Oxymethylene Ethers: Evaluating the Optimum Fuel Composition from an Engine Standpoint with Respect to Emissions and Combustion Performance

Suitable commercial catalysts for the synthesis of oxymethylene dimethyl ethers

“…In a solution of MeOH and H 2 O, FA is bound in poly(oxymethylene) hemiformals (HO-(CH 2 O) n -CH 3 with n = 1-10, HF n ) following eqn (1) and (2) and poly(oxymethylene) glycols (HO-(CH 2 O) n -H with n = 1-10, MG n ) following eqn (3) and (4). These reactions are fast, even in absence of a catalyst.…”

“…One important sustainable energy carrier is methanol which can be used as a fuel directly or upgraded to other energy carriers and chemicals, such as oxymethylene dimethyl ethers (OME). Their structure H 3 C-O-(CH 2 O) n -CH 3 results in different physical and chemical properties depending on the chain length n. 4 Besides their promising properties as non-toxic solvents 5 and CO 2 absorbents, 6 OME show attractive fuel properties. Due to similar fuel properties to diesel fuel, good solubility with diesel fuel and beneficial combustion behavior, a mixture of OME with the chain lengths n = 3-5 is a promising alternative or additive to diesel fuel.…”

“…7,8 The high oxygen content and absence of C-C bonds enable quasi soot-free combustion, which can be utilized to reduce NOx emissions. 4 The structure of OME leads to a higher gravimetric density but reduced lower heating values (LHV) than diesel fuel leading to higher fuel consumption for the same driving distance. Due to the production of OME based on sustainably produced methanol, the carbon footprint of OME can be significantly reduced by up to 93% in comparison to diesel fuel.…”

Continuous Synthesis of Oxymethylene Ether Fuels from Dimethyl Ether in a Heterogeneously Catalyzed Liquid Phase Process

“…Especially OME with a chain length of n = 3–5 are an attractive option to substitute fossil diesel fuel due to their extensive compliance to current fuel standards 2, 3. A particularly interesting feature of OME for fuel applications is the absence of carbon‐carbon bonds in their molecular structure, resulting in a virtually soot‐free combustion 4–6. This allows to avoid the soot‐NO x trade‐off and therefore optimization of engine operation to minimize soot as well as NO x emissions 7–9.…”

Improved Energy Efficiency of Power‐to‐X Processes Using Heat Pumps Towards Mobility Sector Defossilization

“…This paper discusses the potential of one important PtX product, namely, oxymethylene ethers (OME), for the defossilization of the transport sector. Short-chain OME, especially OME 3-5 , have similar thermophysical properties to diesel fuel, and their chemical structure allows soot-free combustion in engines and can potentially reduce NO x emissions [17]. OME have the potential to be blended with fossil diesel fuel and synthetic diesel fuel or, to exploit the ecological potential fully, OME can be used as neat fuel in dedicated engines.…”