Improvement of Performance Characteristics of Ethanol Motor Fuels Through Use of Additives Based on Nanoscale Carbon Clusters

Abstract

A new way to overcome the disadvantages of ethanol motor fuels by introducing of multifunctional additives based on carbon nanoscale clusters in their composition is given. It is shown that the modified nanoclusters contribute to the formation of supramolecular structure of ethanol fuels in the form of solvent domains around the nanoparticles. Orientation local ordering of these supramolecular structures changes such physicochemical properties of oxygenate fuels as dielectric constant and the load-bearing capacity of the liquid phase in the dynamic mechanical load. The influence of synthetic carbon spheroidal clusters on the corrosive properties of ethanol fuels is studied. It is shown that by using small amounts (0.01 % wt.) of nanocluster-based additives in the composition of mixed fuel E–85 it is unnecessary to introduce the anticorrosion additives. The effect of nanocarbon clusters on the tribological properties of ethanol motor fuels is studied. A decrease in damage of the metal surface for friction pairs of the fuel pumps is observed with the introduction of carboxylic nanoclusters into the ethanol fuel. This indicates the occurrence of friction processes in the hydrodynamic regime due to the increased bearing capacity of the fuel. It is shown that the introduction of additives based on carbon nanoscale clusters into the ethanol fuel allows to create a high-performance motor fuel with improved performance.

Use of Alcohol Additives for Ecological Gasoline Production

“…Attempts to use ethanol with hydrocarbons as automotive fuel were in the early XX century. and demonstrated at the International Exhibition in Paris [3,4]. Only in the 1970s, that idea was revived due to the catastrophic environmental degradation and oil crisis.…”

“…The production of blended ethanol gasolines and the study of their properties in Ukraine are carried out on the basis of the National Aviation University, National University «Lviv Polytechnic», Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry and Petrochemistry of NAS of Ukraine, National Transport University, Ukrainian Research Institute of Alcohol and Food Biotechnology [3].…”

“…It is necessary to produce 200 thousand tons per year of bioethanol with the need for raw materials (wheat, corn) in the amount of only 600 thousand tons, or slightly more than 1% of annual production of these crops to achieve 10% of the norm of bioethanol use. The need for grain can be halved when using molasses for production and this will raise the level of sugar beet production in Ukraine [1][2][3][4].…”