn't condense into droplets and thereby is combusted more completely in the gaseous state enhancing combustion efficiency. The fuels of this invention better facilitate alcohol addition than current gasolines because of their lower Reid Vapor Pressures.
Description
WO 92/02600 ~ ~ ~ g ~ 4 4 PCf/US90/04201 a ZloVBh -H3C~ROC~~ FttBIe I'~. ~y8 s~cxGxoarr~ o~ Tea zao~r Field of the anventian This inventian relates to new automotive gasolines having intermediate carbon ranges, and their improved use in internal combustion engines. In particular the invention relates to new gasoline for use in improved gasified carburetion systems.
BaCIL~rOUnd anfOrmatiOn present day automotive gasoline consists of a mixture of hydrocarbons which range from C4 to about C~Z. The lower molecular weight fraction, such as butane isomers, is more volatilH and it has always been the practice to include substantial portions of these volatiles in the fuel to insure proper engine performance. This practice, howHVer, is at best a compromise since the presence of the volatiles, on the one hand, causes an undue risk of explosion during storage and handling; and the 3aherent evaporative and emission losses contribute to pollution;
but, On the Other hand, the volatiles have always been considered necessary for good cold engine starting. Thus, a certain amount of the volatiles have been incorporated in gasoline. The exact amount of the volatiles may vary according to the climate where it is sold. In fact, industry has set voluntary limits so that each area will have a motor fuel having sufficient volatility for the prevailing climate. high levels of. volatile components assure satisfactory starting and warm=up at the lowest WO 92/02600 PCTlUS90l0420.t 20~~0~~
temperature expected, and low levels of volatile components protect against vapor-lock in high temperature climates.
Generally current gasolines exhibit high levels of volatiles measured in terms of Reid Vapor Pressure. Reid vapor Pressure is the accepted measurement of gasoline volatility and it represents the vapor pressure at 100°F
(37.78°C). Current fuels require a relatively high amount of volatile components which raises the Reid Aapor Pressure to undesirable levels. It is highly desirable to :Formulate l0 a fuel which satisfies the volatility requirements without raising the Reid vapor Pressure to the undesirable level found in the prior art fuels.
The use of these volatiles in prior art fuels is associated with several problems. one such problem is that because present day engines depend on the volatiles, the spontaneous loss of them in storage results in a the fuel which is of inferior quality after a period of storage.
Thus, because of varying storage times, the consumer can never be certain if the gas he is purchasing contains the required amount of volatiles at the time of purchase.
Naturally, therefore, a fuel whose efficiency and dependability is less dependent on the presence of volatiles is more desirable.
Another problem arising out of the use of these volatiles is the evaporative loss of gasoline which can occur in the gas task. Industry has been hard pressed to solve this problem for quite some time. While this problem has bean recognized for some time, industry has always been .
reluctant to solve the problem by roducing~the volatility of the gasoline because in doing so they would lose the benefits of the compromise (i.e., engine performance). In fact, this point has been expressed in the publication titled Effects of Automotive Emission Regui.~rements on Gasoline Recguirements; Symposium, American Society for rW0 92/02600 ~ ~ g g ~ 4 4 pCT/US90/04201 L.. ...
Testing and Materials; 1971. Here it is stated on page ill that °°Severe volatility reduction could produce other problems. A more effective method than volatility reduction can be seen to be the ela.m:ination of evaporative , losses by some mechanical device"°. This invention, however, seeks to reduce volatility or Reid iTapor Pressure and still maintain a fuel which can perform well.
Present day gasoline also contains, in addition to the volatile light-weight and the intermediate-weight components, a heavy-weight component which, like the volatile component, is also associated with several disadvantages. For example, the gasoline of today, when used as a fuel in present day short stroke engines, results in incomplete combustion because there is insufficient time or temperature to burn the heavy hydrocarbon components.
This results in a certain amount of gasoline being wasted and this contributes to pollution. Conventional C4-C~z has too mucb energy in it for conventional internal combustion engines in that if combusted with enough air (stoichiometric or slightly above) it will burn too hot far the engine or it will produce high levels of nitrous oxides. Yet, in spite of these shortcomings, the heavy components are left in present day fuel because their presence is considered necessary to provide a fuel having suitable progerties for automotive use.
The presence of these heavy components in conventional C4-C~z gasoline requires considerable front end priming with light components (C~ and/or C5) to achieve adequate front end volatility for startiag engines equipped with standard carburetion systems. In addition, conventional C4-C~2 gasoline which contains these heavy components (C» and Ctz) cannot b~ easily gasified and maintained in the gaseous state without recondensing. Consequently, conventional C~-C~z gasoline has limited utility in a more efficient carburetion system of the type which requires c~asification WO 92!02600 PCT/US90/0420~
in the abssnce of air before mixing the gasified fuel with air for combustion. Therefore, in view of the shortcomings associated with the heavy weight hydlrocarboas, especially C» and C~Z, it would be highly desirable to formulate the gasoline without these heavy components being present while also avoiding the problems associated with the absence of these components.
The use of conventional C4-C~z fuels in standard carbureted Paternal combustion engines requires that the 1o volatility of the fuel be adjusted to achieve a Reid vapor Pressure of at least 9 in the summer and 12 in the winter.
If the Reid Vapor Pressure of conventional C4°C~2 gasoline falls below the above limits, starting and running the engine is severely impaired. The fuels of the present invention will easily start and operate identical engines yet these fuels have a reduced Reid Vapor Pressure in comparison to the above-mention conventional C4-C~Z gasoline.
Thus the summer fuels of the present invention may have a Reid vapor Pressure less than 9 and the winter fuels may have a Reid Vapor Pressure of less than 12. In particular, it is been discovered that the fuel of the present invention having a Reid vapor Pressure as low as 6 in the summer and 9 in the winter will easily start and operate identical engines which require conventional fuels having a Reid Vapor Pressure of 9 in the summer and 12 in the winter. The Reid vapor Pressures can be reduced even further by using the fuels of the present invention in combination with the improved carburetion system of -the present invention.
The ideal combustion mixture for internal combustion engines consists of gasoline in the vapor or gaseous state thoroughly mixed with adequate air to support combustion.
In this condition, fuel-rich pockets, which are responsible for detonation or °'knock,°' are eliminated and carbon deposits responsible for preignition are minimized due to we ~zioz6oo 2 ~ $ $ 0 4 4 , ~~ri~s9oio~ao~
, more complete combustion. Because detonation or prsignition can damage or ruin an engine, current gasolines have octane boosters such as aromatics contained therein to reduce "knock" since current enginss.have fuel and air 5 intake systems which produce dr~oplsts of fuel that contribute to fuel rich pockets in the combustion chambers of the engines. Slowing the burn with octane boosters lowers the combustion efficiency of the engine and increases the exhaust pollution. Therefore, it would be 1o highly desirable to provide a fuel which avoids octane boosters, is rated at a lower octane value but which has highly desirable burning characteristics so that the fuel doss not produce engine knock.
Automotive and aviation gasolines have always had an ASTM average octane number (R*N/2) of 80 or higher; wherein R represents the research octane number mod P4 represents the motor actane number. Current engines generally require as average octane number in excess of 85.
sUI~ARY oh' THE Il~TV~tITIOH
Zo A primary object of this invention is to provide an improved gasoline which facilitates the achievement of ideal combustion mixtures for internal combustion engines.
Another object of this invention is to provide a lower octane fuel and method of use so as to further improve the combustion efficiency of the fuel in an internal combustion engine.
A further object of this invention is to provide a method whereby greater combustion efficiencies can be achieved in engines.
It is an object of this invention to provide gasolines for automotive engines which minimize the requirement for WO 92102600 ~ o g g p 4 4 PCT/LJS90/04201~
r,....
volatile components in the fuel without sacrificing adequate engine performance and which lowers the Rsid vapor Fressure while maintaining good front sad volatility.
It is also an object .of this invention to grovide a 5 gasoline having a low Reid Vapor Pressure which combusts more efficiently than conventional gasoline of the type having a hydrocarbon tangs of CN-C~2.
It is another object of this invention to provide !~
gasoline which has greater tolerance for alcohol enrichment because of low Reid Vapor Pressure.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a gasoline which minimizes the priming needed to achieve adequate front end volatility for starting engines equipped with standard carburetion systems.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved gasoline which has enhanced gasification characteristics in improved carburetion systems.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved process for more completely combusting the fuel of 2o this invention in an engine thus negating the need for fuel injection systems or catalytic converters.
Th~ss and other objects of the invention will b~come apparent to those skilled in the art from the folloaring disclosure of the invention.
The objects of the present invention are achieved by the discovery that front-end priming of gasoline is not necessary in gasifier type carburetors and that the heavier components in gasoline are not stable as gases in air using gasifisr type carburetors. Therefore it was possible to d~velop new intermediate hydrocarbon range gasolinss that WO 92!02600 2 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ PCT/LJS90l04201 have unique benefits not obtained in C4-C~Z gasoline. In addition the new gasification methods have distinct advantages over the prior art.
One aspect of the invention relates to a gasoline having an intermediate hydrocarbon range relative to conventional C4-C~Z gasoline which contains C4, C5, C6, C~
Coo, C» and CI2 hydrocarbons. The intermediate raage gasoline is made by removing the lighter volatile component as well as the heavier component from a conventional gasoline starting material. The resulting fuel is C6-C~o;
i.e. the hydrocarbons are limited to those in the range C6-Coo. Also, in accordance with this aspect of the invention, it may be desirable to further remove the Coo component to form a C6-CQ gasoline far improved winter Z5 , performance in gasifier type carburetors.
