CA3237233A1 - Method for producing of a fuel additive - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for producing a fuel additive for fossil and biogenic fuels that is highly efficient is provided. At least one reactant of polar nature of the ester, ether, ketone, or carboxylic acid type and/or mixtures thereof is treated in such a way that the at least one reactant is subjected to a DC electric field with a minimum residence time of 1h and the contact of adsorbents from the class of carbonates, oxides, or anhydrites of elements of the alkali or alkaline earth group in a fixed bed with flow.

Description

METHOD FOR PRODUCING OF A FUEL ADDITIVE
The invention relates to a method for producing a fuel additive for fossil and biogenic fuels for internal combustion engines which is highly efficient. It also relates to a fuel additive produced according to the method.
Despite intensive research and development efforts, combustion engines are not expected to be replaced by alternative, more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient drive concepts in the medium term, particularly in the area of high and maximum performance. This means that technologies to increase efficiency and reduce emissions, both in terms of climate-relevant carbon dioxide and relevant pollutants generated and emitted by combustion processes, remain a key issue.
The demand for heat supply based on gaseous and liquid fossil fuels for industrial processes in the field of conversion of materials is also expected to remain high in the future.
Petrol and diesel technologies still dominate in internal combustion engine drive systems. Various paths are being pursued on the development side to move closer to the objectives outlined above. These include technologies that aim to further improve the degree of efficiency and increase efficiency or reduce emissions with regard to the engine regime and engine management, such as the development of the HCCI or CCS process, which is being promoted by various leading car manufacturers. However, as this is a hybrid technology based on the diesel and petrol principle, one problem with this development is that it requires specially formulated special fuels (designer fuels) that can only be generated at great effort. In addition, development work on this engine system has not yet progressed to the point where it will be ready for serial production in the short term. Further optimization strategies consist of pre-treating the fuel in electric or magnetic fields before feeding it into the engine system in order to achieve more efficient combustion by rearranging the molecules or molecule clusters. In addition, improved fuel supply, injection or distribution systems are proposed, e.g.

by optimizing the electronically controlled engine management in modern diesel engines (Automechanika 2010, 15.09.2010).
All of these development efforts are essentially focused on further optimizing unit and engine management and are therefore not aimed at optimizing the chemical combustion mechanisms by influencing the combustion properties of the fuel system. Other concepts are based on the approach of increasing the efficiency of internal combustion engines by reducing energy losses through friction, i.e.
by improving lubrication systems. This can be achieved by further optimizing friction pairings as well as by improving the lubricants, especially the engine oils, but also the fuels (WO 002005054314 A2, WO 002004035715 Al , EP 61895 A2, WO
1996003367 Al). The introduction of water into fuel systems is another intensively researched way to better control exhaust gas problems and reduce emissions.
However, such systems are dependent on customized emulsifiers with their own, sometimes complex production technologies. There is also the problem of stabilizing the fuel-water emulsions in the long term (DE 202007002851 Ul , DE

60122470 T2, EP 630 398 A, DE 10334897 Al). The technically feasible but expensive method of feeding the water separately into the combustion process requires increased control and regulation effort and leads to high costs.
Finally, a large number of substances, substance classes and formulated mixtures and therewith producible products or product mixtures and their production have been published in the technical literature, which aim to generate additives, to be mixed into the fuels, with a partially multifunctional effect (HU 200401825 A2). The improvement of the lubrication behavior (DE 1011 1857 Al , WO 001999029748 Al, OS DE 102009005824 Al), the prevention of the formation of deposits (DE
10102913 Al, DE 4309074 Al, WO 9007564, DE 548617 A2, EP 831141 Al, DE
69327949 T2, US 4134846 A, US 4191537), the catalytic acceleration and optimization of the combustion process (WO 0020020688570 A2) to achieve savings and emission reductions (DE 102010039039 Al, US 4877416 A, FR
2305491 Al, WO 2017/121497 Al) and the increase in engine performance (CN
200909672, GB 950147, US 4099930) are in the focus of interest.

