United States Patent (19) 11 Patent Number: 4,536,190 Seemuth (45) Date of Patent: Aug. 20, 1985 54 CETANE IMPROVER COMPOSITION 535401 4/1941 United Kingdom .................... 44/57 993623 6/1965 United Kingdom .................... 44/57 (75) Inventor: Paul D. Seemuth, Baton Rouge, La. 1196167 6/1970 United Kingdom . 73) Assignee: Ethyl Corporation, Richmond, Va. Primary Examiner-Y. Harris-Smith 21 Appl. No.: 596,043 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Donald L. Johnson; John F. 22 Filed: Apr. 2, 1984 Sieberth; W. G. Montgomery 51 Int. Cl. ........................... C10L 1/08; C10L 1/22 57 ABSTRACT 52 U.S.C. ........................................................ 44/57 Compounds that are themselves effective cetane im 58) Field of Search ..................... 44/57; 260/466, 467 provers in diesel fuel but are considered too explosion (56) References Cited sensitive for safe handling can be rendered relatively nonsensitive by blending with nitric acid esters of bicy U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS clic or tricyclic alcohols containing a four-membered or 2,031,497 2/1936 Marvel .................................... 44/57 five-membered ring and the resulting blend is an effec 2,065,588 12/1936 Howes .................................... 44/57 2,294,849 9/1942 Olin et al. ...... 260/467 tive cetane improver. An example is a 50-50 blend of 2,858,200 10/1958 Broughten .............................. 44/57 2-methyl-2-nitropropyl nitrate, a shock-sensitive com 4,417,903 11/1983 Hinkamp ............ ... 44/53 pound, with 5,6-cyclopenteno-2-norbornyl nitrate to give a relatively insensitive, but very effective cetane 4,448,587 5/1984 Hinkamp et al. .......... ses a re--- 44/57 improver. FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 479969 2/1938 United Kingdom .................... 44/57 11 Claims, No Drawings 4,536,190 1 2 a five-membered ring in an amount sufficient to increase CETANE IMPROVER COMPOSITION the ASTM D-2540 rating of the mixture to a value of at least 40 Kg centimeters (cms). BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Explosive sensitivity is measured using the ASTM Diesel engines operate by compression ignition. They D-2540. This method is substantially the same as the have compression ratios in the range of 14:1 to 17:1 or Olin Matheson Drop Weight Test. It is routinely used higher and for that reason obtain more useful work from a given amount of fuel compared to a spark to rate explosion sensitivity of liquid rocket mono-pro ignited engine. Historically, diesel engines have been pellants. In this test, the test sample is placed in a small operated on a petroleum-derived liquid hydrocarbon 10 cavity formed by a steel cup. In the cup is placed an fuel boiling in the range of about 300-750 F. Recently, elastic ring and a steel diaphram on top of the elastic because of dwindling petroleum reserves, alcohol and ring. A piston rests on the diaphram. The piston has a alcohol-hydrocarbon blends have been studied for use vent hole which is blocked by the steel diaphram. A as diesel fuel. weight is dropped on the piston. Explosion is indicated One major factor in diesel fuel quality is cetane num 15 by puncture of the diaphram and a loud report. The ber. Cetane number is related to ignition delay after the sensitivity is the energy required to cause an explosion fuel is injected into the combustion chamber. If ignition fifty percent of the time. This energy is the product of delay is too long, the amount of fuel in the chamber increases and upon ignition results in a rough running the drop weight and height of drop and is expressed as engine and increased smoke. A short ignition delay 20 Kilogram centimeters (Kg cms). The lower this value results in smooth engine operation and decreases smoke. is, the more explosion sensitive the test additive. A Commercial petroleum diesel fuels generally have a typical value for sensitive compounds such as nitroglyc cetane number of about 40-55. Alcohols have a much erin, ethyl nitrate and diethylene glycol dinitrate is 2 lower cetane value and require the addition of a cetane Kg-cms. Normal propyl nitrate rates about 15.5 Kg-cm. improver for successful engine operation. 25 Component (a) of the mixture will have a 50% explo Through the years, many types of additives have sion ASTM D-2540 rating of less than 20 Kg cm and been prepared to raise the cetane number of diesel fuel. also have a cetane improving effectiveness which is These include peroxides, nitrites, nitrates, nitrocarba greater than that of an alkyl nitrate containing 5-12 mates, and the like. Alkyl nitrates such as amyl nitrate, hexyl nitrate and mixed octyl nitrates have been used 30 carbon atoms. Thus, whether a compound qualifies as a commercially with good results. Likewise, certain cy component (a) additive is readily determined by con clohexyl nitrates and alkoxyalkyl nitrates have been ducting an ASTM D-2540 Drop Weight Test and mea suggested as cetane improvers for diesel fuel (Olin et al., suring