Suitable starting material to produce the gasoline of this invention is conventional gasoline having a range of C4-C~Z. Both the heavy and light components are removed by any of the known methods currently available such as heat fractionization or the use of heat and vacuum in the absence of air. Once removed, the heavy component may be "cracked" at the refinery to make more gasoline and the volatile component, most of which is being wasted today, may be fully recovered at the refinery.
Although gasoline having a range of C4-C~Z is mentioned as a useful starting material, it is not critical that the starting material be precisely in this range. Rather, it is the essence of this invention to produce a gasoline fraction of intermediate carbon range relative to the given range C4-C~2 that may be produced directly from refinery hydrocarbon streams.
It will be apparent, of course, that the C6-Coo and Cb-Cg fuels of the invention cannot be used efficiently in WO 92!02600 PC,T/US90/04201 ,:
~pggp44 conventional internal combustion engines without modification of the carburetion system. It has been found, however, that the gasoline of this invention can be quickly volatilized in a heated chamber by heating to a temperature above final boiling point of the fuel at one atmosphere pressure in the absence of air,, and such apparatus can be readily installed in an automobile. The resulting vapor (produced as neededD will mix.readily with air to form a homogenous mixture without formation of condensed droplets l0 which can wet the wall in an internal combustion engine;
will not be subject to liquid phase oxidation prior to ignition; and will ignite well in the gaseous form.
Since not all the Cb-Coo and C6-C9 gasoline can 'be used efficiently in a conventional internal combustion engine without modification of the carburetion system, the present invention also provides an improved fuel for use in cars having standard carburetion systems. In connection with this, it has been discovered that the above described C6-Cso and C6-Cg gasoline can be used in an internal combustion engine having a standard carburetion system by priming the gasoline with a minimum amount of C4, C5 or a mixture of C4 and CS to produce a gasoline having adequate front end volatility for starting cars equipped with standard carburetion systems. Since the gasoline may be primed with C~ and/or C5 , then the permissible range of such a fuel will be C4-Cg (winter) and C4-Coo (summer) . xn particular, it has been discovered that the amount of C4 or C5 priming necessary for achieving adequate front end volatility' for starting engines equipped with a standard carburetion system is less than the amount required with conventional C4-Cep gasoline. Thus, this aspect of the invention provides an improved fuel for standard carbureted engines and this fuel will advantageously contain less C4 or C5 than conventional C4-Cyz gasoline while maintaining adequate front ead volatility and reduced Reid 'Vapor Pressures. Tn other words, the C6-Cto .and C6-CQ gasoline requires less WO 92/02600 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ pCT/US90/0420a priming to achieve adequate front end volatility far starting engines equipped with standard carburetion systems than does normal G4-C~2 automotive gasoline. This represents a unique and unexpected method of achieving lower Reid Vapor Pressure in automotive gasoline while maintaining adequate-front end volatility since one would assume that lighter gasoline (C4-Cg and C4-C1p) would have higher Reid vapor Pressure than heavier C4-C~2 gasoline.
The amount of C4, CS or mixture of C4 and C5 used t~
prime the C6-Coo or C6-CQ gasoline is a minimum amount necessary to achieve adequate front end volatility for starting a csr equipped with a standard carburetor.
The C~,-Coo and C4-C9 gasoline can also be made by removing the heavy and light components from gasoline as described above for making C6-Coo and C6-C9 with the exception that an adequate amount of C4 and/or CS is retained in the product to achieve adequate front end volatility for starting a car equipped with a standard carburetor.
It has also been discovered that adequate front end volatility for engines equipped with standard carburetion can be achieved by priming with additional CS so that adequate front end volatility can be achieved without any c4 priming.
It has also been discovered that prior art gasoline having a carbon range of C~ to C~2 can be improved by removing the higher molecular weight constituents so as to produce a gasoline fuel having a narrower carbon range of C4 to C» and a boiling point range of 11°F to 384°F (-i to 195.6°C). Such a narrower range fuel facilitates both the ability of the gasoline to be vaporized or gasified as well as the ability of the vapor or gas to remain as a vapor or gas when mixed-with ambient air without forming WO 92/02600 Ft.'T/US90/04201_ ( so droplets which can wet the surface in an internal combustion engine. This narrourer fuel allows ideal combustion mixtures to be used in internal combustion engines and, in turn, allows lowea- octane gasoline to be used which further improves combustion efficiency and lowers the production of pollutants produced during combustion.
prior art aviation gasoline having a carbon range of C4 to C9 would not require the removal of higher molecular lo weight constituents to be stable as a vapor or gas in ambient air but the use of such prior art fuels would require the lowering of the octane to increase the speed of burn, thus improving combustion efficiency and lowering the pollutants produced during combustion.
Since the temperature of intake air used in an engine can vary widely because of seasonable variations or altitudes, the amount of heavy molecules removed can vary.
Preheated intake air systems could utilize more of the energy contained in the dense heavier molecules but this would result in too much loss in vohimetric efficiency caused by the preheating or preexpansion of the intake air.
The conversion of the fuels of this invention into vapors or gasses, homogenizing these vapors or gasses with intake air (ambient or heated) while maintaining gas or vapor stability and combusting this fuel mixture in an engine represents an improved method for achieving higher combustion efficiency while lowering the pollutants of combustion.
Drief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a graph which illustrates the fuel efficiency of selected fuels in a 1.500 c.c. volkswagon engine at various engine speeds. The vertical axis shows the ~fficiency in term of lbs. of fuel/horsepower hour.
iW0 92!02600 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ P(_T/LJS90l04201 f,._ 12.
The horizontal axis measures the engine speed. Figure 1 also illustrates the fuel efficiency of the gasoline of this invention combusted in an, identical engine equipped with the improved carburetor of this invention.
s DsT~t~D D$scRIpTIO~ Og T~
IP1VRHTIOH AHD PRRF'BRRBD ~ODIM8L~1T8 In the manufacture of a gasoline in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, both the lighter volatile component and the heavier, slow-burning component are removed from gasoline in the C4-C~Z range. The removal of the volatile component makes the resultant fuel have a slower rate of burning. By also removing the heavy slow-burning component, the resultant fuel is an intermediate gasoline having a burn rate comparable to or l9 better than the starting stock gasoline (CG-C~2) from which it was made.
The most abundant of the volatile components in conventional C4-C~Z gasoline is butane and pentane. With regard to the removal of th~ volatile components it is primarily the butane and pentane which is removed from the C4-C~z gasoline in the practice of this invention. If the gasoline contains hydrocarbons lighter than butane, it is desirable that they too be removed. The heavy, slow-burning component consists primarily of C» and C~Z, each of which exists in numerous isomeric forms. These are removed aad, if the starting stock gasoline contains hydrocarbons greater than C~2, it is desirable that they also be removed. In both cases the light volatile components and the heavy, slow-burning components are removed according to conventional known methods.
In the practice of a preferred embodiment of this invention, both components are removed, resulting in an intermediate hydrocarbon range. The boundaries of this w~ ~Zio2soo ~crms9oio4ao~_ ~~0~4 is range depend upon the extent to which the heavy and light components are removed. In this invention, both components are substantially removed but it is recognized that some may be left behind due to imperi:ections in current frmctionation techniques. It as most desirable that the heavy and light components be stabatantially removed.
It is also recognized that the heavy and light components do not exist as absolutes but rather, as points on a continuum with the most volatile being the lighter hydrocarbons, and a gradual reduction in volatility and burning tendency as the weight is increased. This gives rise to certain "border line" components near both cads of the continuum. It is inevitable that some of these will be removed with the heavier and the lighter components. In general, it is recognized that the border line weights are C6 and Coo. Thus, according to this invention, a substantial quantity of volatile component is removed to effectively reduce the potential for explosion and minimize the loss of gasoline due to evaporation. Likewise, the heavy component ZO is also removed in an effective amount to raise the burn rate of the fuel and effect more complete combustion. Both of these components are removed and this fuel is used with an improvement in fuel combustion efficiency and engine performance.
This improvement is illustrated in Figure 1. It will be noted that Figure l shows a comparison which measures the efficiency of the fuel of the present invention versus the efficiency of conventional C4-C~2 prier art fuels at various engine speeds. The fuel efficiency is measured in 3o terms of Brake Specifia Fuel Consumption albs. of fuel per horsepower hour). Lower Brake Specific Fuel consumption ' values indicate better fuel efficiency.
The C6-Cep fuel of this invention may be used to run an engine equipped with the improved. gasifier carburetor PCTlUS90l042!Dl wo 9zlozsoo ,; .
a.3 described herein. however, it is not necessary that volatile components be absent from the fuels used in the improved gasifier combustc~rs since their presence in the fuel does not hinder the gasification process. Thus, some volatile C4 and/or C5 may be added to the Cb-Coo fuel so that the fuel can be used in a standard carbureted engine as well as an engine equipped with the improved gasifier carburetor. For this reason the comparison presented in Figure 1 utilized a Cb-Cto fuel containing some C5 volatile component so that the resulting C5-Coo fuel will run an engine equipped with an improved gasifier carburetor as well as a standard carbureted engine. xhe C5-~C~o has a boiling point range about 4g°F-345°F (9.4 to 174°C).
