WO2002083821A1

WO2002083821A1 - Low pollution liquid fuel and manufacturing method of the same

Info

Publication number: WO2002083821A1
Application number: PCT/CA2001/000529
Authority: WO
Inventors: Akihiro Azuma
Original assignee: Gold Chance Int'l. Limited
Priority date: 2001-04-17
Filing date: 2001-04-17
Publication date: 2002-10-24

Abstract

According to a low pollution liquid fuel and a method of manufacturing the same of the present invention, the independent use of the liquid fuel or the mixed use thereof with gasoline enables an effect and an output similar to or greater than those of gasoline to be obtained without the need of modifying the structure or the material of existing internal combustion gasoline engines. Further, the contents of the carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) contained in exhaust gases can be remarkably reduced as compared with those emitted when the gasoline is used. The fuel has 10 - 50 vol % of at least two kinds of aliphatic monohydric alcohols having tow to eleven hydrocarbons, 40 - 70 vol % of at least one kind of saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons, and 5 - 30 vol % of at least one kind of ethers having two chain hydrocarbon groups whose number of carbon atoms is six or less.

Description

LOW POLLUTION LIQUID FUEL AND MANUFACTURING METHOD OF THE SAME

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an improved low pollution liquid fuel capable of obtaining an efficiency and an output similar to or higher than those of conventional gasoline, without the need of changing the structure or the material of existing internal combustion gasoline engines, and remarkably reducing the concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons in exhaust gases as compared with those of conventional gasoline. The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing the liquid fuel.

BACKGROUND ART

As a recent countermeasure to environmental problems, more serious attention has been paid to the problem of environmental pollution caused by the exhaust gases from automobiles. There has been available, as a low pollution liquid fuel, fuel containing naphtha mixed with methanol and other alcohols such as "GAIAX" (trademark), which has been available from GAIA Energy (HK) Ltd.. The fuel can greatly reduce the concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons in the exhaust gases from automobiles and can be used in place of conventional gasoline.

The prior art fuels, which contain naphtha, mixed with methanol and other alcohol such as "GAIAX", have a sufficient effect for reducing the concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons in the exhaust gases from automobiles. However, the fuels have a problem in that since they contain methanol having large polarity in the component thereof, when they are used for long periods of time, the fuel supply rubber hose for the engine can become swollen and fuel pressure can change accordingly, or the hose may fail due to the reduction of the strength thereof.

Similarly, the rubber hoses, packings and the like used in gas pumps at gas stations may become swollen and their life may be greatly reduced similarly, which is a large obstacle to the widespread use of the novel fuels.

An object of the present invention, which was made in view of the above problems, is to provide a low pollution liquid fuel, which avoids or reduces such problems and is therefore more useful. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

To achieve the above object, a low pollution liquid fuel of the present invention includes 10 - 70 vol% of at least two kinds of aliphatic monohydric alcohols having two to eleven hydrocarbons, 30 - 70 vol% of at least one kind of saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons, and 5 - 30 vol % of at least one kind of ethers having two chain hydrocarbon groups whose number of carbon atoms is six or less.

Since methanol with its one carbon atom is not contained in the resulting fuel, the problem of the swelling and damage of a fuel pipe and a fuel supply hose caused by the methanol having a large polarity is avoided, whereby a low pollution liquid fuel excellent in practical utility can be obtained.

It is preferable in the low pollution liquid fuel of the present invention that the volume percentage of the alcohols is one-half or more that of the saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons.

With this arrangement, the contents of COx, HxCy, SOx, NOx, etc. contained in the exhaust gases of automobiles can be suppressed to low levels.

In the low pollution liquid fuel of the present invention, it is preferable that at least one kind of the aliphatic monohydric alcohols is nonstraight-chain alcohol.

With this arrangement, not only a higher octane value can be obtained as compared with a case in which straight-chain alcohol having the same number of carbon atoms, but also the separation of alcohol components from other primary fuels can be prevented by the use of the nonstraight-chain alcohol.

