Diesel fuel additives and diesel fuels containing soluble platinum group metal compounds and use in diesel engines

• US 4,892,562 A
• Filed: 08/19/1986
• Issued: 01/09/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Platinum Plus, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Fuel Tech Incorporated
• Inventors: Sprague, Barry N., Bowers, Wayne E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dixon, Jr., William R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Medley, Margaret B.
• Application Number:
  US06/897,864
• Time in Patent Office: 1,239 Days
• Field of Search: 44/57, 44/67, 44/68, 44/56, 260/429 R, 556/136
• US Class Current: 44/324
• CPC Class Codes: C07F 15/0086 Platinum compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/14 Organic compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/1608 Well defined compounds, e.g. hexane, benzene
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/1814 Chelates
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/1824 mono-hydroxy
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/1852 Ethers; Acetals; Ketals; Orthoesters
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/1855 Cyclic ethers, e.g. epoxides, lactides, lactones
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/1857 Aldehydes; Ketones
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/231 nitro compounds; nitrates; nitrites C10L1/221 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/301 derived from metals
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/305 organo-metallic compounds (containing a metal to carbon bond)
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 10/02 for reducing smoke development
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 3/003 Additives for gaseous fuels
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 3/06 with compression ignition compression ignition engines using air or gas for blowing fuel into compressed air in cylinder F02B13/02

Abstract

The invention provides diesel fuel additive compositions comprising solutions of diesel fuel-soluble platinum group metal compounds in solvents miscible in the fuel, the platinum group metal complex being present in an amount sufficient to supply from 0.01 to 1.0 parts per million of the platinum group metal when added to a predetermined amount of fuel. Fuel compositions and methods employing them are also provided.

Claims

1. A method of reducing emissions from or increasing the utilizable energy of diesel fuel for powering internal combustion engines, comprising admixing with diesel fuel a fuel soluble organo-metallic fuel additive composition in an amount effective to supply from 0.01 to 1.0 parts per million of platinum per part of fuel, said composition comprising a compound having the general formula

View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

2. The method of claim 1 wherein X is a dipyridyl or cyclooctadienyl ligand.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein R₁ and R₂ are both methyl, phenyl or benzyl.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said fuel additive composition further comprises a fuel-soluble solvent for said platinum compound.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said platinum and said solvent are present in amounts sufficient to supply oxygen and metal at a weight ratio of from 1,000:

1 to 100,000;

1.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said solvent is octyl nitrate and is employed at a level of from 0.25 to about 5 percent by weight of the fuel.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said octyl nitrate is employed at a level up to about 1 percent of said composition and said platinum is present at a level of from 0.05 to 0.5 parts per million parts fuel.

8. The method of claim 4 wherein said solvent comprises octyl nitrate, ethanol, tetrahydrofuran, methyl tertiary butyl ether, or combinations of these.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein R₁ and R₂ each comprise benzyl and said solvent comprises octyl nitrate.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein R₁ and R₂ each comprise nitrobenzyl and said solvent comprises octyl nitrate.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein said solvent comprises octyl nitrate.

12. A method of increasing the utilizable energy of diesel fuel for powering internal combustion engines, comprising admixing with diesel fuel a fuel soluble organo-metallic fuel additive composition in an amount effective to supply from 0.01 to 1.0 parts per million of platinum group metal per part of fuel, said composition comprising compounds selected from the group consisting of 2,2'"'"'- bis (N, N-dialkylamino) 1,1'"'"'-diphenyl metals of the general formula ##STR5## wherein M is platinum, palladium, rhodium or iridium;

R₁ -R₄ are, independently, alkyl having from 1-10 carbons; and

n is an integer from 1-5;

tetrakis (alkoxy carbonyl) metal cycloalkenes of the general formula

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">R.sub.2 MC.sub.4 (COOR.sub.1).sub.4

wherein M is platinum, palladium, rhodium or iridium;

R₁ is alkyl having from 1-5 carbons; and

R₂ is cycloalkene having from 5-8 carbons and from 2-4 unsaturations in the ring structure;

bis(cyclopentadiene) acetylene dipalladium compounds of the general formula

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">(φ

C Cφ

)(C.sub.5 φ

.sub.5).sub.2 Pd.sub.2

wherein φ

is phenyl;

dialkyl dipyridyl metals of the formula

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">R.sub.1 R.sub.2 M(C.sub.10 H.sub.8 N.sub.2)

wherein R₁ and R₂ are alkyl having from 1-10 carbons; and

M is platinum, palladium, rhodium or iridium; and

bis (π

-allyl) metals of the general formula

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">(R-C.sub.3 H.sub.4).sub.2 M

wherein M is platinum, palladium, iridium and rhodium; and

R is hydrogen, aryl or alkyl having from 1-10 carbons.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said compound is selected from the group consisting of 2,2'"'"'-bis (N,N-dimethylamino) 1,1'"'"'-diphenyl palladium;

tetrakis (methoxy carbonyl) palladia cyclopentadiene;

μ

-diphenyl acetylene bis (η

⁵ -pentaphenyl cyclopentadiene) dipalladium; and

bis (phenyl allyl) palladium.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein said fuel additive composition further comprises a fuel-soluble solvent for said metal compound.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said metal and said solvent are present in amounts sufficient to supply oxygen and metal at a weight ratio of from 1,000:

1 to 100,000;

1.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said solvent is octyl nitrate and is employed at a level of from 0.25 to about 5 percent of the weight of the fuel.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein said solvent comprises octyl nitrate, ethanol, tetrahydrofuran, methyl tertiary butyl ether, or combinations of these.

17. The method of claim wherein said octyl nitrate is employed at a level up to about 1 percent of said composition and said metal is present at a level of from 0.05 to 0.5 parts per million parts fuel.