JP2007238945A - Fuel oil composition - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel oil composition having improved characteristics. <P>SOLUTION: The fuel oil composition contains an intermediate fraction fuel having >0.1 mass% residual carbon, and one or more ethylene-vinyl ester copolymers and one or more phenol resins having 400-10,000 g/mol molecular weight as additives. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel oil composition.

(Background of the Invention)
Some middle distillate fuel oils are characterized by higher residual carbon levels than normal. Such high residual carbon levels are created by adding residual fuel oil to middle distillate fuel oil, which is done to denature middle distillate fuel oil, making it undesirable as a fuel for "on the road" automobiles Make things. An example of such a modified fuel oil is also called heavy oil A and is a fuel oil found in Japan.
Heavy oil A is used as a heating oil, and therefore when used, it needs to be able to pass through a mesh filter before being supplied to the burner via slow cooling conditions. It is known to assist heavy oil A in satisfying the slow cooling condition through the use of intermediate effluent cold flow additives such as ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers.
However, as described in JP-A-10-274616, a test for simulating the above-described use of heavy oil A as a heating oil is introduced. Using ethylene-vinyl ester copolymer additives, it has been found difficult to achieve the required performance in this test (ie, “pass” at low target temperatures).

(Summary of the Invention)
Surprisingly, as shown by the data herein, the improved properties in heavy oil A and similar oils in the above test indicate that one or more polymers that are not wax crystal modifiers, ie one or more It has been found that this can be achieved by using a low molecular weight phenolic resin in combination with an ethylene-vinyl ester copolymer.
Thus, in a first aspect, the present invention provides (A) a majority amount of middle distillate fuel oil having greater than 0.1% by weight residual carbon (as measured by ASTM D189); and a small proportion of each of the following additions: A fuel oil composition comprising an agent is provided: (B) a copolymer of one or more vinyl esters having ethylene and an alkyl group containing 1 to 18 carbon atoms; and (C) one or more molecular weights. Phenolic resin that is 400-10,000 g / mol.
As used herein, the following terms and expressions, when used, shall have the meanings set forth below:
“Active ingredient” or “(ai)” means an additive material that is not a diluent or solvent.
“Contains” or like terms indicate that a defined feature, process, or integers or component is present, but one or more other features, processes, integrals, components, or these Does not exclude the presence or addition of groups.
The expression “consisting of” or “consisting essentially of” or similar terms may be included in the term “comprising” or similar terms, in which case “consisting essentially of” It is permissible to include substances that do not substantially affect the characteristics of the composition.
“Major amount” means greater than 50% by weight of the composition.
“Minor proportion” means less than 50% by weight of the composition.
Also, it will be appreciated that the essential and optional and usual components used may react under the conditions of formulation, storage or use, and the present invention may be the result of any such reaction. To give or give the product obtained.
Furthermore, it should be understood that any upper and lower amount, range and ratio limitations set forth herein may be independently combined.

(Detailed description of the invention)
Where appropriate, the features of the invention relating to each and every aspect of the invention are described in more detail as follows.

(Middle distillate fuel oil (A))
Middle distillate fuel oils are petroleum-based fuel oils that generally boil (according to ASTM D86) in the range of 110 ° C to 500 ° C, such as 150 ° C to 400 ° C or 170 ° C to 370 ° C. The fuel oil may comprise a blend of atmospheric distillate or vacuum distillate, or any ratio of straight and heat and / or catalytic cracking or hydrocracking distillate. Preferably, in the present invention, the fuel oil boils over a wide range, has a high endpoint, and has a moderate wax content (eg, about 3% by weight at a temperature 10 ° C. below its cloud point).
As noted, the intermediate spill fuel oil has more than 0.1 mass% residual carbon. This is done by placing a sample (10 g) of distillation bottoms into a tared crucible and subjecting it to cracking distillation to cause pyrolysis and coking reactions during intense heating for a specified period. D189). After re-cooling and weighing and calculating the amount remaining, the results are reported as% Conradson carbon in 10% distillation residue.
The residual carbon may be in the range of 0.1 to 4% by mass, for example in the range of 0.2 to 2% by mass, and preferably in the range of 0.2 to 1% by mass. More preferably, the residual carbon is in the range of 0.2 to 0.5% by mass.
The carbon values described above may be achieved by mixing middle distillate fuel oil and residual fuel oil (often referred to as residue or residue). Residual fuel oil is the non-volatile portion of crude oil obtained from distillation (which may be normal pressure or may be vacuum distillation following normal pressure).
Typically, the middle distillate fuel oil may comprise 2-10% by weight residual fuel oil, for example 5-10% by weight.