In order to obtain the data shown in Figure l, identical engines were used to compare conventional C4-C~2 unleaded gasoline (line A) with the C5-Coo fuel of this invention (line BD~ ~1n identical engine was used to test the uSe of Cg-C~0 fuel in an improved carburetion system of the present invention (line C). It will be noted by comparing line A with line B that at all engine speeds, more pounds of fuel are required per horsepower hour for the C4-C~Z gasoline than for the CS~C~p gasoline of the present invention. Therefore, the CS-Coo is significantly more efficient when combusted in identical engines. It will also be noted from Figure l that an even greater efficiency is observed when the C5-Coo fuel is combusted in an identical engine equipped with the amproved carburetion system of the present invention.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the C4-C~Z
gasoline is used as a starting ingredient from which the volatile C4 and CS constituents and the heavy C1~ and C~2 components are removed. In the preferred embodiment the starting C4-C~Z gasoline contains a mixture of each of the hydrocarbons (i.e., a mixture containing C4, ,Cg, C6, C7s Cer C9, C10I C11 and C~2) . -COnseC~uently, thB Intermediate WO 92/02600 PGTIiJS90/042Qx-.
(. ...
U 14, and C6-Coo gasolin8 of the preferred embodiment will likewise contain the same intermediate hyClrocarbans which are present in the starting gasoline. In other words, C6-Cg w111 Contain, Cb, C7r C8s and Cg and thB C6-C70 gasOlln8 will COntBin, C6, C7, CSo C9 and C~0 hydrOCarbon~.
The fuels of the present invention have an intermediate hydrocarbon range relative to conventional gasoline which has a hydrocarbon range of C4-C~2. The conventional C4-C~2 gasoline contains paraffinic hydrocarbons including C4, C5i ~%6~ C7r CBs C9r CtOi C11 and C12 paraffinic hydrocarbons. Thus removing the C~' and C12 paraffinic components of the C4-C~2 fuel will result in a fuel which contains paraffiaic hydrocarbons, including paraffinic C9 and Coo which ware originally present in the C~-C~Z
paraffinic fuel from which the fuel of this invention may be derived.
Preferably the C4-C» fuel should be formulated, with or without additives, to produce a maximum Reid Vapor pressure of less then 5 psi. Such a fuel is particularly suitable for gasifier engines or other engines having enhanced vaporization capability. However, a C4-C» fuel having a maximum Reid Vapor pressure of less than 5 psi is not suitable for combustion is a standard or conventional carbureted engine. A full range C6-C» fuel has RVP which is Less than 5 psi. A C~-C» fuel can be easily formulated to meet this criteria by the appropriate selection of C4-C1~
constituents so as to limit the RVP to less than 5 psi.
In one embodiment of the present invention the light and heavy components are removed from conventional C
3o gasoline to produce a gasoline having a hydrocarbon range of Cg-Coo. 8uch a fuel is identical to the C6-Cio fuel with the exception of the presence of C5 component in the CS-Coo fuel. Thus the CS-Coo fuel will have a boiling point range Of about 49°F-345°F (9.95 to 174°C).
,WO 92/02500 ~ ~ ~ ~ o ~ ~ P~'/US9010~1201 l~lthough the starting gasoline preferably contmins the entire range of hydrocarbons from C,,-C~Z as described above, it is not absolutely essential that all of the intermediate hydrocarbons be present in the starting gasoline. However, 5 it is critical that the C6-Cg fuel contains C9 hydrocarbon and the C6-Coo gasoline contain C9 and C1o hydrocarbon.
The preferred intermediate range Cs-Coo gasoline may be defined as the portion remaining when C4-C1~ gasoline has removed therefrom an effective amount of lower weight 10 volatile components to substantially reduce evaporative loss and explosion potential and effective amount of~higher weight components to raise the burn rate of the remaining hydrocarbons. A C6-C'o gasoline which has these characteristics can be made by removing the volatile and tS heavy components so that the remaining hydrocarbon mixture will boil within a range of about 121°F-395°F 049.4 to 174°C) at one atmosphere. gush a boiling paint range encompasses the boiling point of the lowest boiling C6 component and the highest boiling Cep component. ~f course, it as possible that a small amount of C4, C 5, C» and C~
may remain after the separation process due to imperfections of gasoline fractionation procedures.
since the largest hydrocarbon in the preferred C6-Coo gasoline is Coo, thon 'the final boiling point of such a mixture will be 345°B (x74°C). Tt has been discovered that hydrocarbons having boiling points above 350°F (177°C) must be substantially eliminated so that the intermediate fuel can be gasified in a heated chamber in 'the absence of air, and then mixed with ambient air (i.e., about 70°i~ or 21°C) without condensing to form droplets of heavy hydrocarbons which could wet the surfaces in an internal combustion engine. However in warm or hot climates C» maybe included without resulting in the. formation of droplets which could wet the surfaces in an internal combustion engine. This ~ property is an essential aspect of the Cb-~C~o gasoline PCTlLJ~9~10420at-because the Cb-Cep fuel is used in a modified carburetion system in which the fuel is gasified in a heated chamber and then mixed with sir for immediate combustion in an automotive internal combustion engine. The absence of condensed droplets allows the gasoline to burn much more efficiently than conventional C4-C~z gasoline and, consequently, reduces pollution sand improves engine performance. By removing Cy~ and C~Z components from the starting steak gasoline, the final boiling point will be 34~°F (174°C) and, thus, the gasoline will have the desired gasification property.
The gasification system used for interaaediate hydrocarbon range gasoline requires heating the gasoline to lower temperatures that would be required for the ~.5 gasification of C4-C~Z gasoline. When lower temperatures are attained, the volumetria efficiency of the air and gas mixture going into an engine is improved.
The gasoline having hydrocarbons comprised essentially of C6°C~p hydrocarbons will have lower Reid Vapor Pressure ZO than conventional C4-C~Z gasoline with functional Read Vapor Pressures less than two. Nonetheless, the Cb-Cep gasoline will exhibit good ignition properties in the gaseous state when mired with air. It will also provide excellent engine starting ability, will have reduced explosive potential and ZS will burn mare completely than C4-C~Z gasoline. In addition, the Cb-Coo gasoline will burn cooler in the engine with the modified carburetor and consequently the use of such a fuel will result in less lubrication requirements for the engine.
30 Conventional C4-C~2 gasoline has high lteid Vapor Pressure and the Reid Vapor Pressure can be adjusted somewhat to provide summer or winter fuels. For example, the Reid Vapor Pressure can be increased by adding volatiles such as C4 to enhance the winter performance of pcriv~~oioazoa ''~~ 92!02600 the conventional gasoline. However, the present invention requires lowering the Reid Vapor Pressure by removing the C~ and C5 components. , Thus it would be expected that ability to formulate winter and summer fuels would be lost if the hydrocarbon range is limited to essentially C6-Cyo hydrocarbons. It ;is therefore surprising that the Cb-Coo gasoline can be formulated for winter use without additional C4 priming. It has been discovered that a winter fuel can be made in the same manner as the summer gasoline with the exception being that the c'o component is additionally separated from the starting C4-C~2 gasoline along with the C4, C5, C~~ and C~Z comp~nents to provide a fuel that when gasified will remain substantially a gas when mixed with colder air. Thus, the present invention else provides a winter fuel having hydrocarbons which consists essentially of hydrocarbons in the range C6-C9. The C6-Cg wint0r gasoline differs from the Cb-Coo gasoline only in the elimination of the Coo component which is left in thg C6-Coo summer gasoline. Consequently, the winter Cb-Cg gasoline has a final boiling point of 303°F
(151°C) and a boiling range of about 121°F-303°F (49 to 151°C) .
The C6-Cg gasoline must contain the C9 hydrocarbon component and preferably should contain the remaining intermediate hydrocarbons which are C6, C~, and CB since these are preferably present in the C4-c~z gasoline. The cb-C9 wintor gasoline is burned in an engine in the _same manger described above with respect to the C6-Coo gasoline and enjoys the same benefits described above with respect to the C5-Coo gasoline.
The C6-Cep and C6-Cg gasoline is gasified by heating in a chamber in the abs8nce of air to a temperature above the final bailing point of the gasoline. The C6-Cep and Cb-C9 fuels are preferably heated to a temperature 350°F (177°C).
Higher temperatures may be used but are not necessary.
ewo gZ~oZSOO~ d ~ $ ~ 4 4 PCT/US90/0421t1.
Conventional C4-C~2 would require a temperature of about T5 °F
(2.4°C) higher to gasify and when mixed with air it would still have the problem of forming condensation droplets.
Additionally, the higher temperature would lower the volumetric efficiency of the engine..
It has been emphasized that C9 and Coo must be present in the Cb-Coo gasoline and C9 must be present in the Cb-C9 gasoliae because heavy molecular components have the highest energy density. Since these are the highest l0 density components capable of being gasified and remaining a gas when mixed with air, it is important that they remain in the gasoline for production of engine power.
It has also been discovered that the C6-Coo and the C6-Cg gasoline can be adapted for use in engines having standard carburetion (i.e., carburetors which do not require gasification in a heated chamber in the absence of air). In particular, it has been discovered that priming the C6-C9 and the C6-Coo gasoline with a small amount of a volatile component will result in the production of an improved gasoline which may be used in automobiles equipped with standard carburetion. The priming agent may be C4, C5, or a mixture of C4 and C5. Cansequently the pr3.med gasoline will have hydrocarbons which consists essentially of hydrocarbons in the range C4-C1o (summer) and C4-Cg (winter) .