2 According to DE 102008032254 B4, WO 860351 1 and OS DE 3535712 Al, straight- and branched-chain polyoxaalkanes and polyoxoalkylene dialkyl ethers with different alkylene structures and medium molecular weights are proposed as effective additives for soot minimization. However, this requires complex, usually multi-stage manufacturing processes with considerable technological effort for upgrading the products.
Reference is also made to the toxicity, in particular of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol di-methyl and di-ethyl ethers (substance class of polyoxymethylene di(alkyl polyglycol) ethers) in DE 102009035503 Al. Reference is made to the possibility of using biogenic raw materials and the non-toxicity of these substances, but their production process is also characterized by enormously high technical complexity. There is no indication of the required admixture rates of the additives to the fuel matrix and therefore of the achievable effects.
A large number of other proposed solutions are based on more complex substance mixtures which, in addition to ketones, alcohols (US 5433756 Al ), alkoxylated and alkenylated alkylphenols, polyolefins and aromatic carboxylic acid esters (OS DE 19620262, EP 0706552 B1 ) contain differently structured nitrogen derivatives, such as primary or tertiary alcohol amines, aliphatic alkyl amines or polyamines as well as organic nitrates and nitroparaffins, hydroxylamines and oxime ethers (US 4099930, DE 102010039039 Al, EP 0781793 B1 ) acting as ignition accelerators. In DE 19918764 Al the use of ethyl acetate in the range of 5-15 vol% in petrol or diesel fuel is protected. The listed substances, substance class families or substance mixtures protected by intellectual property rights are characterized, among other things, by the fact that they are toxic or questionable to handle or environmentally hazardous, can only be used for gasoline or diesel fuels and are sometimes used in very high doses ( 0.5 vol%).
Due to their use in high concentrations, it is obvious that relevant properties of the fuel system are affected. Further disadvantages are the often very complex, cost-

3 intensive and environmentally relevant processes and technologies (EP 0781793 Bl, OS DE 19620262 Al, DE 69008176 T2) for producing the additives or additive mixtures.
In TW 200909672 mixing water-alcohol mixtures and hydrogen peroxide into diesel fuel systems is proposed. However, this requires complex technical modifications to the vehicle, such as the installation of additional agitators, intermediate tanks and injection systems.
Fuel additives or fuel improvers currently available on the market and the products of this type described in specialist literature therefore have disadvantages in terms of the complexity of the manufacturing process, toxicity and the resulting limited manageability, the comparatively high energy required for production through the use of thermal material separation processes. In addition, there are byproducts and waste products that require disposal.
The products offered on the market also lack verifiability of their claimed effect.
There are no certificates of efficacy or scientifically proven proof of effectiveness.
Based on the detailed information on effect and composition, which is difficult to access, they are in some cases added in very high concentrations, which no longer justify the term additive, and in other cases are questionable in terms of health hazards to the user.
The invention is therefore based on the objective of developing a method for producing a fuel additive for fossil and biogenic fuels for internal combustion engines which is technically simple, economical and environmentally friendly and the fuel additive produced in accordance with the method is at the same time suitable for optimizing combustion processes in burner systems, turbines, internal combustion engines and fuel engines by mixing it into the fuel in such a way that fuel consumption is significantly reduced and environmentally relevant emissions are significantly reduced.

4 In view of the increasing need for measures to curb global warming, solutions are required for fuel additives that are suitable as combustion activators for fossil and biogenic fuels and thus significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
The method according to the invention is intended to meet the contemporary requirements for process-integrated environmental protection and not to generate any environmentally relevant waste or residual materials, thereby avoiding the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, the method should make it possible to produce an active ingredient mixture that can be used as a highly effective fuel additive or activator in the fuels currently in use and available on the market, significantly reduces fuel consumption and significantly reduces the pollutants contained in the exhaust gas. The fuel additive should be characterized by simple handling in practical application, be non-toxic and be safely applicable to all technologies of power and heat generation (gasoline, diesel and heavy oil engines, burner systems, turbines) without the need for technical modifications to the units and energy conversion systems.
The aim is to achieve a high level of economy with regard to the process and production costs as well as the efficiency (dosing quantity) of the fuel additive, which can also be referred to as an activator in the following. In addition, the fuel additive produced by the method according to the invention should be non-toxic to humans and the environment, have excellent miscibility with the fuels and be harmless in terms of material compatibility with the fuel or fuel-carrying systems.
Furthermore, the energy efficiency of classic burner systems for the provision of heat is to be increased in equal measure and, in all applications, a reduction in the relevant emissions NOx, CO and unburned hydrocarbons as well as soot and particles is to be achieved through optimized combustion in parallel with the savings effect.
The problem is solved with the features of claim 1. According to the invention, aliphatic and naphthenic hydrocarbons as well as their oxigenates of the ester,