(Additive (B))
In the additive (B), the vinyl ester is preferably of the formula CH ₂ = CR ¹ OOCR ² (I) (wherein R ¹ represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, R ² represents 1 to 4 carbon atoms). Represents an alkyl group having). More preferably, the vinyl ester is vinyl acetate.
The copolymer includes a terpolymer, which is a terpolymer of ethylene, the vinyl ester and a second different vinyl ester having an alkyl group containing 5 to 15 carbon atoms. The second vinyl ester, when used, is preferably CH ₂ = CR ³ OOCR ⁴ (II) (wherein R ³ represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, and R ⁴ is 5 or more, for example, 5 to 15 Represents an alkyl group having carbon atoms, and is preferably a branched alkyl group having 7 to 15 carbon atoms. By way of example, the second vinyl ester may be vinyl 2-ethylhexanoate, vinyl neodecanoate or vinyl octanoate.
As used herein, the term “terpolymer” means that the polymer has at least three different repeating units, ie derived from at least three different monomers, namely ethylene, monomer (I) and monomer (II). Request. The term includes polymers that can be derived from four or more monomers, for example, a polymer may include units that can be derived from two or more monomers (I) and (II), and / or the formula CH ₂ = CR ¹ OOCR. ⁵ (III) wherein R ⁵ represents a hydrocarbyl group having 5 or more carbon atoms, other than those defined by R ⁴ , may be included.
Thus, the method of the present invention may be carried out using two or more monomers (I) and (II) and / or one or more monomers (III).

As used herein, the term “hydrocarbyl” refers to a group having a carbon atom directly attached to the rest of the molecule and having hydrocarbon properties or predominantly hydrocarbon properties. Means. Among these, hydrocarbon groups include aliphatic (eg, alkyl) groups, alicyclic (eg, cycloalkyl) groups, aromatic groups, aliphatic and alicyclic substituted aromatic and alicyclic groups, and the like. Can be mentioned. The aliphatic group is advantageously saturated. These groups may contain non-hydrocarbon substituents, provided that their presence does not change the predominant hydrocarbon nature of the group. Examples thereof include 2-ketopropyl, ethoxyethyl and propoxypropyl. The group may contain atoms other than carbon in a chain or ring composed of carbon atoms. Preferred atoms in this respect include, for example, nitrogen, sulfur, preferably oxygen. Advantageously, the hydrocarbyl group contains no more than 30, preferably no more than 15, more preferably no more than 10 and most preferably no more than 8 carbon atoms.
The unit of formula —CH ₂ —CHOH— (IV) may also be included in the polymer. In addition, a monomer of the formula C (CH ₃ ) (CH ₂ R ⁷ ) = CHR ⁸ (V) (R ⁷ and R ⁸ each independently represents hydrogen or an alkyl group having 4 or less carbon atoms) is used. Advantageously, the monomer (V) is preferably derived from isobutylene, 2-methylbut-2-ene or 2-methylpent-2-ene.
Preferably, the number average molecular weight (Mn) of the copolymer (B) is in the range of 2000-10000, more preferably in the range of 3000-8000, and most preferably in the range of 4000-7000. In this specification, Mn means the value of polystyrene standard measured by GPC.
Preferably, the degree of branching of the copolymer (B) is 2 to 10, for example 3 to 9, for example 4 to 8, methyl groups per 100 methylene units. The degree of branching of the polymer is measured by NMR and is the number of methyl groups per 100 methylene units when the number of methyl and methylene groups in the alkyl group is corrected. Reference is made to FIG. 1 and its description of EP 1007606 for an example of calculating the degree of branching.
It is also within the scope of the present invention that (B) comprises a mixture of two or more polymers.

(Additive (C))
This is known in the art and is a low molecular weight phenolic resin such as, for example, the alkylphenol aldehyde resins described in US 2004/0065004. The alkyl group has 1 to 50, preferably 1 to 20, especially 4 to 12 carbon atoms. Alkyl groups are preferably n-, iso and tert-butyl; n- and isopentyl; n- and isohexyl; n- and isooctyl; n- and isononyl; n- and isodecyl; n- and isododecyl; The aldehyde is preferably an aliphatic aldehyde, preferably formaldehyde. The molecular weight of the resin is 400 to 10000 g / mol, preferably 400 to 5000 g / mol.
As another example of (C), phenol aldehydes known in the art, such as alkyl (p-hydroxybenzoate) -aldehyde polymer condensation products described in EP-A-1482024, for example. Resin. Preferably, an aliphatic aldehyde or ketone or equivalent is equivalent to (i) a linear or branched C ₁ -C ₇ alkyl ester of p-hydroxybenzoic acid, or (ii) p-hydroxybenzoic acid Formed by reaction with either a branched C ₈ -C ₁₆ alkyl ester, or (iii) a mixture of long chain C ₈ -C ₁₈ alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid, where at least one of the alkyls is branched It is what is done.
The aldehyde is preferably formaldehyde. The branched alkyl group is preferably 2-ethylhexyl or isodecyl. In general, the molar ratio of branched ester to other ester may range from 5: 1 to 1: 5. The number average molecular weight of the polymer condensation product is in the range of 500 to 5000, preferably in the range of 1000 to 3000, and more preferably in the range of 1000 to 2000.
The mass: mass ratio of additives (B) and (C) may be, for example, in the range of 40: 1 to 1:20, for example 30: 1 to 1: 1.