The C4-C9 and C~-Coo gasoline is the same as the analogous C6-C9 and C6-CZO gasoliae except for the presence of a small amount of priming agent in both the C4-C~ and C4-Cep gasohnea In both the winter and summer fuel, the amount of 3o priming agent is an amount effective to raise the front end volatility so that the fuel can be used in cars equipped with standard carburetioa. Thus the C4-C9 is particularly suitable for winter use and the C4-Coo is particularly suitable for summer use in oars equipped with standard ~~~8044 ??~!O 92/02600 - PCT/U~90/04201 (.
carburetaxs. It is particularly significant and surprising that the amount of C4 or C5 in the C4-Cg and C4-C10 gasoline is less than the amount of C~ or C5 in COnVentiOnal C4-C~2 gasoline without sacrificing any of the desirable properties of the gasoline. It is also surprising that the C4-Cg and C4-C9n gasolines have adequate front end volatility yet are lower in Reid vapor Pressure than conventional C4-C~z gasoline. It is believed that this is because removal of and C~2 from C4-C~2 gasoline means that the remaining fuel will have a higher percentage of C4, C5, and Cb hydrocarbons.
therefore much of the C4 and some of the CS hydrocarbons can be removed from the C4-Coo and C4-C9 gasoline to obtain a functionally equivalent~front end volatility in comparison to the original C4-c~2 gasoline. This reduces the Reid vapor Pressure.
Tha gasoline of this invention may also contain any of the various additives presently in use or known to be useful in gasoline. In fact, because this invention produces a gasoline having a low Reid vapor Pressure, as compared to normal automotive gasoline, it is possible to add large amounts of alcohol such as ethanol to the gasoline of this invention without raising the Reid vapor Pressure above the current allowable limits. Alcohol addition to conventional gasoline is known to raise the Reid vapor Pressure above the allowable limits. Additions of alcohol can be added to the fuels of this invention in an amount of l0-20 per cent by weight without exceeding current Reid vapor Pressure standards.
It is also possible to add lubricants or anti-knock compounds to the gasoline. For ezample, a suspension of fine synthetic upper end lubricants or small amounts of anti-knock compounds may be added the gasoline of this invention.
WO 92102~~ $ ~ ~ ~ PCI'1US9010a2~','-It lass also been surprisingly discovered that the fuels of this invention w3aen s~asified burn almost completely in the engine producing equivalent forgoes with less fuel and at temperatures which are lower than the 5 temperatures achieved when combusting conventional fuels in engines equipped with standard carbus-etion systems. This is true at stoichiometric or slightly higher air-ta-fuel ratios which would normally result in the development of excessive engine temperature. Therefore, combusting the 10 gasoline of this invention produces less nitrous oxide and allows some increase in compression or supercharging without damage to the engine and without environmental ContamlnatiOns The gasoline of this invention is an intermediate 15 hydrocarbon fuel and naturally exists in the liquid state at standard temperature and pressure. Thus the gasoline can be shipped, stored and dispensed like conventional gasoline and requires no further processing for use.
It has also been discovered that the fuels of this 2o invention burn cooler than conventional C~-C12 fuel. For this reason may be advantageous to add an oxygen source to the fuel to obtain more complete combustion. The oxygen source raises the combustion temperature. However, due to the fast that the fuels of the present invention burn cooler than conventional C4-Cyz gasoline, the elevated combustion temperature can be tolerated in automobile engines. Thus, an oxygenate compound may be added to-the fuels of the present invention to raise combustion temperatures or to effect more complete combustion. Many suitable oxygen source map be used. Typical oxygen sources include oxygenated hydrocarbons such as 1, 2 butylene oxide.
~ Q 8 ~ ~ ~ 4 PC.'f/.US90/04201 "?"~ 92102600 :_ 2 ~.
Example 1 Coo fuel was made by removing the hydrocarbons lighter than CS and the hydrocarbons heavier thaw C'o from a conventional C4-C~z gasoline. The C4-C'Z gasoline which served as the starting ingredient contains C5, C6, C7, Ce, and Coo hydrocarbons in addition to the heavy and light hydrocarbons which were removed therefrom. The resulting C~-C~o fuel therefor~ contains C5, , C6, Cm C8, C~, Coo hydrocarbons. The C5-Coo fuel had a Reid vapor Pressure of l0 6. The fuel was used to start and run a standard carbureted Volkswagen engine. Measurements of fuel efficiency were taken and the results are shown in Table I, (line B). During the test it was noted that the stnndard carbureted engines started and ran easily even though the fuel had a Reid vapor Pressure of only 6.
Example 2 For the purpose of comparison, the C4-C~2 fuel described in example 1 was used to start and run a Volkswagen engine Which was identical to the engine used for testing the C5-C9o fuel in example 1. The C4-C~Z fuel had a Reid Vapor Pressure of l0. The efficiency of the C4-C~Z fuel was measured and the results are shown in Figure 1 (line A).
Example 3 The C5-Coo fuel used in example 1 was also tested in an engine identical to the angina used in example l with the exception that the engine used in example 3 was equipped.
with an improved carburetion system of the present invention. The fuel efficiency was measured and the results are shown in Table I (line C). During the test it was noted that the C5-Coo fuel easily started and ran the engine equipped with the improved carburetor even though the fuel had a Reid Vapor Pressure of only 6.
WO 9Z/OZ600 IPCT/US901042(~~
r ..
2~ , whiles the preserat inve:ation has been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments and exemplified with respect thereto, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that variations, modifications, changes, omissions and substitutions may be nounde without departing from the spirit thereof. 7Lt is intended, therefore, that the present invention be limited solQrly by the scope of the following claims:
BaCIL~rOUnd anfOrmatiOn present day automotive gasoline consists of a mixture of hydrocarbons which range from C4 to about C~Z. The lower molecular weight fraction, such as butane isomers, is more volatilH and it has always been the practice to include substantial portions of these volatiles in the fuel to insure proper engine performance. This practice, howHVer, is at best a compromise since the presence of the volatiles, on the one hand, causes an undue risk of explosion during storage and handling; and the 3aherent evaporative and emission losses contribute to pollution;
but, On the Other hand, the volatiles have always been considered necessary for good cold engine starting. Thus, a certain amount of the volatiles have been incorporated in gasoline. The exact amount of the volatiles may vary according to the climate where it is sold. In fact, industry has set voluntary limits so that each area will have a motor fuel having sufficient volatility for the prevailing climate. high levels of. volatile components assure satisfactory starting and warm=up at the lowest WO 92/02600 PCTlUS90l0420.t 20~~0~~
temperature expected, and low levels of volatile components protect against vapor-lock in high temperature climates.
Generally current gasolines exhibit high levels of volatiles measured in terms of Reid Vapor Pressure. Reid vapor Pressure is the accepted measurement of gasoline volatility and it represents the vapor pressure at 100°F
(37.78°C). Current fuels require a relatively high amount of volatile components which raises the Reid Aapor Pressure to undesirable levels. It is highly desirable to :Formulate l0 a fuel which satisfies the volatility requirements without raising the Reid vapor Pressure to the undesirable level found in the prior art fuels.
The use of these volatiles in prior art fuels is associated with several problems. one such problem is that because present day engines depend on the volatiles, the spontaneous loss of them in storage results in a the fuel which is of inferior quality after a period of storage.
Thus, because of varying storage times, the consumer can never be certain if the gas he is purchasing contains the required amount of volatiles at the time of purchase.
Naturally, therefore, a fuel whose efficiency and dependability is less dependent on the presence of volatiles is more desirable.
Another problem arising out of the use of these volatiles is the evaporative loss of gasoline which can occur in the gas task. Industry has been hard pressed to solve this problem for quite some time. While this problem has bean recognized for some time, industry has always been .
reluctant to solve the problem by roducing~the volatility of the gasoline because in doing so they would lose the benefits of the compromise (i.e., engine performance). In fact, this point has been expressed in the publication titled Effects of Automotive Emission Regui.~rements on Gasoline Recguirements; Symposium, American Society for rW0 92/02600 ~ ~ g g ~ 4 4 pCT/US90/04201 L.. ...
Testing and Materials; 1971. Here it is stated on page ill that °°Severe volatility reduction could produce other problems. A more effective method than volatility reduction can be seen to be the ela.m:ination of evaporative , losses by some mechanical device"°. This invention, however, seeks to reduce volatility or Reid iTapor Pressure and still maintain a fuel which can perform well.
Present day gasoline also contains, in addition to the volatile light-weight and the intermediate-weight components, a heavy-weight component which, like the volatile component, is also associated with several disadvantages. For example, the gasoline of today, when used as a fuel in present day short stroke engines, results in incomplete combustion because there is insufficient time or temperature to burn the heavy hydrocarbon components.
This results in a certain amount of gasoline being wasted and this contributes to pollution. Conventional C4-C~z has too mucb energy in it for conventional internal combustion engines in that if combusted with enough air (stoichiometric or slightly above) it will burn too hot far the engine or it will produce high levels of nitrous oxides. Yet, in spite of these shortcomings, the heavy components are left in present day fuel because their presence is considered necessary to provide a fuel having suitable progerties for automotive use.
The presence of these heavy components in conventional C4-C~z gasoline requires considerable front end priming with light components (C~ and/or C5) to achieve adequate front end volatility for startiag engines equipped with standard carburetion systems. In addition, conventional C4-C~2 gasoline which contains these heavy components (C» and Ctz) cannot b~ easily gasified and maintained in the gaseous state without recondensing. Consequently, conventional C~-C~z gasoline has limited utility in a more efficient carburetion system of the type which requires c~asification WO 92!02600 PCT/US90/0420~
in the abssnce of air before mixing the gasified fuel with air for combustion. Therefore, in view of the shortcomings associated with the heavy weight hydlrocarboas, especially C» and C~Z, it would be highly desirable to formulate the gasoline without these heavy components being present while also avoiding the problems associated with the absence of these components.
