GASOLINE FUEL ADDITIZED WITH FRICTION MODIFIER AND NON- METALLIC AND NON-OVERBASED DETERGENT FOR ENHANCED ENGINE PERFORMANCE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an engine fuel additive and a method of
preparing the same. In particular, the engine fuel additive is characterized as exhibiting
excellent low temperature solution properties and improving fuel economy.
2. Background of the Invention
Government legislated fuel economy standards have resulted in efforts being
made by both automotive and additive suppliers to enhance the fuel economy of motor
vehicles. One approach to achieve greater fuel efficiency is by lubricant formulation. Fuel
consumption can be reduced either by decreasing the crank case oil viscosity or by reducing
friction at specific, strategic areas of an engine. For example, inside an engine, about 18% of
the fuel's heat value is dissipated through internal friction (bearings, valve train, pistons,
rings, water and oil pumps) while only about 25% is actually converted to (useful) work at
the crankshaft. The piston rings and part of the valve train account for over 50% of the
friction and operate at least part of the time in the boundary lubrication mode during which a
friction modifier (FM) may be effective. If a friction modifier reduces friction of these
components by a third, the friction reduction corresponds to about a 3.0% improvement in the
fuel's heat of combustion and will be reflected in a corresponding fuel economy
improvement.
A chemical additive designed to improve engine fuel economy is disclosed in
U.S. Patent No. 4,729,769, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. This
patent discloses an additive which is obtained by the reaction of a C6-C20 fatty acid ester and a
mono- or di-hydroxy hydrocarbon amine. Specifically, the additive is obtained by the
reaction of 0.8 moles of coconut oil with 1.44 moles of diethanolamine (representing a molar
ratio of coconut oil to diethanolamine of 0.555) by heating it at 120°C to 150°C for between 2
and 4 hours. Fuel economy is improved when this reaction product mixture is used as a
gasoline or diesel fuel additive.
U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/728,405 filed December 1, 2000, which
is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a fuel additive which exhibits improved low temperature stability and is composed of a mixture of mixed fatty acid esters, a mono or di-
(hydroxy alkyl amine) or mixtures thereof, and a low temperature property enhancing
effective amount of a low molecular weight ester.
Several other patents disclose additives for fuels and lubricants. For example,
U.S. Patent No. 4,320,019 issued to Hayashi, which is incorporated herein by reference,
discloses a multipurpose lubricating additive prepared by the reaction of an interporymer of ethylene and a C3 to C8 alpha-monoolefin with an organic carboxylic acid acylating agent to
form an acylating reaction intermediate which is then reacted with an amine. U.S. Patent No.
4,357,250 which is also issued to Hayashi and which is incorporated herein by reference,
discloses additive compositions produced by reacting an ene reaction intermediate from an
olefinic carboxylic acid or derivative thereof and a terpolymer of ethylene, a C.sub.3-8
.alpha.-monoolefin and a non-conjugated diene or triene with a monoamine-polyamine
mixture.
In addition, U.S. Patent No. 4,144,181 issued to Elliot et al, which is
incorporated herein by reference, discloses polymer additives for fuels and lubricants
comprising a grafted ethylene copolymer reacted with a polyamine, polyol or hydroxylamine
and finally re-reacted with an alkaryl sulfonic acid. Also, U.S. Patent No. 4,137,185 issued to
Gardiner et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a stabilized imide graft of
an ethylene-containing copolymer additive for lubricants.
Furthermore, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,863,263, 5,075,383 and 5,162,086, each of
which are incorporated herein by reference, disclose additive compositions comprising a graft
and an amine-derivatized copolymer prepared from ethylene and at least one C3 to C,0 alpha-
monoolefin and, optionally, a polyene selected from non-conjugated dienes and trienes
comprising from about 15 to 80 mole percent of ethylene, from about 20 to 85 mole percent
of C3 to C10 alpha-monolefin and from about 0 to 15 mole percent of said polyene, said
copolymer having a number average molecular weight ranging from about 5,500 to 50,000
and having grafted thereon at least 1.8 molecules of a carboxylic acid acylating function per
molecule of said copolymer, which have been reacted with at least one olefinic acid
carboxylic acid acylating agent to form a reaction intermediate which is then reacted with an
amino-aromatic polyamine compound.
