Composition and Method for Reducing Friction in Internal Combustion Engines

Abstract

A fuel composition comprising a combustible fuel, an effective friction reducing amount of at least one saturated C5 to C31 α-glycerol ether, and a detergent package is disclosed, as well as a method of reducing the amount of friction in an internal combustion engine by adding the fuel composition to the engine.

Description

[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 288,471 filed Dec. 21, 2009, the entirety of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates generally to friction modifiers and, more particularly, to a new fuel composition and method for reducing friction in internal combustion engines.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Much of the focus over the past twenty years has been devoted to fuel additives which control deposit formation in the fuel induction systems of spark ignition internal combustion engines. These deposit control additives have been formulated to effectively control carbonaceous deposits on the fuel injectors, the intake valves and the combustion chamber in an effort to maintain or achieve engine cleanliness.[0004]As crude consumption and fuel costs steadily increased over the past decade, consumers have expressed a growing interest and have placed a greater emphasis on the importance...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014]The inventive method effectively reduces the amount of friction in an internal combustion engine by adding the fuel composition of the present invention to the engine, thus leading to reduced wear, lower emissions, higher fuel economy, and increased net horsepower.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, the deposit control additives provide very little friction reduction performance at typical concentrations used in commercial fuels.

Therefore, no additional fuel economy benefit would be expected over and above that achieved through deposit control within the engine.

However, at conditions where the engine is working hard (high load and high temperature), such as hard acceleration or going up hill, lower viscosity oils can produce very thin lubricant films which may increase the potential for metal-to-metal contact and lead to wear and higher friction, i.e., lower fuel economy.

The challenge in overcoming the frictional design limitations, however, lies in identifying a friction modifier which can influence the boundary layer properties without leading to undesirable effects, such as intake valve deposits and oil thickening.

The application of organic friction modifiers in combustible fuels has been pursued for some time with minimal success.

As a result, there is a slow transfer of additive from the fuel to the lubricant.