(Additional additive)
The fuel oil composition may contain one or more additives in addition to the additives (B) and (C). Their presence may lead to further improvements in performance.
Preferred examples of the additional additive include the following.
(D) one or more substituents derived from a primary, secondary or tertiary hydrocarbylamine or quaternary hydrocarbylammonium salt (at least one of the hydrocarbyl groups contains 8 to 40 carbon atoms). An oil-soluble polar nitrogen compound. The oil-soluble polar nitrogen compound can generally act as a wax crystal growth inhibitor in fuel and includes, for example, one or more of the following compounds.
Amine salts and / or amides formed by reaction of at least 1 mole of hydrocarbyl-substituted amine with 1 mole of hydrocarbyl acid having 1 to 4 carboxylic acid groups or anhydrides (substituent is of the formula —NR ¹³ R ^{14 wherein} R ¹³ represents a hydrocarbyl group containing 8 to 40 carbon atoms and R ¹⁴ represents hydrogen or R ¹³ , R ¹³ and R ¹⁴ may be the same or different. Often, the substituents constitute part of the amine salt and / or amide group of the compound).

Esters / amides containing a total of 30 to 300, preferably 50 to 150 carbon atoms may be used. These nitrogen compounds are described in US Pat. No. 4211534. Suitable amines are primarily C ₁₂ -C ₄₀ primary, secondary, tertiary or quaternary amines or mixtures thereof, but shorter chain amines are used if the resulting nitrogen compound is oil soluble. And usually contains a total of about 30 to 300 carbon atoms. The nitrogen compound preferably comprises at least one linear C ₈ -C ₄₀ , preferably C ₁₄ -C ₂₄ alkyl moiety.
Suitable amines include primary, secondary, tertiary or quaternary, preferably secondary. Only tertiary and quaternary amines form amine salts. Examples of amines include tetradecylamine, cocoamine, and hydrogenated tallow amine. Examples of secondary amines include dioctacedyl amine and methylbehenylamine. Also suitable as the amine mixture are those derived from natural substances. A preferred amine is a secondary hydrogenated tallow amine, the alkyl group of which is derived from a hydrogenated tallow fat composed of about 4% C ₁₄ , about 31% C ₁₆ and 59% C ₁₈ .

Examples of suitable carboxylic acids and anhydrides for preparing the nitrogen compounds include ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and carboxylic acids based on cyclic skeletons such as cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid, cyclohexene-1,2 -1,4-dicarboxylic acid such as dicarboxylic acid, cyclopentane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid and naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, and dialkyl spirobislactone. Generally, these acids have about 5 to 13 carbon atoms in the cyclic portion. Preferred acids useful in the present invention are benzene dicarboxylic acids such as phthalic acid, isophthalic acid, and terephthalic acid. Phthalic acid and its anhydride are particularly preferred. A particularly preferred compound is an amide-amine salt formed by the reaction of 1 mole of phthalic anhydride and 2 moles of dihydrogenated tallow amine. Another preferred compound is a diamide formed by dehydrating the amide-amine salt.
Other examples are long chain alkyl or alkylene substituted dicarboxylic acid derivatives, such as amine salts of monoamides of substituted succinic acids, examples of which are known in the art and are described, for example, in US Pat. No. 4,147,520. . Suitable amines are those mentioned above.
Other examples are condensates such as those described in EP-A-327427.

Additional additives include the following.
(E) a comb polymer in which the branches containing hydrocarbyl groups having 10 to 30 carbon atoms are pendant from a polymer backbone, such as maleate, fumarate or itaconate polymers and copolymers;
(F) at least one crystalline block (obtained by end-to-end polymerization of linear diene) and at least one non-crystalline block (1,2-configuration polymerization of linear diene, polymerization of branched diene) Hydrogenated block diene polymers such as, or obtained by mixing of said polymerizations;
(G) a compound containing a ring system;
(H) a hydrocarbon polymer; and (I) a polyoxyalkylene compound.
Technical literature, for example WO 96/28523, contains further explanation of the additives.
One or more other co-additives as known in the art may be used. Examples of such other co-additives include the following: cleaning agents, especially emission reducers, storage stabilizers, antioxidants, corrosion inhibitors, dehazers, demulsifiers , Antifoams, cetane improvers, co-solvents, package compatibilizers and lubricant additives.