In the low pollution liquid fuel of the present invention, it is preferable that the nonstraight-chain alcohol is isopropyl alcohol, isobutyl alcohol or similar.

With this arrangement, the low pollution liquid fuel having excellent characteristics can be obtained by the use of isopropyl alcohol or isobutyl alcohol, which is a nonstraight-chain alcohol having a relatively small number of carbon atoms. In the low pollution liquid fuel of the present invention, it is preferable that the ethers are at least one kind of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), tertiary amyl methyl ether (TAME) and dibutyl ether or a similar component.

With this arrangement, the octane value of the resulting fuel can be improved by a small blended amount, whereby the price of the fuel can be kept to a low level.

In the low pollution liquid fuel of the present invention, it is preferable that the saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons are light duty naphtha or gasoline containing aromatic hydrocarbon components in the content of 2% or less.

With the use of light duty naphtha, which is relatively stable chemically and from which aromatic hydrocarbon components which are liable to be imperfectly combusted are removed, not only Cox and HxCy in exhaust gases can be reduced, but also the discharge of benzene, toluene, xylene, etc. as the harmful aromatic hydrocarbon components in exhaust gases can be reduced or prevented.

A method of manufacturing a low pollution liquid fuel of the present invention includes the step of mixing 10 - 70 vol% of at least two kinds of aliphatic monohydric alcohols having two to eleven hydrocarbons, 30 - 70 vol% of at least one kind of saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons, and 5 - 30 vol% of at least one kind of ethers having two chain hydrocarbon groups whose number of carbon atoms is six or less. The respective blended primary fuels can be effectively mixed without being separated from each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a flowchart showing a method of manufacturing a fuel for internal combustion engine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a graph showing the relationship between the ratio of alcohol and petroleum components in a liquid fuel and the concentrations of the polluted gases contained in exhaust gases. BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Fig. 1 is a flowchart showing a method of manufacturing a fuel for internal combustion engines according to an embodiment of the present invention. The fuel mainly includes at least two kinds of aliphatic monohydric alcohols, straight-chain hydrocarbons, and single ether or mixed ethers. After these primary fuels are measured in predetermined volume percentages, first, the single ether or the mixed ethers whose polarity is smaller than that of the aliphatic monohydric alcohols is/are charged into and mixed with light duty naphtha, which is a straight-chain hydrocarbon having a relatively large volume and having the smallest polarity, and then the aliphatic monohydric alcohols are charged thereinto and mixed therewith, whereby the low pollution fuel of the present invention is prepared.

At the time, since at least two kinds of the aliphatic monohydric alcohols exist, it is preferable to gradually charge them in the sequence from alcohol having a larger number of carbon atoms, which has a smaller polarity, to alcohol having a smaller number of carbon atoms.

While it is preferable to sequentially blend the primary fuels whose magnitudes of polarities are near to each other as described above, because the separation of the primary fuels can be prevented thereby, and they can be effectively blended, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, while the ethers and alcohols are sequentially charged into and blended with the light duty naphtha which has the low polarity, the ethers and the light duty naphtha may instead be sequentially charged into the alcohol having a high polarity.

Blend examples of the fuel made by the above manufacturing method will be shown below.

Blend Example 1

A blend example 1 contains 25 vol% of isobutyl alcohol (IBA) as one of aliphatic monohydric alcohols, 13 vol% of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as the other thereof, 17 vol% of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) as mixed ethers, and 45 vol% of light duty naphtha as the straight-chain hydrocarbon. Blend Example 2

A blend example 2 contains 25 vol% of butyl alcohol as one of aliphatic monohydric alcohols,

13 vol% of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as the other thereof, 17 vol% of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) as mixed ethers, and 45 vol% of light duty naphtha as the straight-chain hydrocarbon.

