Revealing the aging mechanisms of solketal, oxymethylene ether, and mixtures thereof as promising e-fuels

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Anne Lichtinger
  • Maximilian J. Poller
  • Olaf Schröder
  • Julian Türck
  • Thomas Garbe
  • Jürgen Krahl
  • Markus Jakob
  • Jakob Albert

Solketal and oxymethylene ether (OME) are two promising blending candidates for regenerative fuels (e-fuels), which could contribute to a holistic solution to the energy crisis. In this study the thermo-oxidative aging of these two e-fuels in their pure form as well as in binary mixtures with different ratios (3:1, 1:1, and 1:3) (vol%) is investigated. Herein, the reaction networks of the thermo-oxidative aging process of both e-fuels and mixtures thereof is elucidated based on intermediates and decomposition products determined via GC–MS. Furthermore, changes of important fuel-specific parameters like kinematic viscosity and density as well as total acid number during aging have been determined. The 3:1 solketal:OME (vol%) mixture exhibits a higher stability to thermo-oxidative aging than the pure fuel components or mixtures with other ratios. The viscosity value of this mixture is within the DIN EN 590 norm after accelerated aging of 72 h (viscosity (72 h) = 4.25 mm2/s)) unlike other blends. The maximum value of the total acid number of this aged mixture reaches only ∼ 29 % of the maximum value of aged pure OME and has the lowest value of all mixtures. Furthermore, the formation of a precipitate could be successfully suppressed in the 3:1 solketal:OME (vol%) mixture different from other mixtures. With these findings, this study contributes to the design of new sustainable fuels for the transport sector.

Original languageEnglish
Article number134738
JournalFuel
Volume390
Number of pages13
ISSN0016-2361
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15.06.2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Authors

    Research areas

  • Aging mechanism, E-fuels, Fuel mixtures, OME, Solketal
  • Engineering