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Methods and compositions for biodistillate fuels containing tallow esters and having low metals uptake

a biodistillate fuel and low metals technology, applied in biofuels, liquid carbonaceous fuels, fuels, etc., can solve the problems of inability to predict the exact feedstock composition of a purchased biodiesel, formulators are often unable to predict the performance of the biodiesel in the finished fuel blend, and achieve low uptake.

Inactive Publication Date: 2014-05-22
EXXON RES & ENG CO
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent is about a method to make a type of fuel that has low amounts of zinc and copper metals. The method involves blending tallow oil and soybean oil or palm oil to make a renewable component. When this component is exposed to zinc or copper, the metals leach into it. The tallow oil alone has a certain amount of zinc and copper uptake, but the blend has a much lower uptake of both metals. This results in a fuel with low metal content, which is important for protecting engine parts and reducing emissions.

Problems solved by technology

Because biodiesel is made from numerous different feedstocks (e.g., rapeseed oil and palm oil), including mixed feedstocks, a finished fuel manufacturer is often not aware of the exact feedstock composition of a purchased biodiesel.
Since the performance of a biodiesel depends upon the particular feedstock mixture from which it was produced, formulators are therefore often unable to predict how the biodiesel will perform in the finished fuel blend.
For example, in the absence of accurate feedstock information, it can prove difficult to anticipate whether any given biodiesel will afford a performance advantage such as an improved cetane number, or will in fact suffer from a performance disadvantage (such as poor low-temperature operability) that might call for the addition of a performance enhancer.
Lack of a reliable biodiesel compositional profile also complicates fuel formulators' efforts to design biodiesel blends that satisfy applicable regulatory standards such as ASTM D975, ASTM D7467 Standard Specification for Diesel Fuel Oil, Biodiesel Blend (B6-B20), and EN590.
Furthermore, where tallow esters are used in the art, their use is typically limited to relatively small amounts.

Method used

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  • Methods and compositions for biodistillate fuels containing tallow esters and having low metals uptake
  • Methods and compositions for biodistillate fuels containing tallow esters and having low metals uptake

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

[0054]Four approximately pure (˜100%) methyl esters of renewable (vegetable and / or animal) oil samples were compared to a commercial grade ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel sample (alternately termed “Base”) to determine copper and zinc uptake from the coupons. The ˜100% TME sample and the ˜100% RME sample, upon being exposed to the copper source for about 24 hours, were both found to solubilize more copper than either the ˜100% SME sample or the ˜100% PME sample.

[0055]Similarly, the ˜100% TME sample and the ˜100% RME sample, upon being exposed to the zinc source for about 24 hours, were both found to solubilize more zinc than either the ˜100% SME sample or the ˜100% PME sample. FIGS. 1-2 show the results of zinc and copper uptake found in the samples before and after about 24 hours of mixing.

example 2

[0056]In Example 2, Example 1 was repeated, except that the zinc and copper coupons were specifically separated, so that the coupons did not contact each other in any of the samples and remained apart for the entirety of the experiment, whereas such specific coupon separation was not necessarily required in Example 1 (the coupons may or may not have been touching).

[0057]Table 1 shows the results of zinc and copper uptake found in the ˜100% single component ester samples before and after about 24 hours mixing, while the leftmost samples in FIGS. 3-4 show the delta in metal content after mixing. It appeared that the ˜100% RME sample and the ˜100% TME sample both showed higher affinities for zinc and copper uptake, in comparison to the ˜100% SME sample, the ˜100% PME sample, and the petroleum ULSD sample. Based on these results, further testing was done to determine a composition that might have an improved (i.e., reduced) metal uptake, compared to the ˜100% RME sample and the ˜100% TM...

example 3

[0058]Four blends were made containing 50 / 50 mixtures by volume of certain biodiesel feeds. Roughly equal parts of the pure SME feed was blended with an equal part of the pure TME feed to create the 50 / 50 v / v SME / TME blend, and roughly equal parts of the pure SME feed was blended with an equal part of the pure RME feed to create the 50 / 50 v / v SME / RME blend. Similarly, roughly equal parts of the pure PME feed was blended with an equal part of the pure TME feed to create the 50 / 50 v / v PME / TME blend, and roughly equal parts of the pure PME feed was blended with an equal part of the pure RME feed to create the 50 / 50 v / v PME / RME blend. The procedure employed in Example 2 was repeated on the 50 / 50 v / v blends to evaluate copper and zinc content before and after about 24 hours of mixing with the coupons. Table 1 below shows the results of the experiments in Example 3. The rightmost samples in FIGS. 3-4 show the delta in metal content after mixing.

TABLE 1CopperCopperAcid #(ppm)(ppm)Zinc (ppm...

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Abstract

The invention relates to methods and compositions for attaining acceptably low uptake of zinc and copper metals in a renewable component of a distillate boiling range fuel composition. The method can advantageously comprise the steps of providing the renewable component comprising blending a tallow ester feed and at least one of soybean oil ester feed and palm oil ester feed, such that the tallow ester feed comprises from about 35 vol % to about 90 vol % of the renewable component, and exposing the renewable component blend to a source of zinc or copper under conditions sufficient for copper and / or zinc to leach into the renewable component, but only to an acceptably low level.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61 / 727,205 filed on Nov. 16, 2012; which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The invention relates to improving (reducing) uptake of metals, particularly copper and / or zinc, by renewable fuel components / compositions. In particular, the renewable fuel component / composition can include a tallow ester.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Biodiesel is the name for a variety of ester-based oxygenated fuels made from vegetable oils, fats, greases, or other sources of triglycerides. Biodiesel is a nontoxic and biodegradable blendstock which may be blended with petroleum diesel provided relevant specifications are met. Biodiesel has been designated as an alternative fuel by the United States Department of Energy and the United States Department of Transportation, and is registered with the United States Environmental Protection Age...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): C10L1/19
CPCC10L1/19C10L2290/24C10L1/026C10L2200/0476C10L2230/14C10L2300/20C10L2270/026C10L2230/085C10G2300/301Y02E50/10
Inventor WELLS, PAUL P.WRIGLEY, KRYSTAL B.
Owner EXXON RES & ENG CO