Blend Example 3

A blend example 3 contains 25 vol% of isobutyl alcohol (IBA) as one of aliphatic monohydric alcohols, 13 vol% of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as the other thereof, 17 vol% of dibutyl ether as mixed ethers, and 45 vol% of light duty naphtha as the straight-chain hydrocarbon.

Blend Example 4

A blend example 4 contains 25 vol% of butyl alcohol as one of aliphatic monohydric alcohols,

13 vol% of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as the other thereof, 17 vol% of dibutyl ether as mixed ethers, and 45 vol% of light duty naphtha as the straight-chain hydrocarbon.

Blend Example 5

A blend example 5 contains 25 vol% of isobutyl alcohol (IBA) as one of aliphatic monohydric alcohols, 13 vol% of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as the other thereof, 17 vol% of tertiary amyl methyl ether (TAME) as mixed ethers, and 45 vol% of light duty naphtha as the straight-chain hydrocarbon.

Blend Example 6

A blend example 6 contains 25 vol% of butyl alcohol as one of aliphatic monohydric alcohols,

13 vol% of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as the other thereof, 17 vol% of tertiary amyl methyl ether (TAME) as mixed ethers, and 45 vol% of light duty naphtha as the straight-chain hydrocarbon. Blend Example 7

A blend example 7 contains 16 vol% of ETHANOL (C2H5OH) as one of aliphatic monohydric alcohols, 31 vol% of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as the other thereof, 8 vol% of MTBE as mixed ethers, and 45 vol% of light duty naphtha as the straight-chain hydrocarbon.

Blend Example 8

A blend example 8 contains 30 vol% of ETHANOL, as one of aliphatic monohydric alcohols, 20 vol% of N-Butanol (NBA) as the other thereof, 5 vol% of MTBE as mixed ethers, and 45 vol% of light duty naphtha as the straight-chain hydrocarbon.

Comparative Example (Blend 9)

A comparative example contains 43 vol% of methyl alcohol as one of conventional alcohol fuels,

5 vol% of isobutyl alcohol (IBA) as the other thereof, 4 vol% of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) as mixed ethers, and 48 vol% of light duty naphtha as the straight-chain hydrocarbon.

Note that the light duty naphtha referred to here is light duty naphtha which is refined so that the content of each of aromatic hydrocarbons such as B (benzene), T (toluene), X (xylene), etc. is made 2% or less in the distillation of crude oil (atmospheric distillation). The use of the light duty naphtha is preferable because it can prevent the concentrations of CO and HC in exhaust gases from being increased due to the imperfect combustion of the aromatic hydrocarbons which are relatively stable chemically, and can prevent or reduce harmful aromatic hydrocarbons such as B (benzene), T (toluene), X (xylene), etc. from being discharged into exhaust gases. However, the present invention is not limited hereto.

Further, straight-chain saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons with nine or fewer carbon atoms may be used in place of all or a part of the light duty naphtha from the viewpoint of the volatility of the naphtha and the increase of the concentrations of CO and HC in exhaust gases caused by the residuals thereof.

The aliphatic monohydric alcohols have at least two carbons because methyl alcohol is removed therefrom. When the upper limit of the carbon number of the aliphatic monohydric alcohols is twelve or more, the initial distilling point of alcohol is increased and the specific weight thereof is made large, and accordingly the resulting liquid fuel has a lowered igniting capability and is liable to adversely affect engine starting, and the specific weight of the resulting fuel becomes larger than a specific weight regulated as gasoline. Thus, the carbon number of the aliphatic monohydric alcohols must be set to eleven or less.