The use of conventional C4-C~z fuels in standard carbureted Paternal combustion engines requires that the 1o volatility of the fuel be adjusted to achieve a Reid vapor Pressure of at least 9 in the summer and 12 in the winter.
If the Reid Vapor Pressure of conventional C4°C~2 gasoline falls below the above limits, starting and running the engine is severely impaired. The fuels of the present invention will easily start and operate identical engines yet these fuels have a reduced Reid Vapor Pressure in comparison to the above-mention conventional C4-C~Z gasoline.
Thus the summer fuels of the present invention may have a Reid vapor Pressure less than 9 and the winter fuels may have a Reid Vapor Pressure of less than 12. In particular, it is been discovered that the fuel of the present invention having a Reid vapor Pressure as low as 6 in the summer and 9 in the winter will easily start and operate identical engines which require conventional fuels having a Reid Vapor Pressure of 9 in the summer and 12 in the winter. The Reid vapor Pressures can be reduced even further by using the fuels of the present invention in combination with the improved carburetion system of -the present invention.
The ideal combustion mixture for internal combustion engines consists of gasoline in the vapor or gaseous state thoroughly mixed with adequate air to support combustion.
In this condition, fuel-rich pockets, which are responsible for detonation or °'knock,°' are eliminated and carbon deposits responsible for preignition are minimized due to we ~zioz6oo 2 ~ $ $ 0 4 4 , ~~ri~s9oio~ao~
, more complete combustion. Because detonation or prsignition can damage or ruin an engine, current gasolines have octane boosters such as aromatics contained therein to reduce "knock" since current enginss.have fuel and air 5 intake systems which produce dr~oplsts of fuel that contribute to fuel rich pockets in the combustion chambers of the engines. Slowing the burn with octane boosters lowers the combustion efficiency of the engine and increases the exhaust pollution. Therefore, it would be 1o highly desirable to provide a fuel which avoids octane boosters, is rated at a lower octane value but which has highly desirable burning characteristics so that the fuel doss not produce engine knock.
Automotive and aviation gasolines have always had an ASTM average octane number (R*N/2) of 80 or higher; wherein R represents the research octane number mod P4 represents the motor actane number. Current engines generally require as average octane number in excess of 85.
sUI~ARY oh' THE Il~TV~tITIOH
Zo A primary object of this invention is to provide an improved gasoline which facilitates the achievement of ideal combustion mixtures for internal combustion engines.
Another object of this invention is to provide a lower octane fuel and method of use so as to further improve the combustion efficiency of the fuel in an internal combustion engine.
A further object of this invention is to provide a method whereby greater combustion efficiencies can be achieved in engines.
It is an object of this invention to provide gasolines for automotive engines which minimize the requirement for WO 92102600 ~ o g g p 4 4 PCT/LJS90/04201~
r,....
volatile components in the fuel without sacrificing adequate engine performance and which lowers the Rsid vapor Fressure while maintaining good front sad volatility.
It is also an object .of this invention to grovide a 5 gasoline having a low Reid Vapor Pressure which combusts more efficiently than conventional gasoline of the type having a hydrocarbon tangs of CN-C~2.
It is another object of this invention to provide !~
gasoline which has greater tolerance for alcohol enrichment because of low Reid Vapor Pressure.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a gasoline which minimizes the priming needed to achieve adequate front end volatility for starting engines equipped with standard carburetion systems.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved gasoline which has enhanced gasification characteristics in improved carburetion systems.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved process for more completely combusting the fuel of 2o this invention in an engine thus negating the need for fuel injection systems or catalytic converters.
Th~ss and other objects of the invention will b~come apparent to those skilled in the art from the folloaring disclosure of the invention.
The objects of the present invention are achieved by the discovery that front-end priming of gasoline is not necessary in gasifier type carburetors and that the heavier components in gasoline are not stable as gases in air using gasifisr type carburetors. Therefore it was possible to d~velop new intermediate hydrocarbon range gasolinss that WO 92!02600 2 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ PCT/LJS90l04201 have unique benefits not obtained in C4-C~Z gasoline. In addition the new gasification methods have distinct advantages over the prior art.
One aspect of the invention relates to a gasoline having an intermediate hydrocarbon range relative to conventional C4-C~Z gasoline which contains C4, C5, C6, C~
Coo, C» and CI2 hydrocarbons. The intermediate raage gasoline is made by removing the lighter volatile component as well as the heavier component from a conventional gasoline starting material. The resulting fuel is C6-C~o;
i.e. the hydrocarbons are limited to those in the range C6-Coo. Also, in accordance with this aspect of the invention, it may be desirable to further remove the Coo component to form a C6-CQ gasoline far improved winter Z5 , performance in gasifier type carburetors.
Suitable starting material to produce the gasoline of this invention is conventional gasoline having a range of C4-C~Z. Both the heavy and light components are removed by any of the known methods currently available such as heat fractionization or the use of heat and vacuum in the absence of air. Once removed, the heavy component may be "cracked" at the refinery to make more gasoline and the volatile component, most of which is being wasted today, may be fully recovered at the refinery.
Although gasoline having a range of C4-C~Z is mentioned as a useful starting material, it is not critical that the starting material be precisely in this range. Rather, it is the essence of this invention to produce a gasoline fraction of intermediate carbon range relative to the given range C4-C~2 that may be produced directly from refinery hydrocarbon streams.
It will be apparent, of course, that the C6-Coo and Cb-Cg fuels of the invention cannot be used efficiently in WO 92!02600 PC,T/US90/04201 ,:
~pggp44 conventional internal combustion engines without modification of the carburetion system. It has been found, however, that the gasoline of this invention can be quickly volatilized in a heated chamber by heating to a temperature above final boiling point of the fuel at one atmosphere pressure in the absence of air,, and such apparatus can be readily installed in an automobile. The resulting vapor (produced as neededD will mix.readily with air to form a homogenous mixture without formation of condensed droplets l0 which can wet the wall in an internal combustion engine;
will not be subject to liquid phase oxidation prior to ignition; and will ignite well in the gaseous form.
Since not all the Cb-Coo and C6-C9 gasoline can 'be used efficiently in a conventional internal combustion engine without modification of the carburetion system, the present invention also provides an improved fuel for use in cars having standard carburetion systems. In connection with this, it has been discovered that the above described C6-Cso and C6-Cg gasoline can be used in an internal combustion engine having a standard carburetion system by priming the gasoline with a minimum amount of C4, C5 or a mixture of C4 and CS to produce a gasoline having adequate front end volatility for starting cars equipped with standard carburetion systems. Since the gasoline may be primed with C~ and/or C5 , then the permissible range of such a fuel will be C4-Cg (winter) and C4-Coo (summer) . xn particular, it has been discovered that the amount of C4 or C5 priming necessary for achieving adequate front end volatility' for starting engines equipped with a standard carburetion system is less than the amount required with conventional C4-Cep gasoline. Thus, this aspect of the invention provides an improved fuel for standard carbureted engines and this fuel will advantageously contain less C4 or C5 than conventional C4-Cyz gasoline while maintaining adequate front ead volatility and reduced Reid 'Vapor Pressures. Tn other words, the C6-Cto .and C6-CQ gasoline requires less WO 92/02600 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ pCT/US90/0420a priming to achieve adequate front end volatility far starting engines equipped with standard carburetion systems than does normal G4-C~2 automotive gasoline. This represents a unique and unexpected method of achieving lower Reid Vapor Pressure in automotive gasoline while maintaining adequate-front end volatility since one would assume that lighter gasoline (C4-Cg and C4-C1p) would have higher Reid vapor Pressure than heavier C4-C~2 gasoline.
The amount of C4, CS or mixture of C4 and C5 used t~
prime the C6-Coo or C6-CQ gasoline is a minimum amount necessary to achieve adequate front end volatility for starting a csr equipped with a standard carburetor.
The C~,-Coo and C4-C9 gasoline can also be made by removing the heavy and light components from gasoline as described above for making C6-Coo and C6-C9 with the exception that an adequate amount of C4 and/or CS is retained in the product to achieve adequate front end volatility for starting a car equipped with a standard carburetor.
It has also been discovered that adequate front end volatility for engines equipped with standard carburetion can be achieved by priming with additional CS so that adequate front end volatility can be achieved without any c4 priming.
It has also been discovered that prior art gasoline having a carbon range of C~ to C~2 can be improved by removing the higher molecular weight constituents so as to produce a gasoline fuel having a narrower carbon range of C4 to C» and a boiling point range of 11°F to 384°F (-i to 195.6°C). Such a narrower range fuel facilitates both the ability of the gasoline to be vaporized or gasified as well as the ability of the vapor or gas to remain as a vapor or gas when mixed-with ambient air without forming WO 92/02600 Ft.'T/US90/04201_ ( so droplets which can wet the surface in an internal combustion engine. This narrourer fuel allows ideal combustion mixtures to be used in internal combustion engines and, in turn, allows lowea- octane gasoline to be used which further improves combustion efficiency and lowers the production of pollutants produced during combustion.
prior art aviation gasoline having a carbon range of C4 to C9 would not require the removal of higher molecular lo weight constituents to be stable as a vapor or gas in ambient air but the use of such prior art fuels would require the lowering of the octane to increase the speed of burn, thus improving combustion efficiency and lowering the pollutants produced during combustion.