5 ether, ketone or carboxylic acid type are preferably used, but preferably cyclohexanes and ketones or mixtures thereof. Methylcyclohexane and methyl ethyl ketone are particularly suitable as mixture components. Using a reaction arrangement with a DC electric field and a minimum dwell time of lh and the contact of suitable adsorbents from the class of carbonates, oxides or anhydrites of elements of the alkali metal or alkaline earth metal group, but preferably silicates and carbonates of metals of the second main group such as calcium and magnesium, the mixture of reactants flows through a fixed bed consisting of the aforementioned adsorbents in granulated or granular form.
The fuel additive according to the invention can be added quickly and easily as an additive in very low doses. The fuel additive has no health hazard potential for the user and can be produced at least partly on the basis of renewable raw materials under environmentally friendly conditions without generating residues or waste.
According to the invention, a mixture of easily accessible straight-chain or branched-chain aliphatic and/or naphthenic hydrocarbons or hydrocarbon mixtures comprising the structural types of cycloalkanes, alkanes, alkenes and alkynes in the molar mass range up to 280 g/mol and of oxygenates of the above-mentioned basic hydrocarbons of the ester, ether or ketone type in dilution by a solvent mixture comprising one or more aliphatic and/or naphthenic Cl to C8 monoalcohols is brought into contact with a polar solid, which is composed of one or a mixture of several ionic compounds of the metals of the first and/or second main group. According to the invention, the hydrocarbons and oxygenates are premixed and then fluidized continuously before being brought into contact with the solid system and exposed to a permanently acting DC electric field, whose field vectors are perpendicular to the flowing medium.
Advantageously, the apparatus arrangement is designed in such a way that the liquid components are guided through an appropriately designed flow tube, where they first pass through the electric field and then immediately flow through the fixed bed consisting of the above-mentioned components. Once a state of

6 equilibrium has been reached, the process is considered complete and the active ingredient mixture can be removed from the apparatus system for further processing. The process can be carried out both batch wise and continuously.
The raw product prepared in this way is then freed of particles and other mechanical impurities in a manner known per se, if necessary with a solubilizer adapted to the application purpose and can then be used directly.
Advantageous embodiments of the method according to the invention are disclosed in the appended claims.
Preferred flow ratios are in the range Rey 100-3500. The treatment process is carried out in the pressure range 1-8 bar at a temperature of 15-40 C, particularly preferably at 25 C to 30 C.
The fuel additive produced according to the invention is thus in particular a highly efficient mixture of active ingredients consisting of compounds described in more detail below, under the influence of which the combustion processes in burner systems, turbines, internal combustion engines and fuel engines can be optimized in such a way that fuel consumption is reduced and environmentally relevant emissions are reduced.
The fuel additive is highly effective as a fuel activator or additive, comparatively inexpensive to produce, easier to handle, non-toxic and can be used in a wide range of applications in all known combustion engines and burner systems for liquid fuels. Verifiable fuel savings and emission reductions can be achieved.
Experimental test results confirm the aforementioned properties of the activator formulations that can be produced.

7 The raw product prepared in this way is then freed of particles and other mechanical impurities in a manner known per se, if necessary with a solubilizer adapted to the application purpose and is then directly usable and storable.
It was surprisingly found that the treatment of aliphatic, straight- or branched-chain or naphthenic C2-C18 hydrocarbons of the alkane, alkene or alkyne type or their oxygenates in the form of ketones, ethers, hydroperoxides or mixtures containing them in alcoholic solutions consisting of one or more primary, secondary or tertiary aliphatic or naphthenic C1-C8 monoalcohols with solid ionic compounds of metals of the first or second main group, namely oxides, oxide hydrates, peroxides, carbonates, hydrogen carbonates and halides provides product properties to the treated mixture, which, after introduction into the fuel matrix, enable savings effects with simultaneous reduction of pollutant emissions both in internal combustion engines, in turbines and in burner systems with a stationary flame, achieving significant effects with regard to specific smoke as well as environmentally relevant emissions. It has now been found that the high efficiency of the fuel additive is achieved in particular when the hydrocarbon-alcohol mixture described above is exposed to a DC electric field after mixing and before contact with the fixed bed.
According to the invention, the liquid components can be brought into contact with the fixed bed at rest or under forced flow, which can be carried out, depending on the flow conditions and the process engineering conditions, at variable pressure in the range from 0.5 to 6 bar and in the temperature range from 10 C to 40 C
(60 C).
After the treatment described above, the product mixture is separated from solid system components in a known manner, whereby the principle of filtration on filter cartridges using silicate filter aids is usually used. This involves cleaning to particle sizes < 0.8pm in order to meet the usual fuel standards with regard to total contamination. The purified product can then be used directly as a fuel additive in an appropriate mixture with the fuel. The resulting silicate filter residues are the