Further, nonstraight-chain monohydric (primary) alcohol is preferably employed as at least one kind of the aliphatic monohydric alcohols because its polarity is lower than that of straight-chain alcohol, and the blending property thereof with hydrocarbon components and ethers is therefore better. However, the present invention is not limited thereto and these alcohols may be suitably combined from the viewpoint of price, volatility and the like. Furthermore, it is preferable to use nonstraight-chain aliphatic monohydric alcohols such as IPA, IBA, etc. because the octane value obtained thereby can be properly set to desired values for an internal combustion engine. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

Further, it is preferable to use, as the above ether, ether having two chain hydrocarbon groups whose number of carbon atoms is six or less, from the viewpoint of the volatility and price thereof. In particular, it is preferable to use the above methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), dibutyl ether, and tertiary amyl methyl ether (TAME) because the octane value of a resulting fuel can be improved by a small additional amount of them. However, the present invention is not limited to the MTBE, dibutyl ether, and TAME, and the kinds and the like of ethers to be used may be suitably selected based on the kinds and the like of alcohols which will be used.

Furthermore, the blend ratios shown in the above blend examples 1 - 8 are not limited thereto, and the respective compositions have the ranges of blend ratios in which similar excellent characteristics can be obtained. The ranges will be shown below.

Composition System of Blend Example 1

The composition system of the blend example 1 is in the range of IBA 5 - 30 vol%, IPA 5 - 30 vol%, MTBE 5 - 35 voi%, and light duty naphtha or gasoline 45 - 70 vol%.

Composition System of Blend Example 2

The composition system of the blend example 2 is in the range of butyl alcohol 5 - 30 vol%, IPA 5 - 30 vol%, MTBE 5 - 35 vol%, and light duty naphtha or gasoline 45 - 70 vol%. Composition System of Blend Example 3

The composition system of the blend example 3 is in the range of IBA 5 - 30%, IPA 5 - 30 vol%, butyl ether 5 - 35 vol%, and light duty naphtha or gasoline 45 - 70 vol%.

Composition System of Blend Example 4

The composition system of the blend example 4 is in the range of butyl alcohol 5 - 30 vol%, IPS 5 - 30 vol%, dibutyl ether 5 - 35 vol%, and light duty naphtha or gasoline 45 - 70 vol%.

Composition System of Blend Example 5

The composition system of the blend example 5 is in the range of IBA 5 - 30 vol%, IPA 5 - 30 vol%, TAME 5 - 35 vol%, and light duty naphtha or gasoline 45 - 70 vol%.

Composition System of Blend Example 6

The composition system of the blend example 6 is in the range of butyl alcohol 5 - 30 vol%, IPA 5 - 30 vol%, TAME 5 - 35 vol%, and light duty naphtha or gasoline 45 - 70 vol%.

Composition System of Blend Example 7

The composition system of the blend example 7 is in the range of ETHANOL 10 - 35 vol%, IPA 10 - 35 vol%, MTBE 5 - 10 vol%, and light duty naphtha or gasoline 45 - 70 vol%.

Composition System of Blend Example 8

The composition system of the blend example 8 is in the range of ETHANOL 10 - 35 vol%, N- Butanol (NBA) 10 - 35 vol%, MTBE 5 - 10 vol%, and light duty naphtha or gasoline 45 - 70 vol%.

A more preferable ratio in the above compositions is in the range of monohydric alcohol components to ether components to petroleum components such as hydrocarbons and light duty naphtha or gasoline and the like, in the range of 3:2:5 to 3:1 :6 in vol%, or 2:1 :7 to 2.5:05:7 in vol%. When the volume percentage of the monohydric alcohol components is made less than half that of the hydrocarbons and the petroleum components such as the light duty naphtha, gasoline or the like as shown in Fig. 2, the contents of COx, HxCy, SOx, NOx, etc. in exhaust gases are increased. Thus, it is preferable to make the volume percentage of the monohydric alcohol components be half or more than that of the hydrocarbons and the petroleum components such as the light duty naphtha, gasoline or the like.

Further, when the contents of MTBE, dibutyl ether and TAME are excessively increased, the octane value of the liquid fuel is made higher than that of ordinary gasoline, which is unsuitable.

