TY - JOUR
T1 - Comprehensive analysis of the physicochemical properties of butylal and butylal blends as a potential diesel fuel
AU - Babel, Josephine
AU - Thuneke, Klaus
AU - Winklbauer, Lukas
AU - Remmele, Edgar
AU - Burger, Jakob
AU - Emberger, Peter
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s)
PY - 2025/9/1
Y1 - 2025/9/1
N2 - Among the renewable alternatives for fossil diesel fuel (DF) that are currently considered, Poly(oxymethylene) ethers are promising candidates due to their good ignition behaviour and soot-reducing properties. In this study, fuel-related properties of butylal (poly(oxymethylene) dibutyl ether or OMBE1) and blends of butylal with fossil diesel fuel of European and American quality and, for the first time, paraffinic DF from hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) are measured and investigated to evaluate possible blending rates. The researched fuel properties are indicated cetane number, oxidation stability, lubricity, flash point, calorific value and water content. Novel data on the ignition behaviour and viscosity and density at low temperatures is presented. Furthermore, the effect of a lubricity and an oxidation stability improver on butylal was tested to improve fuel properties. Pure butylal does not fulfil the requirements of the fuel standards EN 590, ASTM D945a, EN 15940, and DIN TS 51699, which implies that it is not compatible with the existing engine technology. Blending butylal improves the cetane number of the fossil diesel fuels but not the already good cetane number of HVO. Disadvantageous fuel properties are a low calorific value and the hygroscopic properties of butylal. The poor lubricating properties and the oxidation stability can be improved with the additives tested. The results show that butylal can be promising to be used as a low climate intensity blend component to diesel fuels with mass fractions of up to 0.3 g/g, depending on the base fuel.
AB - Among the renewable alternatives for fossil diesel fuel (DF) that are currently considered, Poly(oxymethylene) ethers are promising candidates due to their good ignition behaviour and soot-reducing properties. In this study, fuel-related properties of butylal (poly(oxymethylene) dibutyl ether or OMBE1) and blends of butylal with fossil diesel fuel of European and American quality and, for the first time, paraffinic DF from hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) are measured and investigated to evaluate possible blending rates. The researched fuel properties are indicated cetane number, oxidation stability, lubricity, flash point, calorific value and water content. Novel data on the ignition behaviour and viscosity and density at low temperatures is presented. Furthermore, the effect of a lubricity and an oxidation stability improver on butylal was tested to improve fuel properties. Pure butylal does not fulfil the requirements of the fuel standards EN 590, ASTM D945a, EN 15940, and DIN TS 51699, which implies that it is not compatible with the existing engine technology. Blending butylal improves the cetane number of the fossil diesel fuels but not the already good cetane number of HVO. Disadvantageous fuel properties are a low calorific value and the hygroscopic properties of butylal. The poor lubricating properties and the oxidation stability can be improved with the additives tested. The results show that butylal can be promising to be used as a low climate intensity blend component to diesel fuels with mass fractions of up to 0.3 g/g, depending on the base fuel.
KW - Butylal
KW - Diesel blend
KW - Poly(oxymethylene) dibutyl ether
KW - Renewable fuel
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105001241496&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.fuel.2025.135077
DO - 10.1016/j.fuel.2025.135077
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105001241496
SN - 0016-2361
VL - 395
JO - Fuel
JF - Fuel
M1 - 135077
ER -