Since the temperature of intake air used in an engine can vary widely because of seasonable variations or altitudes, the amount of heavy molecules removed can vary.
Preheated intake air systems could utilize more of the energy contained in the dense heavier molecules but this would result in too much loss in vohimetric efficiency caused by the preheating or preexpansion of the intake air.
The conversion of the fuels of this invention into vapors or gasses, homogenizing these vapors or gasses with intake air (ambient or heated) while maintaining gas or vapor stability and combusting this fuel mixture in an engine represents an improved method for achieving higher combustion efficiency while lowering the pollutants of combustion.
Drief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a graph which illustrates the fuel efficiency of selected fuels in a 1.500 c.c. volkswagon engine at various engine speeds. The vertical axis shows the ~fficiency in term of lbs. of fuel/horsepower hour.
iW0 92!02600 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ P(_T/LJS90l04201 f,._ 12.
The horizontal axis measures the engine speed. Figure 1 also illustrates the fuel efficiency of the gasoline of this invention combusted in an, identical engine equipped with the improved carburetor of this invention.
s DsT~t~D D$scRIpTIO~ Og T~
IP1VRHTIOH AHD PRRF'BRRBD ~ODIM8L~1T8 In the manufacture of a gasoline in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, both the lighter volatile component and the heavier, slow-burning component are removed from gasoline in the C4-C~Z range. The removal of the volatile component makes the resultant fuel have a slower rate of burning. By also removing the heavy slow-burning component, the resultant fuel is an intermediate gasoline having a burn rate comparable to or l9 better than the starting stock gasoline (CG-C~2) from which it was made.
The most abundant of the volatile components in conventional C4-C~Z gasoline is butane and pentane. With regard to the removal of th~ volatile components it is primarily the butane and pentane which is removed from the C4-C~z gasoline in the practice of this invention. If the gasoline contains hydrocarbons lighter than butane, it is desirable that they too be removed. The heavy, slow-burning component consists primarily of C» and C~Z, each of which exists in numerous isomeric forms. These are removed aad, if the starting stock gasoline contains hydrocarbons greater than C~2, it is desirable that they also be removed. In both cases the light volatile components and the heavy, slow-burning components are removed according to conventional known methods.
In the practice of a preferred embodiment of this invention, both components are removed, resulting in an intermediate hydrocarbon range. The boundaries of this w~ ~Zio2soo ~crms9oio4ao~_ ~~0~4 is range depend upon the extent to which the heavy and light components are removed. In this invention, both components are substantially removed but it is recognized that some may be left behind due to imperi:ections in current frmctionation techniques. It as most desirable that the heavy and light components be stabatantially removed.
It is also recognized that the heavy and light components do not exist as absolutes but rather, as points on a continuum with the most volatile being the lighter hydrocarbons, and a gradual reduction in volatility and burning tendency as the weight is increased. This gives rise to certain "border line" components near both cads of the continuum. It is inevitable that some of these will be removed with the heavier and the lighter components. In general, it is recognized that the border line weights are C6 and Coo. Thus, according to this invention, a substantial quantity of volatile component is removed to effectively reduce the potential for explosion and minimize the loss of gasoline due to evaporation. Likewise, the heavy component ZO is also removed in an effective amount to raise the burn rate of the fuel and effect more complete combustion. Both of these components are removed and this fuel is used with an improvement in fuel combustion efficiency and engine performance.
This improvement is illustrated in Figure 1. It will be noted that Figure l shows a comparison which measures the efficiency of the fuel of the present invention versus the efficiency of conventional C4-C~2 prier art fuels at various engine speeds. The fuel efficiency is measured in 3o terms of Brake Specifia Fuel Consumption albs. of fuel per horsepower hour). Lower Brake Specific Fuel consumption ' values indicate better fuel efficiency.
The C6-Cep fuel of this invention may be used to run an engine equipped with the improved. gasifier carburetor PCTlUS90l042!Dl wo 9zlozsoo ,; .
a.3 described herein. however, it is not necessary that volatile components be absent from the fuels used in the improved gasifier combustc~rs since their presence in the fuel does not hinder the gasification process. Thus, some volatile C4 and/or C5 may be added to the Cb-Coo fuel so that the fuel can be used in a standard carbureted engine as well as an engine equipped with the improved gasifier carburetor. For this reason the comparison presented in Figure 1 utilized a Cb-Cto fuel containing some C5 volatile component so that the resulting C5-Coo fuel will run an engine equipped with an improved gasifier carburetor as well as a standard carbureted engine. xhe C5-~C~o has a boiling point range about 4g°F-345°F (9.4 to 174°C).
In order to obtain the data shown in Figure l, identical engines were used to compare conventional C4-C~2 unleaded gasoline (line A) with the C5-Coo fuel of this invention (line BD~ ~1n identical engine was used to test the uSe of Cg-C~0 fuel in an improved carburetion system of the present invention (line C). It will be noted by comparing line A with line B that at all engine speeds, more pounds of fuel are required per horsepower hour for the C4-C~Z gasoline than for the CS~C~p gasoline of the present invention. Therefore, the CS-Coo is significantly more efficient when combusted in identical engines. It will also be noted from Figure l that an even greater efficiency is observed when the C5-Coo fuel is combusted in an identical engine equipped with the amproved carburetion system of the present invention.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the C4-C~Z
gasoline is used as a starting ingredient from which the volatile C4 and CS constituents and the heavy C1~ and C~2 components are removed. In the preferred embodiment the starting C4-C~Z gasoline contains a mixture of each of the hydrocarbons (i.e., a mixture containing C4, ,Cg, C6, C7s Cer C9, C10I C11 and C~2) . -COnseC~uently, thB Intermediate WO 92/02600 PGTIiJS90/042Qx-.
(. ...
U 14, and C6-Coo gasolin8 of the preferred embodiment will likewise contain the same intermediate hyClrocarbans which are present in the starting gasoline. In other words, C6-Cg w111 Contain, Cb, C7r C8s and Cg and thB C6-C70 gasOlln8 will COntBin, C6, C7, CSo C9 and C~0 hydrOCarbon~.
The fuels of the present invention have an intermediate hydrocarbon range relative to conventional gasoline which has a hydrocarbon range of C4-C~2. The conventional C4-C~2 gasoline contains paraffinic hydrocarbons including C4, C5i ~%6~ C7r CBs C9r CtOi C11 and C12 paraffinic hydrocarbons. Thus removing the C~' and C12 paraffinic components of the C4-C~2 fuel will result in a fuel which contains paraffiaic hydrocarbons, including paraffinic C9 and Coo which ware originally present in the C~-C~Z
paraffinic fuel from which the fuel of this invention may be derived.
Preferably the C4-C» fuel should be formulated, with or without additives, to produce a maximum Reid Vapor pressure of less then 5 psi. Such a fuel is particularly suitable for gasifier engines or other engines having enhanced vaporization capability. However, a C4-C» fuel having a maximum Reid Vapor pressure of less than 5 psi is not suitable for combustion is a standard or conventional carbureted engine. A full range C6-C» fuel has RVP which is Less than 5 psi. A C~-C» fuel can be easily formulated to meet this criteria by the appropriate selection of C4-C1~
constituents so as to limit the RVP to less than 5 psi.
In one embodiment of the present invention the light and heavy components are removed from conventional C
3o gasoline to produce a gasoline having a hydrocarbon range of Cg-Coo. 8uch a fuel is identical to the C6-Cio fuel with the exception of the presence of C5 component in the CS-Coo fuel. Thus the CS-Coo fuel will have a boiling point range Of about 49°F-345°F (9.95 to 174°C).
,WO 92/02500 ~ ~ ~ ~ o ~ ~ P~'/US9010~1201 l~lthough the starting gasoline preferably contmins the entire range of hydrocarbons from C,,-C~Z as described above, it is not absolutely essential that all of the intermediate hydrocarbons be present in the starting gasoline. However, 5 it is critical that the C6-Cg fuel contains C9 hydrocarbon and the C6-Coo gasoline contain C9 and C1o hydrocarbon.
The preferred intermediate range Cs-Coo gasoline may be defined as the portion remaining when C4-C1~ gasoline has removed therefrom an effective amount of lower weight 10 volatile components to substantially reduce evaporative loss and explosion potential and effective amount of~higher weight components to raise the burn rate of the remaining hydrocarbons. A C6-C'o gasoline which has these characteristics can be made by removing the volatile and tS heavy components so that the remaining hydrocarbon mixture will boil within a range of about 121°F-395°F 049.4 to 174°C) at one atmosphere. gush a boiling paint range encompasses the boiling point of the lowest boiling C6 component and the highest boiling Cep component. ~f course, it as possible that a small amount of C4, C 5, C» and C~
may remain after the separation process due to imperfections of gasoline fractionation procedures.
since the largest hydrocarbon in the preferred C6-Coo gasoline is Coo, thon 'the final boiling point of such a mixture will be 345°B (x74°C). Tt has been discovered that hydrocarbons having boiling points above 350°F (177°C) must be substantially eliminated so that the intermediate fuel can be gasified in a heated chamber in 'the absence of air, and then mixed with ambient air (i.e., about 70°i~ or 21°C) without condensing to form droplets of heavy hydrocarbons which could wet the surfaces in an internal combustion engine. However in warm or hot climates C» maybe included without resulting in the. formation of droplets which could wet the surfaces in an internal combustion engine. This ~ property is an essential aspect of the Cb-~C~o gasoline PCTlLJ~9~10420at-because the Cb-Cep fuel is used in a modified carburetion system in which the fuel is gasified in a heated chamber and then mixed with sir for immediate combustion in an automotive internal combustion engine. The absence of condensed droplets allows the gasoline to burn much more efficiently than conventional C4-C~z gasoline and, consequently, reduces pollution sand improves engine performance. By removing Cy~ and C~Z components from the starting steak gasoline, the final boiling point will be 34~°F (174°C) and, thus, the gasoline will have the desired gasification property.
