Effect of Diesel Fuel Quality and Additives on Engine Performance - An Update

The trend towards higher proportions of cracked components and heavier streams in the production of middle distillates to meet the growing market demand for transportation fuels, is having a significant effect on the fuel quality. This has become an issue among engine manufacturers and government organizations concerned with vehicle performance, fuel economy and emissions. Additive technology is being used to help upgrade fuel quality in the areas of low temperature operability, oxidation stability and combustion to assure satisfactory performance of diesel fuels while allowing refiners to optimize production.

This technical paper reviews the challenges in the automotive diesel area concentrating in ignition quality, emissions and fuel economy. The combustion benefits of higher cetane number and cleanliness characteristics of diesel fuels to prevent injector coking have been demonstrated with the use of Performance fuel additives.