its cetane improving effectiveness on a weight U.S. Pat. No. 2,294,849). basis using a standard cetane engine compared to amyl Unfortunately some compounds that are very effec 35 nitrate, hexyl nitrates, heptyl nitrates, octyl nitrates, tive cetane improvers are also fairly sensitive explo decyl nitrates or dodecyl nitrates. sives. Because of this they have not found commercial Representative explosion sensitive compounds in acceptance. Attempts have been made to desensitize clude the C1-3 alkyl nitrates such as methyl nitrate, ethyl some of these explosive compounds by blending with nitrate, n-propyl nitrate and isopropyl nitrate. inert solvents. However, such blends are much less 40 effective than the original compound and would require Organic polynitrates containing about 2-6 carbon shipping and storing large amounts of cetane improver atoms and 2-6 nitrate groups are useful such as glycol additive to provide the required cetane boost. dinitrate, nitroglycerine, mannitol tetranitrate, trimeth U.S. Ser. No. 479,508, entitled "Desensitized Cetane ylolpropane trinitrate, pentaerythritol tetranitrate, Improvers', filed Mar. 28, 1983, discloses that normally 45 propylene glycol dinitrate, 1,4-butanediol dinitrate, and explosion sensitive cetane improvers can be desensitized the like. by blending with C5-C12 alkyl nitrates to provide a Many ether nitrates are sensitive explosives such as blend of cetane improvers that is both safe and effective. diethylene-glycol dinitrate, triethyleneglycol, dinitrate, SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION tetraethyleneglycol dinitrate, tetrahydro-3-furanol ni 50 trate, 2-ethoxyethyl nitrate, 2-methoxyethyl nitrate, It has now been discovered that normally explosion tetrahydro-3,4-furandiol dinitrate and the like. sensitive cetane improvers can be desensitized by blend Of the foregoing, the more preferred ether nitrates ing with nitric acid esters of bicyclic or tricyclic alco are those having the formula hols containing four-membered or five-membered rings to provide a blend of cetane improvers that is both a 55 safe and effective cetane additive. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED Ot EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the invention is a desensi 60 tized cetane improver for use in diesel fuel, said cetane improver comprising a mixture of (a) at least one com wherein R1 is a C1-4 alkyl, R2 and R3 are C2-4 divalent pound having a 50% explosion Drop Weight Rating of aliphatic hydrocarbon radicals and n is an integer from less than 20 Kg centimeters (cms) as measured by 1 to 4 and m is an integer from 2 to 4. ASTM Method D-2540 and being capable of giving a 65 Organic nitro-nitrate compounds containing about greater cetane increase than an equal amount of any Cs 3-6 carbon atoms are likewise very effective cetane to C12 alkyl nitrate, and (b) a nitric acid ester of a bicy improving compounds that are also sensitive to explo clic or tricyclic alcohol containing a four-membered or sion. These include compounds having the formula 4,536,190 3 4. -continued (NO2) Component A Component B R 50% tetrahydro-3-furanol nitrate 50% 5,6-cyclopenteno N 3-norbornyi nitrate (ONO2) 5 30% 2-nitro-2-methylpropyl nitrate 70% 5,6-cyclopenteno 3-norbornyl nitrate in which R is an aliphatic hydrocarbon group contain 35%. 2,2-dinitrobutyl nitrate 65% 5,6-cyclopenteno 3-norbornyl nitrate ing 3-6 carbon atoms and p and q are integers indepen 30% ethylene glycol dinitrate 70% 5,6-cyclopenteno dently selected from 1 and 2. 10 3-norbornyl nitrate Representative examples of these compounds are 50% diethylene glycol dinitrate 50% 5,6-cyclopenteno 2,2-dinitro-propanol nitrate, 2-methyl-2-nitropropyl 3-norbornyl nitrate 10% 2-methoxyethyl nitrate 90% 5,6-cyclopenteno nitrate, 2-ethyl-2-nitro-1,3-propanediol dinitrate, 2 3-norbornyl nitrate methyl-2-nitro-1,3-propanediol dinitrate, 2,2-dinitro 40% 2-ethoxyethyl nitrate 60% 5,6-cyclopenteno 1,6-hexanediol dinitrate, 2,2-dinitrobutanol nitrate and 3-norbornyl nitrate the like. 15 60%. 2-butoxyethyl nitrate 40% 5,6-cyclopenteno 3-norbornyl nitrate Component (b) in the mixture is a nitric acid ester of 10% nitroglycerine 90% 5,6-cyclopenteno a bicyclic or tricyclic alcohol containing a four-mem 3-norbornyl nitrate bered or five-membered ring such as norbornyl nitrate, 15% trimethylol propane trinitrate 85% 5,6-cyclopenteno isobornyl nitrate, pinene nitrate, 5,6-cyclopenteno-2- 3-norbornyl nitrate 20 50% tetrahydro-3-furanol nitrate 50% 5,6-cyclopenteno norbornyl nitrate, 5,6-cyclopenteno-3-norbornyl nitrate 3-norbornyl nitrate and 5,6-cyclopentano-2-norbornyl nitrate. Most prefer 30% 2-nitro-2-methylpropyi nitrate 70% 5,6-cyclopenteno ably component (b) is 5,6-cyclopenteno-2-norbornyl 3-norbornyl nitrate nitrate. These compounds and methods for their prepa 35% 2,2-dinitrobutyl nitrate 65% 5,6-cyclopenteno ration are disclosed in British 1,196,167 incorporated 3-norbornyl nitrate 25 30% ethylene glycol dinitrate 70% norbornyl nitrate herein by reference.