Mesitylene As An Octane Enhancer For Automotive Gasoline, Additive For Jet Fuel, And Method Of Enhancing Motor Fuel Octane And Lowering Jet Fuel Carbon Emissions

Abstract

A motor fuel providing higher gas mileage comprising gasoline produced from petroleum and from about 1 to 30 wt % of mesitylene. This fuel can advantageously contain conventional additives used in gasoline. The use of mesitylene in gasoline blend yields a fuel blend with a higher research octane number and motor octane number. In addition, an improved jet fuel is provided, having from 1-10 wt % biomass-derived mesitylene added thereto, having improved carbon emission characteristics while maintaining required specifications. Further, an improved bio-fuel is provided, which may function as a replacement for conventional Jet A / JP-8 fuel and has lowered carbon emission specifications, the bio-fuel comprised of 75-90 wt % synthetic parafinnic kerosene (SPK) and 10-25 wt % mesitylene.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims priority of pending U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61 / 243,699, filed Sep. 18, 2009, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates in general to fuels and fuel additives and, more particularly, to automotive gasoline and jet fuel, and additives for enhancing the octane number of automotive gasoline and lowering carbon emissions of jet fuel. In one aspect, the present invention is concerned with a fuel additive for automotive fuel for enhancing the research octane number, and in another aspect to a fuel additive for enhancing the motor octane number. Another aspect of the present invention is concerned with providing a replacement additive for alcohol in motor fuels. In addition, an improved jet fuel is provided, having biomass-based and / or petroleum-based mesitylene therein, which acts to lower c...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]The present inventors have conducted research in earnest to find a fuel additive which will provide all of the benefits of ethanol without being derived from foodstuffs such as corn. The present inventors unexpectedly discovered that a fuel additive comprising mesitylene (1,3,5-trimethylbenzene) can be employed in automotive gasoline in an amount of from about 1 to 30 wt % to boost both the research octane number and the motor octane number of these fuels. It was also unexpectedly discovered that mesitylene, both bio-derived and petroleum-derived, could be used as a satisfactory replacement for ethanol in gasoline, and that the resultant gasoline / mesitylene blend would satisfy the quality fuel standard of ASTM D4814.

[0013]In another preferred embodiment, mesitylene is blended with automotive grade gasoline that does not contain ethanol. It was found that mesitylene has a higher motor octane number than ethanol and a higher energy density. This translates directly into increased mileage over ethanol-gasoline blends. This added energy of mesitylene also eliminates the need for using corn, and other foodstuffs such as sugar cane, in producing high-energy fuels.

[0022]In a seventh preferred embodiment, there is provided an improved motor fuel yielding higher mileage per gallon and comprising gasoline produced from petroleum and from about 5 to 15 wt % of mesitylene.

[0024]In a ninth preferred embodiment, there is provided in the motor fuel of the seventh preferred embodiment a gasoline, which is a hybrid compound, incorporating additives to increase fuel economy selected from the group consisting of Ferox, Oxyhydrogen, ferrous picrate, and mixtures thereof.

[0031]In a sixteenth preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method of increasing the research octane numbers and motor octane numbers of pure gasoline obtained from petroleum comprising mixing with said gasoline mesitylene in an amount sufficient to create a blended motor fuel comprising from about 1 to about 30 wt % of mesitylene.

Problems solved by technology

There are at least two major problems with using ethanol as a fuel additive.

The first problem is that ethanol-infused automotive gasoline results in much reduced mileage per gallon when compared with 100% pure gasoline.

A second problem is that ethanol, at least domestically, is produced almost entirely from corn which negatively impacts on our food supply.

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