Properties and Performance of Levulinate Esters as Diesel Blend Components

The properties of ethyl (EL) and n-butyl levulinate (BL), two potential cellulose-derived diesel blend components, were assessed as both neat oxygenates and blends with diesel fuel. The samples tested were produced commercially from cellulose and alcohols but were not reagent-grade samples. They were relatively free of impurities, although EL contained some acidic compounds and both contained parts-per-million levels of calcium. Both esters exhibited a very low cetane number. The melting points of both esters were less than −60 °C. The water solubility of EL was 15.2 wt %, while that of BL was only 1.3 wt %. Blends of diesel fuel with EL were found to have an elevated cloud point, despite the extremely low melting point of this compound, because EL separates from diesel fuel as a separate liquid phase at low temperatures. This can be mitigated to some extent by including biodiesel in the blend. BL remained in solution and raised the diesel cloud point only when blended into −45 °C cloud point/15% aromatic...