The engine fuel additive of the present invention is designed to further
improve the fuel economy of such compositions by reducing the carbonaceous deposit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
We have discovered an improved fuel additive that results in improved fuel
economy and in particular, a reduction in carbonaceous deposits during engine running.
In particular, we have discovered that the performance of the above-described
fuel additives can be improved by the addition of a detergent composition which includes:
the reaction product of a first mixture of (1) a polymer prepared from ethylene,
at least one C3 to C10 alpha-monoolefin and a polyene selected from non-conjugated dienes
and trienes including from about 15 to 80 mole percent of ethylene from about 20 to 85 mole
percent of the C3 to C10 alpha-monoolefin and from about 0 to 15 mole percent of the polyene and having an average molecular weight ranging from about 5,000 to 30,000, (2) at least one olefinic carboxylic acid acylating agent, and (3) an N-arylphenylenediamine represented by
the formula:
in which R
1 is hydrogen, -NH-aryl, -NH-arylalkyl, a branched or straight chain radical having
from 4 to 24 carbon atoms that can be alkyl, alkenyl, alkoxyl, aralkyl, alkaryl, hydroxyalkyl
or aminoalkyl, R2 is -NH2, -CH2-(CH2)„-NH2, -CH2-aryl-NH2 in which n has a value from 1 to
10 and R3 is hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, alkoxyl, aralkyl, or alkaryl radical having 4 to 24 carbon atoms.
The present invention also provides for an engine fuel composition including a
major portion of a mixture of hydrocarbons and a fuel economy improving effective amount
of an engine fuel additive containing the inventive detergent compound.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As noted, the inventive detergent composition may be added to conventional
fuel additives as described herein. In a preferred composition, the inventive detergent composition is added to a prior art composition which exhibits substantially improved low
temperature solution properties.
In such a composition as described above, an additive is prepared including the reaction product of a mixture (hereinafter referred to as "the second mixture") of mixed fatty acid esters, a mono or di-(hydroxy alkyl amine) or mixtures thereof, and a low
temperature property enhancing effective amount of a low molecular weight ester.
This is then mixed with the reaction product of the first mixture of (1) a polymer prepared from ethylene, at least one C3 to C10 alpha-monoolefin and a polyene selected from non-conjugated dienes and trienes including from about 15 to 80 mole percent
of ethylene from about 20 to 85 mole percent of the C3 to C10 alpha-monoolefin and from
about 0 to 15 mole percent of the polyene and having an average molecular weight ranging from about 5,000 to 30,000, (2) at least one olefinic carboxylic acid acylating agent, and (3) an N-arylphenylenediamine represented by the formula:
in which R
1 is hydrogen, -NH-aryl, -NH-arylalkyl, a branched or straight chain radical having
from 4 to 24 carbon atoms that can be alkyl, alkenyl, alkoxyl, aralkyl, alkaryl, hydroxyalkyl
or aminoalkyl, R2 is -NH2, -CH2-(CH2)„-NH2, -CH2-aryl-NH2 in which n has a value from 1 to
10 and R3 is hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, alkoxyl, aralkyl, or alkaryl radical having 4 to 24
carbon atoms.
In the above additive composition, the mixed fatty acid esters preferably
include a mixture of C6-C20 fatty acid esters, especially those derived from coconut oil. More
preferably, the mixed fatty acid esters include a mixture of C8-C16 fatty acid esters and most preferably, the mixed fatty acid esters include a mixture of C12 fatty acid esters.
Alternatively, these fatty acids may be characterized by the formula RCOOH
wherein R is an alkyl hydrocarbon group containing 7-15 carbon atoms, preferably 11-13
carbon atoms and even further preferably 11 carbon atoms.
