US1999830A

US1999830A - Stabilizing motor fuels

Info

Publication number: US1999830A
Application number: US672046A
Authority: US
Inventors: William S Calcott; Ira E Lee
Original assignee: EI Du Pont de Nemours and Co
Current assignee: EIDP Inc
Priority date: 1933-05-20
Filing date: 1933-05-20
Publication date: 1935-04-30
Anticipated expiration: 1952-04-30

Description

Patented Apr. 30, 1935 STABILIZING MOTOR FUELS William S. Calcott, Pennsgrove, N. J.,

Lee, Wilmingtom'DeL,

Pont de N emours &

and Ira E. assignors to E. L dn Company, Wilmington,

Del., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application May 20, 1933, Serial No. 672,046

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in means for stabilizing motor fuels comprising cracked hydrocarbon spirits and; more particularly, to improved materials for use with cracked gasolines which may be employed as motor fuels.

It is well known that cracked gasoline tends to deteriorate on storage with the formation. of gummy and resinous products. Motor benzol also contains cracked hydrocarbon spirits which tend to form gummy and resinous products. It is also well known that some petroleum oils naturally contain crackedj hydrocarbon spirits formed by the heat and pressure to which the petroleum. oil was subjected under the earth.

When such a petroleum oil is subjected to distillation and the lighter or gasoline fractions collected, such gasoline fractions contain cracked hydrocarbon spirits which tend to form gummy and resinous products.

An object of the present invention is to re tard the formation of gummy substances in motor fuels comprising cracked hydrocarbon spirits normally tending to form gummy substances on storage. A further object is to provide new and improved means for stabilizing motor fuels. A still further object is to provide new compositions of matter comprising motor fuels normally tending to form gum and substances which retard the formation of such gum. Other objects are to advance the art. Still other objects will appear hereinafter. v

These objects may be accomplished according to our invention which comprises treating a motor fuel, containing cracked hydrocarbon spirits normally tending to form gummy substances, with an alkoxy substituted dihydroxy benzene in an amount sufficient to retard the formation of the gummy substances. Of the alkoxy dihydroxy benzenes, we have found the methoxy dihydroxy benzenes to be the most satisfactory for our purpose. The methoxy dihydroxy benzenes illustrated by phloroglucinol-mono-methyl ether have been disclosed in our Patent 1,884,559 granted October 25, 1932. Another methoxy dihydroxy benzene which we have found to be particularly satisfactory is pyrogallol l-methylether.

' The method employed for testing the eflectiveness of the compounds used was essentially that described by Voorhees and Essinger in J. S. A. E.

24, 584 (1929). In this test, 100 cc. of the cracked gasolineis heated in a glass flask under an oxygen atmosphere at 100 C. The flask is connected to a mercury manometer and themessure observed at regular intervals. The time in minutes from the start of the test until the gasoline begins to absorb oxygen; as shown by-the fall in pressure, is known as the inductionperiod of the gasoline. The eifectiveness of a gum inhibitor is measured by the increase in indu'ctionperiod caused by the addition of a givenquantity of the inhibitor. That the'induction period is directly related to gum formation can be shown by interrupting two tests of the same gasoline, one just before and the other just after the induction period is reached, and determining the gum content of each sample of gasoline. The amount of gum present after the induction period is reached is several times greater than the amount present in the other sample. I 'In order to more clearly illustrate our-invention and the preferred mode of carrying thesame into efiect, the following example is given:

Example To a gum-free unsaturated gasoline normal- 1y having an induction period of minutes was 3-Hydroxy hydroquinoneel-methyl ether no on 2-Hydroxy hydroquinone-l-methyl ether OCH! 1 n Methory-hydroquinone Other mono-ethers of the trihydroxy benzenes, such as the ethoxy-dihydroxy benzenes and higher homologues may also-be mentioned. However, they will be found to be less eflieient on a weight basis because of their higher molecular weight.

The amount of the'gum inhibitor which it is necessary to employ will vary with the nature and concentration of the unsaturated constituents of the cracked hydrocarbon spirits and the degree of stabilization it is desired to obtain. In general; however, the concentration of the gum inhibitor in cracked gasoline will be substantially less than 0.1% by weight.

While we have described the preferred embodiments of our invention, it will be readily apparenttothoseskilledintheartthatmany modifications 4 d variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit thereof.

. Accordingly, the scope of our invention is to be.

limited solely by the appended claims construed as broadly as is permissible in view of the prior We claim:

\ spirits 1. Motor fuel comprising cracked hydrocarbon normally tending to form gummy subspirits normally tending to form gummy substances on storage having incorporated therein a pyrogallol mono-alkyl ether in an amount sumcient to retard the formation of the gummy substances.

4. Motor fuel co prising cracked hydrocarbon spirits normally tending to form gummy substances on storage having incorporated therein a pyrogallol mono-methyl ether in an amount sufficient to retard the formation of the gummy substances.

5. Cracked gasoline normally tending to form gummy substances on storage having incorporated therein an alkoxy substituted dihydroxy bention of the gummy substances.

6. Cracked gasoline normally tending to form gummy substances on storage having incorporated therein a methoxy substituted dihydroxy benzene in an amount sufllcient to retard the formation of the gummy substances.

7. Cracked gasoline normally tending to form gummy substances on storage having incorporatzene in an amount suiilcient to retard the formaed therein a pyrogallol mono-alkyl ether in an amount sufllcient to retard the formation of the substances. 8. Cracked gasoline normally tending ed therein a pyrogallol mono-methyl ether in an amount suflicient to retard the formation of the gummy substances.

c WILLIAM S. CALCO'I'IL IRA E. LEE.

to form gummy substances on storage having incorporat-