Acid-free quaternized nitrogen compounds and use thereof as additives in fuels and lubricants

Abstract

The present invention relates to novel acid-free quaternized nitrogen compounds, to the preparation thereof and to the use thereof as a fuel and lubricant additive, more particularly as a detergent additive, as a wax antisettling additive (WASA) or as an additive for reducing internal diesel injector deposits (IDID); to additive packages which comprise these compounds; and to fuels and lubricants thus additized. The present invention further relates to the use of these acid-free quaternized nitrogen compounds as a fuel additive for reducing or preventing deposits in the injection systems of direct-injection diesel engines, especially in common-rail injection systems, for reducing the fuel consumption of direct-injection diesel engines, especially of diesel engines with common-rail injection systems, and for minimizing power loss in direct-injection diesel engines, especially in diesel engines with common-rail injection systems.

Description

[0001]The present invention relates to novel acid-free quaternized nitrogen compounds, to the preparation thereof and to the use thereof as a fuel and lubricant additive, more particularly as a detergent additive, as a wax antisettling additive (WASA) or as an additive for reducing internal diesel injector deposits (IDID); to additive packages which comprise these compounds; and to fuels and lubricants thus additized. The present invention further relates to the use of these acid-free quaternized nitrogen compounds as a fuel additive for reducing or preventing deposits in the injection systems of direct-injection diesel engines, especially in common-rail injection systems, for reducing the fuel consumption of direct-injection diesel engines, especially of diesel engines with common-rail injection systems, and for minimizing power loss in direct-injection diesel engines, especially in diesel engines with common-rail injection systems.STATE OF THE ART [0002]In direct-injection diesel ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0247]The inventive additive is outstandingly suitable as a fuel additive and can be used in principle in any fuels. It brings about a whole series of advantageous effects in the operation of internal combustion engines with fuels. Preference is given to using the inventive quaternized additive in middle distillate fuels, especially diesel fuels.

Problems solved by technology

Moreover, these engines achieve a very high torque even at low speeds.

In modern common-rail diesel engines, under particular conditions, for example when biodiesel-containing fuels or fuels with metal impurities such as zinc compounds, copper compounds, lead compounds and other metal compounds are used, deposits can form on the injector orifices, which adversely affect the injection performance of the fuel and hence impair the performance of the engine, i.e. especially reduce the power, but in some cases also worsen the combustion.

Following the technical teaching of WO 2006 / 135881, the presence of the stoichiometric amounts of acid, which is additionally absolutely necessary to balance the charge for the quaternized imide detergent therein, is found to be particularly disadvantageous.

In order to reduce the acid content of the imide therein, or in order to entirely remove acid, additional process measures would be required, which would make the preparation of the product more complex and hence would make it much more expensive.

On the other hand, however, it is known that acids can cause corrosion problems in fuel additives (cf., for example, Sugiyama et al; SAE International, Technical Paper, Product Code: 2007-01-2027, Date Published: Jul. 23, 2007).

The epoxide-quaternized additive provided according to WO 2006 / 135881 is therefore afflicted with significant application risks a priori owing to the considerable corrosion risk which exists.

Furthermore, the product has distinct disadvantages with regard to motor oil compatibility and low-temperature properties.

In the injection systems of modern diesel engines, deposits cause significant performance problems.

It is common knowledge that such deposits in the spray channels can lead to a decrease in the fuel flow and hence to power loss.

Deposits at the injector tip, in contrast, impair the optimal formation of fuel spray mist and, as a result, cause worsened combustion and associated higher emissions and increased fuel consumption.

In contrast to these conventional “external” deposition phenomena, “internal” deposits (referred to collectively as internal diesel injector deposits (IDID)) in particular parts of the injectors, such as at the nozzle needle, at the control piston, at the valve piston, at the valve seat, in the control unit and in the guides of these components, also increasingly cause performance problems.

Conventional additives exhibit inadequate action against these IDIDs.

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