Lubricity of biobased diesel fuels and additives

Authors: Dunn, Robert; Ngo, Helen; Knothe, Gerhard

Submitted to: International Symposium on Surfactants in Solution
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/27/2018
Publication Date: 6/3/2018
Citation: Dunn, R.O., Lew, H.N., Knothe, G.H. 2018. Lubricity of biobased diesel fuels and additives [abstract]. International Symposium on Surfactants in Solution. p.18.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Modern diesel engines rely on the fuel itself to lubricate moving parts in the fuel and engine systems. Prior to the late 1990s, diesel fuel from petroleum provided sufficient lubricity to effectively reduce wear in injectors and fuel pumps. Increasingly stringent limitations on the sulfur content of petroleum diesel raised concerns in the United States, Europe and elsewhere for degradation of the lubricity of the fuels. The hydrodesulfurization process used by petroleum refiners to remove sulfur also removed valuable heteroatoms, such as nitrogen and oxygen that imparted the lubricity properties to the fuels. It is known that blending biodiesel at low levels can restore the lubricity of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel. The amphiphilic nature of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) gives them better lubricity characteristics than hydrocarbons. This work examines the effects of different fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) species and contaminants found in biodiesel on the lubricity of ULSD. The lubricity characteristics of skeletally branched-chain-FAME are also evaluated. The branched-chain-FAME additives have good cold flow and oxidative stability properties that make them attractive as diesel or biodiesel fuel additives.