Next, the liquid fuels of the blend examples 1 - 8, conventional gasoline and the conventional alternative fuel containing methyl alcohol as the blend example 9 were tested in a metal and a rubber used in existing automobile parts, and in a metal and rubber used in a gas pump body, for the comparison of the capabilities thereof. The result of the tests is shown in Table 1 and 2 below:

As can be seen from Tables 1 and 2, the swelling of rubber and the deterioration of mechanical strength and characteristics thereof are admitted in the conventional alternative fuel containing methyl alcohol as the blend example 9 as described above. However, it can be found that the blend example 1 of the present invention is by no means inferior to the gasoline as to the swelling of rubber and the deterioration of mechanical strength and characteristics thereof. Accordingly, it can be said that the low pollution liquid fuel of the present invention can be stored in the facilities of existing gas stations and used for existing gasoline-driven automobiles as is, and can be arbitrarily mixed with gasoline for use. Further, characteristics similar to those of the blend example 1 can be obtained by the blend examples 2 - 8, which are not shown in Tables 1 and 2.

Next, the concentrations of pollutants contained in the exhaust gases of the embodiment 1 , those of the comparative example and those of gasoline were compared with each other. The result of comparison is as shown in Table 3 below. The comparison used a 2000 cc automobile which satisfied the regulations for CO, HC and NOx values stipulated by articles 30 and 31 of safety standards of the Japanese Automobile Inspection System.

As can be seen from Table 3, any of the exhaust gas values (COx, HxCy and NOx) in the embodiment is low. In particular, it can be seen that the HxCy and COx values of the liquid fuel of the present invention (embodiment 1) are remarkably lower than those of the conventional liquid fuel (comparative example) using methanol.

Therefore, the liquid fuels of the present invention could reduce the amounts of COx and HxCy exhausted when they were combusted and further could reduce the NOx value by about 10%. In addition, since no sulfur is contained in the components of the low pollution liquid fuel of the present invention, SOx is not exhausted at all, and thus the fuel can be used as a low pollution fuel capable of reducing the effect thereof on the atmospheric pollution.

Further, the use of low pollution fuel of the present invention does not require that a conventional gasoline engine be provided with a special device, that some parts thereof be converted, or that some parts thereof be replaced. Further it is possible to mix the low pollution fuel of the present invention with conventional gasoline for use.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiment, the present invention is by no means limited thereto and it goes without saying that various modifications and additions can be made within the range which does not depart from the gist of the invention. That is, other primary fuels and additives (including metal and the like) may be arbitrarily added within the range in which the characteristics of the fuels of the present invention are not greatly modified, and such fuels are also included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A low pollution liquid fuel, comprising:

10 - 50 vol% of at least two kinds of aliphatic monohydric alcohols having two to eleven hydrocarbons;

40 - 70 vol% of at least one kind of saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons; and 5 - 30 vol% of at least one kind of ethers having two chain hydrocarbon groups whose number of carbon atoms is six or less.

2. A low pollution liquid fuel according to Claim 1 , wherein the volume percentage of the alcohols is one-half or more that of saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons.

3. A low pollution liquid fuel according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one kind of the aliphatic monohydric alcohols is nonstraight-chain alcohol.

4. A low pollution liquid fuel according to Claim 3, wherein the nonstraight-chain alcohol is isopropyl alcohol or isobutyl alcohol.

5. A low pollution liquid fuel according to any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the ethers are at least one selected from the group consisting of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), tertiary amyl methyl ether (TAME) and dibutyl ether.

6. A low pollution liquid fuel according to any of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons are light duty naphtha or gasoline containing aromatic hydrocarbon components in the content of 2% or less.

7. A method of manufacturing a low pollution liquid fuel, comprising as primary fuels 10 - 50 vol% of at least two kinds of aliphatic monohydric alcohols having two to eleven hydrocarbons, 40 - 70 vol% of at least one kind of saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons, and 5 - 30 vol% of at least one kind of ethers having two chain hydrocarbon groups whose number of carbon atoms is six or less, said method comprising the step of blending sequentially said primary fuels whose magnitude of polarities are near to each other.