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US-20260125608-A1 - FUEL COMPOSITION WITH A LOW IMPACT ON CO2 EMISSIONS, AND USE THEREOF IN PARTICULAR IN NEW VEHICLES

US20260125608A1US 20260125608 A1US20260125608 A1US 20260125608A1US-20260125608-A1

Abstract

One object of the present invention is a fuel composition comprising: (i) from 85 to 98% by weight of a mixture of hydrocarbons comprising: a) from 8 to 40% by weight of aromatic compounds; b) from 50 to 90% by weight of non-cyclic paraffins containing at least 4 carbon atoms; and c) from 2 to 15% by weight of naphthenes; and (ii) from 2 to 15% by weight of ethanol, this composition having a density at 15° C., measured according to standard EN ISO 12185, in the range from 720 to 745 kg/m 3 . This composition is useful for powering a spark-ignition engine, and especially as a so-called “first fill fuel” for vehicles equipped with new engines.

Inventors

  • Lisa SERVE

Assignees

  • TOTALENERGIES ONETECH

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20230512
Priority Date
20220512

Claims (16)

  1. 1 . A fuel composition comprising: (i) from 85 to 98% by weight of a mixture of hydrocarbons comprising: a) from 8 to 40% by weight of aromatic compounds; b) from 50 to 90% by weight of non-cyclic paraffins containing at least 4 carbon atoms; and c) from 2 to 15% by weight of naphthenes; and (ii) from 2 to 15% by weight of ethanol, this composition having a density at 15° C., measured according to standard EN ISO 12185, in the range from 720 to 745 kg/m 3 .
  2. 2 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the mixture of hydrocarbons (i) represents from 88 to 95% by weight, relative to the total mass of the fuel composition.
  3. 3 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the aromatic compounds (i)a) are selected from alkyl benzenes comprising from 7 to 12 carbon atoms.
  4. 4 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the content of aromatic compounds (i)a) is from 10 to 30% by weight, relative to the mass of the mixture of hydrocarbons (i).
  5. 5 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the non-cyclic paraffins (i)b) consist of a mixture of n-paraffins and iso-paraffins with a mass ratio of the amount of iso-paraffins to the amount of n-paraffins greater than or equal to 6.
  6. 6 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the mass ratio of the amount of isoparaffins to the amount of n-paraffins is from 8 to 20.
  7. 7 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the content of paraffins (i)b) is from 60 to 90% by weight, relative to the mass of the mixture of hydrocarbons (i).
  8. 8 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the naphthenes (i)c) are selected from cyclic alkanes containing from 5 to 12 carbon atoms.
  9. 9 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the content of naphthenes (i)c) is from 2 to 10% by weight, relative to the mass of the mixture of hydrocarbons (i).
  10. 10 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the composition ethanol content is from 5 to 12% by weight, relative to the total mass of the fuel composition.
  11. 11 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the composition comprises at most 2% by weight of olefins, relative to the total mass of the fuel composition.
  12. 12 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the composition benzene content is less than or equal to 0.1% by weight, relative to the total mass of the fuel composition.
  13. 13 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the mixture of hydrocarbons (i) is derived from at least 20% by weight from the processing of plant raw materials.
  14. 14 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the composition is in contact with a spark ignition engine.
  15. 15 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the composition is a first fill fuel in a vehicle comprising a new engine.
  16. 16 . The composition according to claim 1 wherein the composition has a decrease in equivalent carbon dioxide emissions compared to an equivalent fuel composition of petroleum origin comprising 89.58% by weight of fossil hydrocarbons and 10.42% by weight of bioethanol, measured by life cycle analysis in accordance with standard ISO 14040-44.

Description

One object of the present invention is a fuel composition for vehicles including a spark-ignition engine (or gasoline engine), which has particular properties. Another object of the invention is the use of such a composition for powering a spark-ignition engine, both in a conventional, especially automotive, vehicle and in a racing vehicle. The invention is more particularly directed to the use of this composition as a first fuel in a new engine. Gasoline-type fuels marketed in Europe for use in spark-ignition engines, especially those used in automotive vehicles, have to meet the specifications of standard EN 228, which defines a number of criteria, such as a Motor Octane Number (MON) greater than 85 and a Research Octane Number (RON) of at least 95. In a manner well known per se, the octane number measures the resistance to auto-ignition of a fuel used in a spark-ignition engine. These fuels are suitable for the majority of automotive engines. However, special requirements apply when the gasoline fuel is a so-called “first fill fuel”, i.e. a fuel for powering a new engine, such as typically an engine equipping a new vehicle. A new engine designates an engine that has not yet been used after manufacture. In particular, at the end of automotive vehicle assembly lines, tanks in new vehicles are filled in whole or in part with a first fill fuel, which corresponds to the very first fuel which powers the engine at the time of the vehicle entry into service. These first fill fuels have to meet very specific technical requirements. A first set of requirements is imposed by the many starts and stops of vehicles without the vehicle rolling off the assembly line, and which should be carried out without generating any engine fouling. Under these conditions, first fill fuels have to protect new engines, guaranteeing their cleanliness and proper working until the vehicle is delivered to the first customer. Furthermore, after they have been manufactured, automotive vehicles are often stored and shipped around the world before their first entry into service. The first fill fuel is thus stored for long periods, often several months, in the vehicle before being consumed by the end user of the vehicle. The first fill fuel should therefore have excellent long-term storage stability, especially oxidation stability. Additionally, the vehicle is often put into service in a marketing location very far away from its place of manufacture: this may be on different continents, with fundamentally different weather conditions. However, starting the vehicle by the end user should pose no difficulty. For this, the first fill fuel should enable the vehicle to start immediately and run smoothly regardless of its marketing location, both in hot regions and in very cold countries. Finally, as the engines are started and stopped several times on assembly lines right up to their final sale, operators working on assembly lines are particularly exposed to emissions generated by the combustion of fuel. For this reason, it is also important that the first fill fuel has a high level of safety. In particular, health, safety and environmental restrictions imposed by some auto manufacturers can be stringent in order to avoid any toxicity of the fuel for operators who have to handle it on a regular basis. Thus, first fill fuels are subject to much higher technical, logistical and environmental requirements than conventional fuels sold at service stations. Additionally, for all vehicles, especially those intended for consumer applications, there is a growing trend towards the use of fuels formulated from plant-based bases, and especially so-called “bio-sourced” bases, in order to meet environmental concerns and limit the use of fossil resources. Thus, current environmental concerns are driving consumers to search for more environmentally-friendly fuels. However, the use of fuel compositions from biosourced bases must not be to the detriment of fuel performance. There is therefore a need to develop new fuel compositions for powering spark-ignition engines that meet the requirements of modern vehicles, while being formulated from bases and/or compounds of renewable origin, also referred to as biosourced compounds. There is also a need to formulate fuels that meet the specific requirements of first fill fuels, which can also be formulated from biosourced bases. As is well known in prior art, octane improver additives (or octane boosters) are typically added to gasoline-type fuel compositions. Organometallic compounds in particular comprising iron, lead or manganese are well known octane improvers. Thus, tetraethyl lead (TEL) has been widely used as a highly effective octane improver. However, in most parts of the world, TEL and other organometallic compounds can now only be used in fuel in very small quantities, if at all, because they can be toxic, damage the engine and are harmful to the environment. Non-metal based octane improvers comprise oxygen comp