In addition, the mixed fatty acid esters may include a tri-ester such as a
glycerol tri-ester (coconut oil) having structural formula I shown below:
(I) O
I I
H2C— O-C— R' HC— O-CO— R"
I
H2C— O--C— R'"
I I o
wherein R', R", and R'" are mixtures of aliphatic, olefins or polyolefins.
Furthermore, other examples of fatty acid esters that can be used with the
present invention include the following: glyceryl tri-laurate, glyceryl tri-stearate, glyceryl tri-
palmitate, glyceryl di-laurate, glyceryl mono-stearate, ethylene glycol di-laurate,
pentaerythritol tetra-stearate, pentaerythritol tri-laurate, sorbitol mono-palmitate, sorbitol
penta-stearate and propylene glycol mono-stearate.
In addition, these esters may include those wherein the acid moiety is a
mixture as is typified by those found in natural oils typified by the following type of oils:
coconut, babassu, palm kernel, palm, olive, caster, peanut, rape, beef tallow, lard (leaf), lard
oil and whale blubber.
The preferred ester is coconut oil and the components of coconut oil are shown
below in Tables 1 and 2. In particular, Table 1 shows the saturated acid components of
coconut oil and Table 2 shows the mono- and poly-unsaturated acid components of coconut
oil.
TABLE 1
TABLE 2
The second component of the second mixture is a primary or a secondary a ine which possesses a hydroxy group and has the formula HN(R"OH)2 Ha wherein R" is a
divalent alkylene hydrocarbon group containing 1-10 carbon atoms and a is 0 or 1.
Preferably, the second component is diethanolamine, CAS Number (111-42-
2), which is a basic alkanolamine containing reactive appendages at each of its three termini.
Diethanolamine (DEA) has structural formula (LI) shown below.
(II) CH2CH2OH
H-N \ CH2CH2OH
In addition, examples of other amines that can be used include ethanolamine,
propanolamine, isopropanolamine, dipropanolamine, di-isopropanolamine, butanolamines
and the like.
The third component of the second mixture of the additive is a low molecular
weight ester which enhances low temperature properties of the additive composition. The
molecular weight ester preferably has an acid moiety represented by the formula RCO-
wherein R is preferably an alkyl or alkenyl hydrocarbon group containing 5-19 carbon atoms.
Further, the acid moiety is preferably selected from the group including caprylic, caproic,
capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, etc. It is preferable that the acid is
saturated although unsaturated acid may be present.
Preferably, the reactant bearing the acid moiety may be a natural oil such as
any of the following types of oil: coconut, babassu, palm kernel, palm, olive, castor, peanut,
rape, beef tallow, lard, lard oil, whale blubber, sunflower, etc. Typically, the oils which may
be employed will contain several acid moieties, the number and type varying with the source
of the oil.
Moreover, the acid moiety may be supplied in a fully esterified compound or
one which is less than fully esterified, e.g., glyceryl tri-stearate, glyceryl di-laurate, glyceryl
mono-oleate, etc. Esters of polyols including diols and polyalkylene glycols may be
employed such as esters of mannitol, sorbitol, pentaerythritol, polyoxyethylene polyol, etc.
In a preferred embodiment of the additive, the low molecular weight ester has
an acid moiety represented by the formula RCO- wherein R is an alkyl or alkenyl
hydrocarbon group containing from about 3 to 10 carbon atoms. Preferably, the acid moiety
of the low molecular weight ester is selected from the group consisting of caprylic, caproic,
capric and mixtures thereof. Most preferably, the low molecular weight ester is methyl
caprylate, also known as methyl octanoate, CAS Number (111-11-5). Methyl caprylate is the
ester obtained from the reaction of octanoic acid and methyl alcohol and has structural
formula (III) shown below.
(Ill) O
I I
CH3— (CH2)5-C— O--CH3
Preferably, the second mixture has a molar ratio of amine to total ester content
in the range of from about 10.0 to 1.0 and more preferably in the range of from about 5.0 to
2.2. The term "total ester content" as used herein means the total amount of the total molar
amount of the mixed fatty acid esters and the low molecular weight ester. In addition, the
second mixture preferably has an amide to ester absorbance ratio in the range of from at least
about 2.0 as measured by transmission infrared spectroscopy.
