IMPROVEMENT OF PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF ETHANOL MOTOR FUELS THROUGH USE OF ADDITIVES BASED ON NANOSCALE CARBON CLUSTERS

Abstract

A new way to overcome the disadvantages of ethanol motor fuels by introducing of multifunctional additives based on carbon nanoscale clusters in their composition is given. It is shown that the modified nanoclusters contribute to the formation of supramolecular structure of ethanol fuels in the form of solvent domains around the nanoparticles. Orientation local ordering of these supramolecular structures changes such physicochemical properties of oxygenate fuels as dielectric constant and the load-bearing capacity of the liquid phase in the dynamic mechanical load. The influence of synthetic carbon spheroidal clusters on the corrosive properties of ethanol fuels is studied. It is shown that by using small amounts (0.01 % wt.) of nanocluster-based additives in the composition of mixed fuel E–85 it is unnecessary to introduce the anticorrosion additives. The effect of nanocarbon clusters on the tribological properties of ethanol motor fuels is studied. A decrease in damage of the metal surface for friction pairs of the fuel pumps is observed with the introduction of carboxylic nanoclusters into the ethanol fuel. This indicates the occurrence of friction processes in the hydrodynamic regime due to the increased bearing capacity of the fuel. It is shown that the introduction of additives based on carbon nanoscale clusters into the ethanol fuel allows to create a high-performance motor fuel with improved performance.