Influence of certain oxygen-containing compounds on protective properties of diesel fuels

Abstract

The reported experiments were concerned with the problem of improving the protective properties of diesel fuels. It has been established that the addition of surface-active substances to diesel fuels gives considerable improvement in protective properties. This paper presents results from a study of the protective efficiency of various oxygen-containing functional groups, with the aim of drawing up recommendations for the development of protective additives. The selection of oxygen-containing compounds as the class to be investigated was based on the low corrosivity of these materials in comparison with sulfur-containing compounds, together with the relatively high polarity of these compounds. A total of 14 different compounds were tested--alcohols, ketones, lactones, acids, and esters--all with purities of 99.9% as determined by GLC. All these compounds were tested at a concentration of 1% in n-decane, with the aim of determining the feasibility of comparing the test results with the results from analyses of mixtures of IR spectroscopy. Experimental data are presented and evaluated. It is demonstrated that the addition of oxygen-containing compounds that are capable of retarding electrochemical corrosion processes in a hydrocarbon/water/metal system and of being adsorbed on the metal through electron-donor interaction improves the protective properties of such a medium quite considerably. Particular attention is given to the water-insoluble carboxyl compounds which should be investigated as a component in the development of effective protective additives for fuels.