The gasification system used for interaaediate hydrocarbon range gasoline requires heating the gasoline to lower temperatures that would be required for the ~.5 gasification of C4-C~Z gasoline. When lower temperatures are attained, the volumetria efficiency of the air and gas mixture going into an engine is improved.
The gasoline having hydrocarbons comprised essentially of C6°C~p hydrocarbons will have lower Reid Vapor Pressure ZO than conventional C4-C~Z gasoline with functional Read Vapor Pressures less than two. Nonetheless, the Cb-Cep gasoline will exhibit good ignition properties in the gaseous state when mired with air. It will also provide excellent engine starting ability, will have reduced explosive potential and ZS will burn mare completely than C4-C~Z gasoline. In addition, the Cb-Coo gasoline will burn cooler in the engine with the modified carburetor and consequently the use of such a fuel will result in less lubrication requirements for the engine.
30 Conventional C4-C~2 gasoline has high lteid Vapor Pressure and the Reid Vapor Pressure can be adjusted somewhat to provide summer or winter fuels. For example, the Reid Vapor Pressure can be increased by adding volatiles such as C4 to enhance the winter performance of pcriv~~oioazoa ''~~ 92!02600 the conventional gasoline. However, the present invention requires lowering the Reid Vapor Pressure by removing the C~ and C5 components. , Thus it would be expected that ability to formulate winter and summer fuels would be lost if the hydrocarbon range is limited to essentially C6-Cyo hydrocarbons. It ;is therefore surprising that the Cb-Coo gasoline can be formulated for winter use without additional C4 priming. It has been discovered that a winter fuel can be made in the same manner as the summer gasoline with the exception being that the c'o component is additionally separated from the starting C4-C~2 gasoline along with the C4, C5, C~~ and C~Z comp~nents to provide a fuel that when gasified will remain substantially a gas when mixed with colder air. Thus, the present invention else provides a winter fuel having hydrocarbons which consists essentially of hydrocarbons in the range C6-C9. The C6-Cg wint0r gasoline differs from the Cb-Coo gasoline only in the elimination of the Coo component which is left in thg C6-Coo summer gasoline. Consequently, the winter Cb-Cg gasoline has a final boiling point of 303°F
(151°C) and a boiling range of about 121°F-303°F (49 to 151°C) .
The C6-Cg gasoline must contain the C9 hydrocarbon component and preferably should contain the remaining intermediate hydrocarbons which are C6, C~, and CB since these are preferably present in the C4-c~z gasoline. The cb-C9 wintor gasoline is burned in an engine in the _same manger described above with respect to the C6-Coo gasoline and enjoys the same benefits described above with respect to the C5-Coo gasoline.
The C6-Cep and C6-Cg gasoline is gasified by heating in a chamber in the abs8nce of air to a temperature above the final bailing point of the gasoline. The C6-Cep and Cb-C9 fuels are preferably heated to a temperature 350°F (177°C).
Higher temperatures may be used but are not necessary.
ewo gZ~oZSOO~ d ~ $ ~ 4 4 PCT/US90/0421t1.
Conventional C4-C~2 would require a temperature of about T5 °F
(2.4°C) higher to gasify and when mixed with air it would still have the problem of forming condensation droplets.
Additionally, the higher temperature would lower the volumetric efficiency of the engine..
It has been emphasized that C9 and Coo must be present in the Cb-Coo gasoline and C9 must be present in the Cb-C9 gasoliae because heavy molecular components have the highest energy density. Since these are the highest l0 density components capable of being gasified and remaining a gas when mixed with air, it is important that they remain in the gasoline for production of engine power.
It has also been discovered that the C6-Coo and the C6-Cg gasoline can be adapted for use in engines having standard carburetion (i.e., carburetors which do not require gasification in a heated chamber in the absence of air). In particular, it has been discovered that priming the C6-C9 and the C6-Coo gasoline with a small amount of a volatile component will result in the production of an improved gasoline which may be used in automobiles equipped with standard carburetion. The priming agent may be C4, C5, or a mixture of C4 and C5. Cansequently the pr3.med gasoline will have hydrocarbons which consists essentially of hydrocarbons in the range C4-C1o (summer) and C4-Cg (winter) .
The C4-C9 and C~-Coo gasoline is the same as the analogous C6-C9 and C6-CZO gasoliae except for the presence of a small amount of priming agent in both the C4-C~ and C4-Cep gasohnea In both the winter and summer fuel, the amount of 3o priming agent is an amount effective to raise the front end volatility so that the fuel can be used in cars equipped with standard carburetioa. Thus the C4-C9 is particularly suitable for winter use and the C4-Coo is particularly suitable for summer use in oars equipped with standard ~~~8044 ??~!O 92/02600 - PCT/U~90/04201 (.
carburetaxs. It is particularly significant and surprising that the amount of C4 or C5 in the C4-Cg and C4-C10 gasoline is less than the amount of C~ or C5 in COnVentiOnal C4-C~2 gasoline without sacrificing any of the desirable properties of the gasoline. It is also surprising that the C4-Cg and C4-C9n gasolines have adequate front end volatility yet are lower in Reid vapor Pressure than conventional C4-C~z gasoline. It is believed that this is because removal of and C~2 from C4-C~2 gasoline means that the remaining fuel will have a higher percentage of C4, C5, and Cb hydrocarbons.
therefore much of the C4 and some of the CS hydrocarbons can be removed from the C4-Coo and C4-C9 gasoline to obtain a functionally equivalent~front end volatility in comparison to the original C4-c~2 gasoline. This reduces the Reid vapor Pressure.
Tha gasoline of this invention may also contain any of the various additives presently in use or known to be useful in gasoline. In fact, because this invention produces a gasoline having a low Reid vapor Pressure, as compared to normal automotive gasoline, it is possible to add large amounts of alcohol such as ethanol to the gasoline of this invention without raising the Reid vapor Pressure above the current allowable limits. Alcohol addition to conventional gasoline is known to raise the Reid vapor Pressure above the allowable limits. Additions of alcohol can be added to the fuels of this invention in an amount of l0-20 per cent by weight without exceeding current Reid vapor Pressure standards.
It is also possible to add lubricants or anti-knock compounds to the gasoline. For ezample, a suspension of fine synthetic upper end lubricants or small amounts of anti-knock compounds may be added the gasoline of this invention.
WO 92102~~ $ ~ ~ ~ PCI'1US9010a2~','-It lass also been surprisingly discovered that the fuels of this invention w3aen s~asified burn almost completely in the engine producing equivalent forgoes with less fuel and at temperatures which are lower than the 5 temperatures achieved when combusting conventional fuels in engines equipped with standard carbus-etion systems. This is true at stoichiometric or slightly higher air-ta-fuel ratios which would normally result in the development of excessive engine temperature. Therefore, combusting the 10 gasoline of this invention produces less nitrous oxide and allows some increase in compression or supercharging without damage to the engine and without environmental ContamlnatiOns The gasoline of this invention is an intermediate 15 hydrocarbon fuel and naturally exists in the liquid state at standard temperature and pressure. Thus the gasoline can be shipped, stored and dispensed like conventional gasoline and requires no further processing for use.
It has also been discovered that the fuels of this 2o invention burn cooler than conventional C~-C12 fuel. For this reason may be advantageous to add an oxygen source to the fuel to obtain more complete combustion. The oxygen source raises the combustion temperature. However, due to the fast that the fuels of the present invention burn cooler than conventional C4-Cyz gasoline, the elevated combustion temperature can be tolerated in automobile engines. Thus, an oxygenate compound may be added to-the fuels of the present invention to raise combustion temperatures or to effect more complete combustion. Many suitable oxygen source map be used. Typical oxygen sources include oxygenated hydrocarbons such as 1, 2 butylene oxide.
~ Q 8 ~ ~ ~ 4 PC.'f/.US90/04201 "?"~ 92102600 :_ 2 ~.
Example 1 Coo fuel was made by removing the hydrocarbons lighter than CS and the hydrocarbons heavier thaw C'o from a conventional C4-C~z gasoline. The C4-C'Z gasoline which served as the starting ingredient contains C5, C6, C7, Ce, and Coo hydrocarbons in addition to the heavy and light hydrocarbons which were removed therefrom. The resulting C~-C~o fuel therefor~ contains C5, , C6, Cm C8, C~, Coo hydrocarbons. The C5-Coo fuel had a Reid vapor Pressure of l0 6. The fuel was used to start and run a standard carbureted Volkswagen engine. Measurements of fuel efficiency were taken and the results are shown in Table I, (line B). During the test it was noted that the stnndard carbureted engines started and ran easily even though the fuel had a Reid vapor Pressure of only 6.
Example 2 For the purpose of comparison, the C4-C~2 fuel described in example 1 was used to start and run a Volkswagen engine Which was identical to the engine used for testing the C5-C9o fuel in example 1. The C4-C~Z fuel had a Reid Vapor Pressure of l0. The efficiency of the C4-C~Z fuel was measured and the results are shown in Figure 1 (line A).