8 sole byproduct of the method according to the invention and can be easily disposed of without environmental pollution.
Advantageously, solubilizing components are added to support the solubility of the active ingredient mixture of the fuel additive in the fuel matrix. Depending on the polarity of the preparation and the fuel system forming the matrix, these can be hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon mixtures, long-chain alcohols or ester compounds such as triglyceride-bonded fatty acids or vegetable oils with short-chain monoalcohols non-esterified and processed until they are suitable for use as fuel.
Depending on the effective concentration of the active ingredient, the mixture of active ingredients that can be used as an activator is advantageously added to the fuel in extremely low concentrations in the range from 100 to 1500 vppm.
The invention is described in more detail below in embodiments with reference to a drawing. The attached drawing shows the principle of a system for carrying out the method according to the invention.
According to the invention, a reactant mixture of organic oxigenates of the ester, ether, ketone or carboxylic acid type is used; in the embodiment example cited, a mixture of methylcyclohexane, iso-octane and methyl ethyl ketone is used in particular. The reaction arrangement selected in the embodiments consists, in the basic components, of a buffer and mixing vessel 1, a circulation pump 2 for generating a forced circulation and an adsorption column 3 (reactor section) with an upstream DC voltage module 4 together with measuring and control devices and a sieve bottom 5 for a fixed bed of solid ionic compounds of the metals of the first or second main group.
The reactor part is electrically insulated accordingly.
The process according to the invention provides for a minimum residence time of lh at the contact in the fixed bed, whereby suitable adsorbents from the class of

9 carbonates, silicates, oxides or anhydrites of elements of the alkali or alkaline earth group, but preferably magnesium silicate and calcium carbonate in calcined and granulated form, are used.
In the example, the flow conditions in the fixed bed Rey are 100-3500. The treatment process in the fixed bed is carried out in the pressure range of 1-8 bar at a temperature of 15-40 C, preferably at 25-30 C.
The process-produced fuel and/or fuel additive is particularly suitable as an activator for use in both fossil and biogenic fuels. The specific fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 15%.
In the manufacture of the activator according to the invention, only very small quantities of easily disposable and environmentally irrelevant filter residues and therefore no environmentally harmful substances are produced as residual or byproducts, since the filters 6 can be used several times.
Example embodiment 1 To produce the fuel additive for diesel fuel, an apparatus arrangement as shown in the drawing is selected which makes it possible to pre-mix the base components in a mixing tank 1, to bring this mixture into forced circulation by means of a displacement or circulation pump 2 and to pass it through a flow tube adsorption column 3, which has a DC voltage-loaded DC voltage module 4 with electrodes in the lower part and a sieve bottom 5 with a fixed bed of alkali and alkaline earth compounds lying on it in the part above. The system is pressure-resistant and thermally insulated.
The arrangement provides for the flow to the fixed bed from below.
A mixture of technical grade methylcyclohexane, iso-octane and ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) in a molar ratio of 1:1:2 is homogenized in mixing vessel 1 by an agitator (not explicitly shown) and temperated to 30 C by circulation through the thermostated adsorption column 3.
Subsequently, 5% (w/w bioethanol) absolute is added to the mixture. In a vertical flow tube granulated magnesium oxide is placed on the sieve bottom 5. The mass ratio of MgO to the total mass of all liquid components used is 1:1.
The mixture is now circulated over the fixed bed by means of the frequency-controlled circulation pump 2, whereby the circulation rate is selected so that a differential pressure of between 1 and 1.5 bar is set across the fixed bed.
The flow to the fixed bed is from below. The electrodes of the DC voltage module 4 are installed in the area below the flowing fixed bed in such a way that the field lines of the DC voltage field run perpendicular to the direction of flow. The electrodes are electrically insulated from the wall of the flow tube. The distance and area of the electrodes are selected so that the measured current flow reaches a maximum of 7 mA. Taking into account the maximum permissible current, the applied DC
voltage is increased linearly to 800 V within 8h during the process. The voltage is then switched off and the reaction mixture is filtered at 3 bar via a filter cartridge precoated with silica gel.
Both the fixed bed and the filter cake can be reused for the next batch.
The filtrate produced in this way is used as a fuel additive or activator in a CHP
diesel unit. This unit is a direct-injection 6-cylinder turbodiesel with intercooler, designed for a normative electrical output of 65 kW at 1500 rpm. A synthetic low-friction engine oil of viscosity class 10W40 was used. The measurement was only started after the unit had been run in until the cooling water and exhaust gas temperature were constant.
For the comparative test, low-sulphur, non-additive diesel in accordance with standard EN 590 is used with and without the addition of the activator. Both tests are carried out by switching the fuel tanks alternately three times with a twenty-minute flushing phase in between.
The activator is mixed into the diesel fuel at a ratio of 1:20000 on the suction side of a circulating centrifugal pump at 25 C, with a mixing time of one hour.
The results were evaluated and the specific fuel requirement per kWh of electrical energy was calculated on the basis of the cumulative performance data and the consumption measurements. The effective fuel consumption is determined by mass balancing and weighing the fuel storage tank at the beginning and end of the test run.
The evaluation of the exhaust gas composition with regard to the components HC