A preferred second mixture is composed of from about 0.1 to about 0.8 moles
of the mixed fatty acid esters, from about 1.0 to about 4.5 moles of the amine and from about
0.01 to about 0.60 moles of the low molecular weight ester. It is more preferable that the
amount of mixed fatty acid esters in the reaction mixture is in the range of from about 0.5 to
0.8 moles, the amount of the low molecular weight ester is in the range of from about 0.1 to
about 0.5 moles and the amount of the amine is in the range of from about 1.2 to about 3.2
moles.
The reaction product of the second mixture is prepared by heating the second
mixture for a time period of about from 0.5 to 10.0 hours and at a temperature at from about
60°C to about 250°C to affect the improvement and or enhancement in the low temperature
stability properties. Preferably, the second mixture is heated for a time period of from about
1.5 to about 6.0 hours and at a temperature in the range from about 110°C to about 180°C. It
is even further preferable that the second mixture is heated at a temperature of from about
130°C to about 150°C for a time period of from about 2 to 4 hours.
The first component of the first mixture is a polymer prepared from ethylene,
at least one C3 to C10 alpha-monoolefin and a polyene selected from non-conjugated dienes
and trienes including from about 15 to 80 mole percent of ethylene from about 20 to 85 mole
percent of the C3 to Cι0 alpha-monoolefin and from about 0 to 15 mole percent of the polyene
and having an average molecular weight ranging from about 5,000 to 30,000. Preferably, the
polymer is poly(ethylene-co-propylene).
The second component of the first mixture is at least one olefinic carboxylic
acid acylating agent. Preferably, the olefinic carboxylic acid acylating agent is maleic
anhydride.
The third component of the first mixture is an N-arylphenylenediamine
represented by the formula:
in which R
1 is hydrogen, -NH-aryl, -NH-arylalkyl, a branched or straight chain radical having
from 4 to 24 carbon atoms that can be alkyl, alkenyl, alkoxyl, aralkyl, alkaryl, hydroxyalkyl
or aminoalkyl, R2 is -NH2, -CH2-(CH2)„-NH2, -CH2-aryl-NH2 in which n has a value from 1 to
10 and R3 is hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, alkoxyl, aralkyl, or alkaryl radical having 4 to 24
carbon atoms. Preferably, the N-arylphenylenediamine is N-phenyl-(p-N' -phenyl) diamine.
In a preferred embodiment, the first mixture is prepared by chemically grafting between 0.5 and 5.0 wt % maleic anhydride onto the backbone of a poly(ethylene-co-
propylene) copolymer, which is depicted below, to produce poly[(ethylene-co-propylene)-g- succinic anhydride] or EPSA.
wherein a = 400 to 3,000 and b = 220 to 2,600.
This material is then reacted with N-phenyl-(p-N' -phenyl) diamine in such a manner that the imide content of the product is at least 90% or higher. The reaction product,
poly[(ethylene-g-ρroρylene)-g-N-phenyl-(4-N'-phenyl)-succinimide], is optimally prepared by reacting EPSA and the aromatic amine at 165°C for 2 to 3 hours, under an inert atmosphere.
When added to a fuel, the inventive detergent compositions ("additive
compositions") of the present invention exhibit friction modifying and detergent properties at
least as good as those exhibited by prior art compositions.
The additive compositions of the present invention may be added to the base
fuel in sufficient or effective amounts to impart a detergent and friction reducing property to
the mixture. The additive composition is particularly effective in an amount of about 0.002 to
0.2 wt.% (ca. 0.6 to 64 PTB) (PTB stands for pounds per thousand barrels). The preferred
range is from about 0.008 to 0.1 wt.% (ca. 2.7 to 34 PTB), and most preferably, about 0.02 to
0.08 wt.% (ca. 6.4 to 27 PTB). (All wt.% is based on the total weight of the fuel
composition.)
