Alternative fuel and fuel additive compositions

Abstract

Alternative gasoline, diesel fuel, marine diesel fuel, jet fuel, and flexible fuel compositions are disclosed. The compositions include an alcohol and / or a glycerol ether or mixture of glycerol ethers, which can be derived from renewable resources. When combined with gasoline / ethanol blends, the glycerol ethers can reduce the vapor pressure of the ethanol and increasing the fuel economy. When added to diesel fuel / alcohol blends, glycerol ethers improve the cetane value of the blends. All or part of the diesel fuel in the compositions described herein can be biodiesel fuel and / or synthetic fuel derived from a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process. Fischer-Tropsch synthesis can also use feedstocks derived from sources other than crude oil, such as methane, methanol, ethanol, lignin and glycerol, which can further reduce reliance on foreign sources of crude oil. When used in jet fuel, glycerol ethers can replace all or part of conventional deicing additives, thus lowering skin toxicity, and glycerol ethers ability to reduce particulate emissions can lower the appearance of contrails. When used in marine diesel, the reduction in particulate emissions can be environmentally significant. In another embodiment, the alternative compositions comprise gasoline, ethanol, and n-butanol, and in one aspect, the ethanol and / or n-butanol can be derived from renewable resources. Fuel additive compositions, including glycerol ethers and hydrocarbons and / or alcohols, are also disclosed.

Description

[0001]This is a continuation of International Application No. PCT / US2006 / 044,789, filed 17 Nov. 2006 and titled “Alternative Fuel and Fuel Additive Compositions” and claim priority under 35 U.S.C. 120 and 35 U.S.C. 365, and under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 737,790, filed 17 Nov. 2005 and titled “Distillate Fuels”, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 798,558, filed 8 May 2006 and titled “Fuel / Alcohol Compositions” and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 798,579, filed 8 May 2006 and titled “Fuel / Alcohol Additive Compositions”.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to alternative fuel and fuel additive compositions, including blends of alcohols such as methanol, ethanol and / or butanol, with fuels such as gasoline, diesel, marine diesel, jet fuel, and / or biodiesel fuels.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Diesel fuel, jet fuel, and gasoline are petroleum products derived from crude oil. Crude oil is, of course, a non-renewable resource of fi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0033]The glycerol ethers, when combined with conventional diesel fuel, biodiesel fuel, marine diesel fuel, gasoline, gasoline/alcohol blends, or jet fuel, provide advantageous properties similar to those provided by methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE). MTBE was an attractive additive from an emissions perspective because it has no sulfur, aromatics, or olefins, which contribute to air emissions. In addition, MTBE had some important indirect benefits. When MTBE was added, it diluted those chemical properties in the blend that increase air emissions, reducing their av

Problems solved by technology

Gasoline / ethanol blends suffer from relatively low energy content per unit volume.