(hydrocarbons), CO, NOx and residual oxygen was carried out by measuring in the exhaust gas flow using FID by thermostated gas sampling and with the aid of a commercially available gas analyzer operating according to the NDIR method.
The exhaust gas data was collected quasi-continuously. The mean values were used for evaluation.

Average without Average with activator activator HC-Emission (g/kWh) 0,38 0,26 CO-Emission (g/kWh) 0,75 0,62 NOx-Emission (g/kWh) 12,52 7,81 spec. Fuel 0,272 0,249 consumption (Liter/kWh) The specific fuel consumption can be reduced by the addition of the activator by 8.4 %. The mass of nitrogen oxides emitted also fell by 37%.
Example embodiment 2 In a 2-liter laboratory vessel, 0.75 liters of hydrocarbon middle distillate of the boiling range 280-320 C were mixed with 0.5 liters of ethyl ester mixture, prepared by ethanolysis of a 1:1 (v/v) mixture of triacylglycerides of refined soybean and yatropha oil, under stirring at room temperature. Then, 0.1 mol%
methyl ethyl ketone and 0.1 mol% n-butyl alcohol are added to the mixture, one after the other, based on the molar amount of the averaged ethyl ester mixture.
The resulting mixture is then heated to 50 C in a stirred vessel using a hot water heater.
Then 650 g of solid material, consisting of one third each of pre-dried magnesium oxide, calcium oxide and sodium bicarbonate in technical quality, were added to this preparation and pressed into strand pellets of the format 2 x 4 mm.
The vessel was then fitted with a drying tube to prevent the ingress of moisture.
Via a nozzle at the bottom of the vessel, which is initially secured by a drain sieve, the liquid phase is then extracted by a pump, drawn over a filter cartridge filled with magnesium silicate and finally pressed back into the vessel through a flow tube. An electrode system is installed outside the borosilicate glass tube to generate a DC voltage field in the tube.
The system was treated by varying the applied DC voltage and the treatment times. The effect of the applied voltage on the one hand and the treatment time or dwell time on the other were investigated in two series of tests and then evaluated by means of the motor test described below. After termination of the test, the sample required for the application was taken from the pressure side of the pump downstream of the filter and then added directly as an activator to the test fuel at a concentration of 250 ppm.
The fuel matrix used is a commercially marketed petrol fuel of the quality SUPER
sulphur-free from a common market supplier with a specified RON 95.
Test.-No. Admixture conc.
Treatment time (h) Voltage (V) (PPm) The test fuels produced in this way were subjected to comparative tests on a test bench engine. They were mixed into the fuel by premixing the activator in one liter of fuel and then mixing it into the total fuel quantity using a static mixer.
For the comparative study, the 4-cylinder gasoline engine with direct injection was operated at a medium load operating point under otherwise constant conditions (engine speed, oil temperature, cylinder pressure initiation, EGR rate, torque, lambda ratio). A flushing cycle with non-activated fuel was carried out between each individual measurement. The respective measurement was then started 10 minutes after switching to the new fuel pattern. The fuel consumption is calculated from the data of a telematics system installed on the test stand.
All data collected on exhaust gas composition was statistically averaged in the dimension (g/km), based on the speed-dependent relative speed and the virtual driving distance calculated from this. Test 0 is the reference run without activator addition. For this test, the gravimetrically determined fuel consumption was set to 100 % and the consumption data for the other tests was based on this.
No. NOx HC (g/km) CO (g/km) PM (g/km) rel.consuption (g/km) (%) 0 78 185 927 13,8 100 1 70 142 904 4,9 96,7 2 58 105 897 4,8 94,3 3 54 104 808 4,8 93,1 4 78 126 1074 9,2 99,0 5 61 98 815 4,6 93,8 6 49 99 683 3,9 92,9 The averaged measurement results of the individual tests compared to the non-activated fuel (test 0, reference) are shown in the table above.
The effect of the electric field is clearly visible. On average, fuel savings of 3-6 %
are achieved. The emission of nitrogen oxides reaches the Euro VI standard range.