When used in a fuel composition, the base fuel in which the inventive fuel
additive compositions may be used may be a motor fuel composition composed of a mixture
of hydrocarbons boiling in the gasoline boiling range or the diesel fuel boiling range. This
base fuel may contain straight chain or branch chain paraffins, cycloparaffins, olefins and
aromatic hydrocarbons as well as mixtures of these. The base fuel may be derived from
straight-chained naptha, polymer gasoline, natural gasoline, catalytically cracked or thermally
cracked hydrocarbons as well as catalytically reformed stocks. It may typically boil in the
range of about 80° to 450°F and any conventional motor fuel base may be employed in the
practice of the invention.
The fuel composition may also contain any of the additives normally
employed in a motor fuel. For example, the base fuel may be blended with anti-knock
compounds, such as tetraalkyl lead compounds, including tetraethyl lead, tetramethyl lead,
tetrabutyl lead, etc., or cyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl, generally in a concentration
from about 0.05 to 4.0 cc. per gallon of gasoline. The tetraethyl lead mixture which is commercially available for automotive use contains an ethylene chloride-ethylene bromide
mixture as a scavenger for removing lead from the combustion chamber in the form of a
volatile lead halide. The motor fuel composition may also be fortified with any of the
conventional additives including anti-icing additives, corrosion-inhibitors, dyes, etc.
The following example is provided to assist in further understanding the
present invention. The particular materials and conditions employed are intended to be
further illustrative of the invention and are not limiting upon the reasonable scope thereof.
EXAMPLE
A series of eight samples of fuel compositions containing were prepared. Two
of the compositions contained the low temperature stability enhanced fuel additive of U.S.
Patent Application Serial No. 09/728,405. (Referred to herein as Modifier No. 1), and a
conventional detergent (referred to herein as Detergent No. 1).
Detergent No. 1 was mixture of:
(a) 28.6 wt % Mannich base HiTEC-4995 manufactured by Ethyl Corporation in Richmond, Virginia;
(b) 37.6 wt % polyetheramine detergent manufactured by Huntsman
Corporation in Austin, Texas; and
(c) the remainer, Avjet solvent.
The chemical structure for HiTEC-4995 is:
wherein PLB is polyisobutylene having an M„ between 1,500 to 2,300 AMU.
The chemical structure for the polyetheramine detergent is:
A third composition contained only the conventional detergent and none of the low temperature enhanced fuel additive. Additional samples of each of these compositions were prepared containing the inventive detergent composition poly[(ethylene-g-propylene)-g-
N-phenyl-(4-N'-phenyl)-succinimide] prepared by reacting ρoly(ethylene-co-propylene) with
maleic anhydride in the presence of dicumyl peroxide to prepare poly(ethylene-co-
g-succinic anhydride. This was then condensed with N-phenyl-(p-N' -phenyl) diamine at an
elevated .temperature of 160°C to form the detergent compound.
Each of the thus prepared samples was subjected to testing in a Ford 2.3 L
engine as follows:
At the beginning of the test, the engine was cleaned to remove all fuel
related deposits and assembled using cylinder heads that have been rebuilt to the
manufacturers specifications. The intake valves were weighed before being assembled in the cylinder heads. At the end of the tests, the intake valve deposits were quantified by weighing
the deposit formation and by using the CRC intake valve rating scale. Other intake system
components such as ports and runners were rated using the CRC induction system rating scale. Combustion chamber deposit thickness was measured in mils using an eddy
current/magnetic induction thickness measuring device. The test ran for 100 continuous hours as it repeated the two step cycle shown below in Table 3.
TABLE 3
Stage Speed (RPM MAP (mm Hεa Time (minutes')
1 2000 230 4
2 2000 255 8
The results are shown below in Table 4.
TABLE 4
As is readily apparent from Table 4, the addition of the inventive detergent significantly reduced chamber combustion deposits in all of the compositions.
Thus, while there have been described what are presently believed to be the preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will realize that other and further embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended to include all such further modifications and changes as come within the true scope of the invention.