(Preparation of composition)
Concentrates containing the additive of the present invention mixed with a suitable solvent are convenient as a means of adding the additive to the fuel oil, and the addition may be performed by methods known in the art. Further, the concentrate may contain other additives as necessary, and is expressed as an active ingredient, preferably 3 to 75% by mass, more preferably 3 to 60% by mass, most preferably 10 to 50% by mass. Additional additives (preferably soluble in oil). Examples of solvents include hydrocarbon solvents such as petroleum fractions such as naphtha, kerosene, diesel and heating oil; aromatic fractions such as those aromatic hydrocarbons such as those marketed under the name “SOLVESSO”. Hydrogen; alcohols and / or esters; and organic solvents such as paraffinic hydrocarbons such as hexane and pentane and isoparaffins. The solvent must of course be selected taking into account its compatibility with the additive and fuel oil. The fuel oil composition of the present invention comprises an additive in a proportion of advantageously 0.0005 to 1% by weight, more advantageously 0.001 to 0.1% by weight, preferably 0.01 to 0.06% by weight, based on the weight of the fuel oil. .

(Embodiment of the invention)
The invention is illustrated in the following examples, which are not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

(Additive)
In the examples, the following additives were used alone or in combination in a mixture.
(B) an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer cold flow improver ("EVA") in the form of a 3: 1 (weight: weight) mixture of arrester and nucleating agent;
(C) alkyl (p-hydroxybenzoate) -formaldehyde condensation copolymer ("HBFC");
(D) a commercially available wax dispersant ("WASA") in the form of a polar nitrogen compound;
(E) C14 fumarate-vinyl acetate comb copolymer (“FVA”).

(fuel)
A middle distillate fuel designated heavy oil A was used in the examples, including the addition of residual fuel oil. The fuel had the following properties.

(Fuel oil composition and test)
One or more of the above additives were mixed with the fuel to provide several fuel oil compositions.
Samples of each composition were subjected to a rig test designed to simulate the conditions of use of the heating oil composition, i.e. slow cooling rate, and then passed through a mesh filter before feeding the composition to the boiler.
The test conditions were as follows:
a) Cooling rate: 1 ° C./hour b) Volume of oil composition sample: 200 ml
c) Depressurization: 600mmHg
d) Filter mesh size: 150ml
Results are expressed in seconds at the specified temperature, all of the sample volume passes through the filter. Usually, a time within 180 seconds is considered acceptable, a time less than 15 seconds is considered good, and a time longer than 180 seconds is considered unacceptable. The results are summarized in Table 1 below. The target rig temperature was −4 ° C., and the additive treatment rate was 300 ppm (mass).
A reference example for comparison purposes is indicated by “Comparative Example 1”. Embodiments of the invention are indicated by numbers. Also shown are the results for fuels that do not contain the additive indicated by “control” (ie, control).

  The result improves the performance of additive (B) than the presence of additive (C) is provided by additive (B) alone. Also, the use of additive (E) causes stability problems, but the presence of additives (D) and (E) may affect performance in testing.

Claims (10)

(A) a fuel oil composition comprising a majority of middle distillate fuel oil having greater than 0.1% by weight residual carbon (as measured by ASTM D189); and a small proportion of each of the following additives:
(B) a copolymer of one or more vinyl esters having ethylene and an alkyl group containing 1 to 18 carbon atoms; and (C) one or more phenolic resins having a molecular weight of 400 to 10,000 g / mol.   The composition of claim 1, wherein the residual carbon is in the range of 0.2 to 0.5 wt%.   The composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fuel oil comprises 2 to 10% by weight of residual fuel oil. In the copolymer (B), the vinyl ester has the formula CH ₂ = CR ¹ OOCR ² (wherein R ¹ represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, and R ² represents an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms). The composition of any one of Claims 1-3 which has.   5. Copolymer (B) is a terpolymer of ethylene, a vinyl ester as defined in claim 4 and a second different vinyl ester having an alkyl group containing 5 to 15 carbon atoms. A composition according to claim 1.   The composition according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the resin (C) is an alkylphenol-aldehyde resin and the alkyl group has 1 to 50 carbon atoms.   The composition according to claim 6, wherein the resin (C) is an alkyl (p-hydroxybenzoate) -aldehyde polymer condensate.   8. A composition according to claim 7, wherein the resin (C) is a formaldehyde condensation copolymer with an ester of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. In addition, as an additive
(D) An oil-soluble polar nitrogen compound having one or more substituents derived from a primary, secondary or tertiary hydrocarbylamine or quaternary hydrocarbyl ammonium salt, wherein at least one hydrocarbyl group is 8 to 40 The composition of any one of Claims 1-7 containing the compound containing these carbon atoms.   The composition according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the additive is present in a range of 0.1 to 0.3% by mass, based on the mass of the fuel oil.