Example embodiment 3 A pressure-resistant small-scale system designed for continuous operation is operated in such a way that a liquid mixture is continuously fed through a flow pipe by means of a circulating pump operating according to the positive displacement principle.
Inside the tube is a support base containing a mixture of magnesium silicate and sodium carbonate in a molar ratio of 2:1. The previously calcined material was processed at 15 bar into 1x3 mm extruded parts.
The liquid mixture is drawn from a storage tank and fed overhead into the upright flow tube. An electrode system is installed in the upper section of the tube above the fixed bed and can be energized with DC voltage. The working voltage is selected so that the measured current flow does not exceed 5 mA. An alternating double filter unit is installed at the outlet of the flow column, which filters the flowing medium to a particle size of 1 pm. The resulting equilibrium pressure should not exceed 8 bar. Once this limit pressure is reached, the system automatically switches to the redundant filter system via a bypass, allowing the filter cartridge used to be changed.
The circulated liquid was premixed in the unpressurized receiver tank, with the individual components being fed via separate lines equipped with flow meters.
The components are fed according to the specified mixing ratios in such a way that the filling level of the receiver tank is kept constant. In this way, the volume loss can be compensated for by continuous removal via a discharge valve downstream of the filter and continuous operation of the system can be maintained. The stationary total volume of the mixture ensures that the system is always filled with liquid on the pressure side and that the circulation pump is guaranteed to run dry at all times.

The continuous mixture extraction is adapted to the required average residence time of the substance system in the apparatus. According to the analytical findings, the average residence time for this apparatus configuration is at least 15 hours at a process temperature of 30-32 C and a system pressure of 5-8 bar.
The liquid system consists of SME (soybean oil methyl ester) and a mixture of bioethanol, isobutanol and 2-ethylhexanol in a molar ratio of 2:1:1 of the alcohols to each other and a molar ratio of SME:alcohol of 1:16, with an average molar mass of 290 g/mol for SME. As already described above, the components were dosed into the receiver vessel and continuously distributed internally by a centrifugal pump into the mixture already present there. The fuel additive or activator produced according to the invention was used in a heavy fuel oil mixture (HFO), which is used as fuel for firing stationary burners in an ore processing and pre-drying plant. For this purpose, the activator was continuously added to the fuel supplied to the burner system by a static mixer under pressure using a fine metering pump. The dosing rate of the proportioning pump was linked to the feed pump of the base fuel and set to a proportioning ratio (v/v) of 20000:1 (fuel/activator).
The testing of the activator with regard to fuel savings was carried out as a randomized double-blind study on three different heavy oil burner systems (rotary furnace for drying and calcination) over a test period of several weeks and statistically evaluated. The reference variables of the systems are the inlet and outlet moisture of the dry material. The evaluation and calculation of results included the mass balance determination of the total throughput (raw ore), the calculated water quantity (mass loss due to evaporation/drying) and the gravimetrically determined fuel consumption. The table below shows a summary of the results, whereby the calculated efficiency results from the fuel savings rate and the change (increase) in the plant throughput based on the water balance (degree of drying). The operating hours for the individual tests are noted in the "Run" column (measurement campaign). For the measurement campaigns without activator, the determined efficiencies have been set to 100% for normative purposes.
Run Fuel Furnace-No. / System consump I ll III
tion (Kalzinierung 200 (Calcination 250 t/h) (Drying 300 t/h) t/h) Test time without with without with without with activator activator activator activator activator activator No. 1 Consuptio 5.02 4.45 5.95 5.37 7.89 7.21 n (t/h) Test time 360 345 720 744 672 (h) No. 2 Consuptio 4.97 4.41 6.08 5.54 7.76 7.13 n (t/h) Test time 350 355 360 355 670 (h) No. 3 Consuptio 5.93 5.37 n (t/h) Test time 360 365 (h) average Consuptio 100 88.9 100 90.6 100 91.6 n(%) Saving 11.12 9.39 8.43 (%) In addition to the fuel savings, these test series resulted in average throughput increases of 7.2 % (system 1), 11.8 % (system II) and 6.7% (system III).
These explained examples are to be shown schematically for the case of a continuously executed treatment in the electric field and subsequent contacting on a bed of mineral compounds according to the technology according to the invention.
List of reference signs 1 Buffer/ mixing tank 2 Circulation pump 3 Reaction arrangement 4 DC voltage source 5 Adsorption fixed bed 6 Filter

