Classifications

• • 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
  • C10L1/32—Liquid carbonaceous fuels consisting of coal-oil suspensions or aqueous emulsions or oil emulsions
  • C10L1/328—Oil emulsions containing water or any other hydrophilic phase

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the use of oil as a fuel and to methods of promoting the complete combustion of a mixture of oil and water, especially a mixture of heavy oil and water.
• Heavy oil has long been burned as a fuel in many industrial applications. Heavy oil is used as a fuel in the industrial manufacture of glass and steel, and in the generation of commercial electrical power. Heavy oil also is used as a fuel for the manufacture of cooking oil and in the production of sugar, as well as in other industrial processes.
• the present invention involves both a method of increasing the extent of combustion of a mixture of oil and water and also the mixture used in that method.
• the invention is particularly applicable to a mixture of heavy oil and water.
• the invention is characterised by the use of a catalyst which serves as an emulsifying agent, enabling the production of a mixture capable of complete and efficient combustion when introduced into a combustion chamber.
• the catalyst is alkyl polyethylene glycol ether, also known as phenolic-EO adduct, EO being ethylene oxide and the adduct being produced by the oxyethylation of alkyl phenol.
• Alkyl polyethylene glycol ether is produced according to the following formula:
• alkyl polyethylene glycol ether to a mixture of oil and water causes a chemical reaction in which the atoms of the water separate and mix integrally with the molecules of the oil without separation. Mixing of the oil and water, and introduction of the catalyst are performed prior to introduction of the mixture into the fuel combustion chamber. In contrast, according to prior art techniques, it has been necessary to introduce the oil and water separately through separate flow lines and nozzles into the fuel combustion chamber.
• a quantity of water preferably from about one to about thirty parts of water by volume, is mixed with about one hundred parts by volume of oil.
• heavy oil may be considered to be fuel oil of grades number 4, 5 and 6. These grades comply with the several specifications adopted as a commercial standard by the United States Bureau of Standards. An analysis of each of the several grades of fuel oil appears at pages 3-5 of the book, "Steam: Its Generation and Use", published by the Babcock & Wilcox Company, New York, 1960. The invention is applicable to fuel oil of all grades.
• the amount of water which is mixed with the oil depends upon the type and quality of the oil used as a part of the mixture.
• the oil and water are stirred together in a mixer for between one and five minutes.
• the time of stirring also depends upon the quality of the oil utilized.
• the catalyst alkyl polyethylene glycol ether
• Stirring in the mixer is continued for between about one and about five minutes once the ccitalyst has been added. This time of stirring also depends upon the type and the quality of the oil.
• the alkyl polyethllene glycol ether operates as a catalyst according to the principle of the invention. That is, the alkyl polyethylene glycol ether separates the atoms of the water a distance of about one micron and creates an emulsion of the water and the oil without separation. While mixing, the water and oil are held at a temperature of between about 20 degrees and 60 degrees Celsius.
• the oil and water mixture of the invention burns far more completely than oil and water mixed in the same proportions without the catalyst of the invention.
• the amount of fuel oil consumed to produce a specific amount of heat in industrial applications is reduced by between about one and thirty percent. This saving is achieved because the oil which is consumed is oxidized far more completely than has been the case with oil and water mixtures.
• the amount of catalyst within the range of between about 0.1 and about 0.6 parts by volume depends upon the quality of the oil utilized.
• the catalyst serves as an emulsifying agent which brings about the appropriate reactions in the surface chemistry of the oil and water mixture to form a stable emulsion with particle diameters of about one micron.
• the greatest conservation in fuel oil is achieved when between about twenty and about thirty parts of water are mixed with about one hundred parts of heavy oil. The savings in fuel with such a mixture is between about twenty and thirty percent.
• the phenolic-EO adduct emulsifies the oil and water in a stable manner so that the oil and water are emulsified permanently and will not separate during storage.
• the catalytic emulsifying agent is the phenolic-EO adduct produced by the reaction between ethylene oxide and an alkyl phenol.
• Nonylphenol is typically the predominant base material in commercially available alkyl phenol, although octylphenol and dodecylphenol are sometimes also present.
• Alkyl polyethylene glycol ether is a polyoxyethylene alkylphenol. The base materials and the manufacture of polyoxyethylene alkylphenols are described at Chapter 3 entitled "Polyoxyethylene Alkylphenols" by C.R. Enyeart in the book, Nonionic Surfactants, Ed. Martin J. Schick, Vol. 2, London 1967.
• Polyoxyethylene alkylphenols have been widely used in the field of textile processing where their wetting and detergent properties are quite important. They are also useful in the processing of synthetic fibres because of their antistatic, emulsifying and lubricating properties.
• the major consumption of polyoxyethylene alkylphenols is in domestic and commercial detergents.
• Water soluble alkylphenol derivatives are also used in metal processing where rust and scale are removed in the finishing of steel. They are also used in agricultural applications in the manufacture of emulsifiable concentrates of insecticides and herbicides.
• the higher adducts containing twenty to one hundred moles of ethylene oxide are used in the emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate and acrylates.
• Emulsion type floor polishes are prepared from both natural and synthetic waxes with the higher adducts.
• the catalyst employed in the invention is obtained from the reaction between alkyl phenol and ethylene oxide in the formula:
• the catalyst is alkyl polyethylene glycol ether, popularly known as the phenolic-EO adduct of which EO is ethylene oxide.

Landscapes

• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Liquid Carbonaceous Fuels (AREA)
• Spray-Type Burners (AREA)
• Feeding And Controlling Fuel (AREA)
• Inorganic Insulating Materials (AREA)
• Water Treatment By Sorption (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

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ID=24191973

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Citations (2)

• 1984
  • 1984-05-01 AU AU27543/84A patent/AU2754384A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1984-05-03 EP EP84104942A patent/EP0147506A1/fr not_active Withdrawn
  • 1984-05-07 DK DK226084A patent/DK226084A/da not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1984-05-11 NO NO841900A patent/NO841900L/no unknown

Patent Citations (2)

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