Performance of lignin derived compounds as octane boosters

Miao Tian (1) , Robert L Mccormick (2) , Matthew A Ratcliff (2) , Jon Luecke (2) , Janet Yanowitz , Pierre-Alexandre Glaude (3) , Michel Cuijpers (1) , Michael D Boot (1)

1 TU/e - Eindhoven University of Technology [Eindhoven]
2 NREL - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
3 LRGP - Laboratoire Réactions et Génie des Procédés

The performance of spark ignition engines is highly dependent on fuel anti-knock quality, which in turn is governed by autoignition chemistry. In this study, we explore this chemistry for various aromatic oxygenates (i.e., anisole, 4-methyl anisole, 4-propyl anisole, guaiacol, 4-methyl guaiacol, 4-ethyl guaiacol) that can be produced from lignin, a low value residual biomass stream that is generated in paper pulping and cellulosic ethanol plants. All compounds share the same ben-zene ring, but have distinct oxygen functionalities and degrees of alkylation. The objective of this study is to ascertain what the impact is of said side groups on anti-knock quality and, by proxy, on fuel economy in a modern Volvo T5 spark ignition engine. To better comprehend the variation in behavior amongst the fuels, further experiments have been conducted in a constant volume autoignition device. The results demonstrate that alkylation has a negligible impact on anti-knock quality , while the addition of functional oxygen groups manifests as a deterioration in anti-knock quality.

Mots clés: octane boosters; Lignin; knock; constant volume autoignition; anisole; guaiacol

Domaines: Milieux fluides et réactifs

Miao Tian, Robert L Mccormick, Matthew A Ratcliff, Jon Luecke, Janet Yanowitz, et al.. Performance of lignin derived compounds as octane boosters. Fuel, 2017, 189, pp.284-292. ⟨10.1016/j.fuel.2016.10.084⟩. ⟨hal-02138968⟩