Claims (14)

1. Method for preparing a fuel additive for fossil and biogenic fuels by treating aliphatic or naphthenic hydrocarbons in the molar mass range C1-C8 and their oxigenates of the ester, ether, ketone or carboxylic acid type and/or mixtures thereof, characterized in that the educt or educt mixture is subjected to a DC electric field with a minimum dwell time of lh and to the contact of adsorbents from the class of carbonates, oxides, silicates or anhydrites of elements of the alkali metal or alkaline earth metal group in a fixed bed through which a flow passes.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the hydrocarbons are, under forced flow, subjected to a treatment in a stationary or fluidized fixed bed of inorganic minerals or mixtures thereof.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the treatment of the reactant in the fixed bed (5) takes place in a pressure range of 1-8 bar, preferably in a pressure range of 2-3 bar.

4. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the treatment of the reactant in the fixed bed takes place at a temperature of 15-40 C, preferably at 25-30 C.

5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that flow conditions are maintained, which are characterized by Reynolds numbers 100 to 3500, but preferably by Reynolds numbers 200-300.

6. Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the oxygen introduced via oxigenates has a molar ratio to the organically bound carbon of the liquid component of 1:100 to 1:300, but preferably 1:200.

7. Method according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the dwell time in the DC electric field is between 1 and 28 hours, but preferably between 6 and 8 hours.

8. Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the mixture presented as a heterogeneous component in the fixed bed is introduced both as a stationary fixed bed and as a moving or fluidized fixed bed.

9. Fuel additive prepared by a process according to claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it is a fuel activator.

10. Fuel additive according to claim 9, characterized in that aliphatic, straight-chain or branched-chain, mono- or polyunsaturated C2-C18 hydrocarbons of the alkane, alkene or alkyne type in the molar mass range 60 to 900 g/mol or their oxygenates in the form of ketones, esters, ethers or alcohols or mixtures and substances containing such, preferably mixtures of one or more primary, secondary or tertiary C1-C8 monoalcohols, the proportion of the alcohol component being between 5 and 95%, but in particular between 70-90%, with the exception of aromatic hydrocarbons or their oxygen derivatives.

11. Fuel additive according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that it is to be distributed in the fuel matrix in a concentration of 10 to 200 ppm, but preferably in the concentration range of 30-60 ppm.

12. System for the production of a fuel additive according to one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that it comprises at least one mixing tank (1) and a circulation pump (2), followed by an adsorption column (3) with a sieve bottom (5) and an upstream DC module (4).

13. System according to claim 12, characterized in that it has at least one section through which the substance mixture flows and which is equipped with the DC module (4), which has electrodes, in such a way that the orientation of the field lines of an applied DC electric field is at right angles to the media flow and the applied voltage induces a maximum current flow of 5 mA.

14. System according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the bulk material located on the sieve bottom (5) and forming the fixed bed consists of pellets or granules produced under pressure, which consist of at least one oxide or carbonate or silicate of the metals of the first or second main group or of mixtures thereof, wherein in particular the metals of the second main group and preferably magnesium or calcium compounds or mixtures of both are provided, which are calcined before compression and have a water content of at most 0.05%, but preferably of at most 0.02% or less.