Example 3 The C5-Coo fuel used in example 1 was also tested in an engine identical to the angina used in example l with the exception that the engine used in example 3 was equipped.
with an improved carburetion system of the present invention. The fuel efficiency was measured and the results are shown in Table I (line C). During the test it was noted that the C5-Coo fuel easily started and ran the engine equipped with the improved carburetor even though the fuel had a Reid Vapor Pressure of only 6.
WO 9Z/OZ600 IPCT/US901042(~~
r ..
2~ , whiles the preserat inve:ation has been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments and exemplified with respect thereto, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that variations, modifications, changes, omissions and substitutions may be nounde without departing from the spirit thereof. 7Lt is intended, therefore, that the present invention be limited solQrly by the scope of the following claims:
Claims (15)
1. A low volatility automotive gasoline composition for use in a standard internal combustion engine which is composed of a priming agent and a hydrocarbon mixture having an intermediate carbon range relative to conventional C4 - C12 automotive gasoline, characterized in that said intermediate carbon range consists of C6 -hydrocarbons with paraffinic C9 and C10 hydrocarbons being in the mixture in addition to hydrocarbons heavier than paraffinic C10 in an amount of from 0-4% of said gasoline volume; said C6 - C10 hydrocarbons to include a boiling point range of 49.4°C to 173.9°C
at one atmosphere pressure; said priming agent consisting of hydrocarbons selected from the group consisting of C4 and C5 hydrocarbons and mixtures thereof with the amount of primer being limited o that the volatility required of said low volatility liquid gasoline to cold start an engine is less than the volatility required of conventional C4 -automotive gasoline to cold start said engine.
at one atmosphere pressure; said priming agent consisting of hydrocarbons selected from the group consisting of C4 and C5 hydrocarbons and mixtures thereof with the amount of primer being limited o that the volatility required of said low volatility liquid gasoline to cold start an engine is less than the volatility required of conventional C4 -automotive gasoline to cold start said engine.
2. The gasoline as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that the hydrocarbon mixture includes C6, C7 and C8 hydrocarbon.
3. The gasoline as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that it further comprises alcohol.
4. A low volatility hydrocarbon gasoline composition for combustion in an automotive internal combustion engine in a gaseous state, said gasoline comprising a mixture of hydrocarbons having an intermediate carbon range relative to C4 - C12 fuel, characterized in that said intermediate carbon range consists essentially of the hydrocarbons in the range of C6 - C10 with C9 and C10 paraffinic hydrocarbons being present in the gasoline in addition to hydrocarbons heavier than paraffinic C10 in an amount of from 0-4%
of the gasoline volume; said C6 - C10 hydrocarbons having a boiling point range between 49.4 and 173.9°C (121 to 345°F), at 1 atmosphere pressure and said low volatility gasoline being capable of being vaporized by heating in a chamber to a temperature above the final boiling point of the gasoline at one atmosphere pressure in the absence of air and said vapor capable of being immediately mixed with air in a carburetor without the substantial instantaneous formation of liquid droplets therein so that said vapor/air mixture can be combusted in the engine in substantially a vaporized form.
of the gasoline volume; said C6 - C10 hydrocarbons having a boiling point range between 49.4 and 173.9°C (121 to 345°F), at 1 atmosphere pressure and said low volatility gasoline being capable of being vaporized by heating in a chamber to a temperature above the final boiling point of the gasoline at one atmosphere pressure in the absence of air and said vapor capable of being immediately mixed with air in a carburetor without the substantial instantaneous formation of liquid droplets therein so that said vapor/air mixture can be combusted in the engine in substantially a vaporized form.
5. The gasoline as claimed in claim 4 characterized by C6, C7 and C8 hydrocarbons.
6. The gasoline as claimed in claim 4 further characterized by alcohol.
7. The gasoline as claimed in claim 5 further characterized by an oxygen source for increasing the combustion temperature of the combustion efficiency of the gasoline in an automobile engine.
8. The gasoline as claimed in claim 4 characterized by an oxygen source for increasing the combustion temperature of the gasoline in an automobile engine.
9. A hydrocarbon gasoline composition including a mixture of hydrocarbons, characterized in that said mixture has an intermediate carbon range relative to C4-C12; said intermediate carbon range consisting essentially of C4-C11 hydrocarbons; said gasoline having a boiling point range of 11°F to 384°F(11.7 and 195.6°C) and having an ASTM average octane number (R+M/2) which is above 70 and below 80, said mixture including C9 and C10 hydrocarbons.
10. The composition as claimed in claim 9 characterized in that it further comprises an oxygenate.
11. The composition as claimed in claim 10 characterized in that it further comprises a solvent.
12. The composition as claimed in claim 11 characterized in that it further comprises a polarized material.
13. The composition as claimed in claim 12 characterized in that it further comprises an upper end lubricant.
14. The composition as claimed in claim 13 characterized in that it further comprises a detergent.
15. A low volatility automotive gasoline composition for use in a standard internal combustion engine which is composed of a priming agent and a hydrocarbon mixture having an intermediate carbon range relative to conventional C4 - C12 automotive gasoline, characterized in that said intermediate carbon range consists of C6 -C10hydrocarbons with paraffinic C9 and C10 hydrocarbons being in the mixture in addition to hydrocarbons heavier than paraffinic C10 in an amount of from 0-4%
of said gasoline volume; said C6 - C10 hydrocarbons having a boiling point range of 49.4°C to 173.9°C at one atmosphere pressure; said priming agent being a C4 hydrocarbon with the amount of primer being limited so that the volatility required of said low volatility liquid gasoline to cold start an engine is less than the volatility required of conventional C4 - C12 automotive gasoline to cold start said engine.
of said gasoline volume; said C6 - C10 hydrocarbons having a boiling point range of 49.4°C to 173.9°C at one atmosphere pressure; said priming agent being a C4 hydrocarbon with the amount of primer being limited so that the volatility required of said low volatility liquid gasoline to cold start an engine is less than the volatility required of conventional C4 - C12 automotive gasoline to cold start said engine.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US1990/004201 WO1992002600A1 (en) | 1990-07-31 | 1990-07-31 | Novel hydrocarbon fuel and fuel systems |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2088044A1 CA2088044A1 (en) | 1992-02-01 |
| CA2088044C true CA2088044C (en) | 2003-02-11 |
Family
ID=22220974
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002088044A Expired - Fee Related CA2088044C (en) | 1990-07-31 | 1990-07-31 | Hydrocarbon fuel and fuel systems |
Country Status (10)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0541547B2 (en) |
| JP (1) | JP3202747B2 (en) |
| AT (1) | ATE191233T1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU657467B2 (en) |
| BR (1) | BR9008035A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2088044C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE69033497T3 (en) |
| ES (1) | ES2146575T5 (en) |
| HU (1) | HUT66537A (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1992002600A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US6007589A (en) * | 1998-11-17 | 1999-12-28 | Talbert Fuel Systems Inc. | E-gasoline II a special gasoline for modified spark ignited internal combustion engines |
| WO2009103159A1 (en) | 2008-02-21 | 2009-08-27 | Canadian Space Agency | Feedback control for shape memory alloy actuators |
Family Cites Families (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US2403279A (en) * | 1942-03-26 | 1946-07-02 | Standard Oil Dev Co | Production of high octane number fuels |
| US2593561A (en) * | 1948-09-04 | 1952-04-22 | Standard Oil Dev Co | Method of preparing rich-mixture aviation fuel |
| US2857254A (en) * | 1955-03-14 | 1958-10-21 | Sun Oil Co | Motor fuel |
| BE554073A (en) * | 1956-01-11 | |||
| US4297172A (en) * | 1980-01-23 | 1981-10-27 | Kansas State University Research Foundation | Low energy process of producing gasoline-ethanol mixtures |
| US4829552A (en) * | 1985-12-06 | 1989-05-09 | Rossi Remo J | Anti-scatter grid system |
-
1990
- 1990-07-31 DE DE69033497T patent/DE69033497T3/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1990-07-31 CA CA002088044A patent/CA2088044C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1990-07-31 JP JP51548290A patent/JP3202747B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1990-07-31 AU AU67296/90A patent/AU657467B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1990-07-31 WO PCT/US1990/004201 patent/WO1992002600A1/en active IP Right Grant
- 1990-07-31 AT AT90916967T patent/ATE191233T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1990-07-31 BR BR909008035A patent/BR9008035A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1990-07-31 ES ES90916967T patent/ES2146575T5/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1990-07-31 HU HU9300216A patent/HUT66537A/en unknown
- 1990-07-31 EP EP90916967A patent/EP0541547B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| HUT66537A (en) | 1994-12-28 |
| WO1992002600A1 (en) | 1992-02-20 |
| ES2146575T3 (en) | 2000-08-16 |
| AU657467B2 (en) | 1995-03-16 |
| JPH06501966A (en) | 1994-03-03 |
| BR9008035A (en) | 1993-06-29 |
| ATE191233T1 (en) | 2000-04-15 |
| DE69033497T2 (en) | 2001-01-18 |
| DE69033497D1 (en) | 2000-05-04 |
| EP0541547B1 (en) | 2000-03-29 |
| CA2088044A1 (en) | 1992-02-01 |
| AU6729690A (en) | 1992-03-02 |
| EP0541547B2 (en) | 2004-11-03 |
| EP0541547A4 (en) | 1993-07-28 |
| EP0541547A1 (en) | 1993-05-19 |
| DE69033497T3 (en) | 2005-06-30 |
| JP3202747B2 (en) | 2001-08-27 |
| ES2146575T5 (en) | 2005-06-01 |
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