Synthesis of 1-Hexanol/Hexyl hexanoate Mixtures from Grape Pomace: Insights on Diesel Engine Performances at High Bio-Blendstock Loadings

Stefano Frigo (), Anna Maria Raspolli Galletti, Sara Fulignati, Domenico Licursi, Lorenzo Bertin, Gonzalo Agustin Martinez and Gianluca Pasini
Additional contact information
Stefano Frigo: Department of Energy, System, Territory and Construction Engineering (DESTEC), University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Anna Maria Raspolli Galletti: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 13, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Sara Fulignati: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 13, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Domenico Licursi: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 13, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Lorenzo Bertin: Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICASM), University of Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Gonzalo Agustin Martinez: Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICASM), University of Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Gianluca Pasini: Department of Energy, System, Territory and Construction Engineering (DESTEC), University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-17

Abstract: The production of oxygenated bio-additives for traditional fuels represents a key challenge due to their depletion in the near-future and their positive contribution to the reduction in environmental pollution. The present study considers the synthesis of 1-hexanol/hexyl hexanoate mixtures, two oxygenated Diesel bio-additives produced through the hydrogenation of hexanoic acid, obtainable from the fermentation of a wide variety of waste biomasses. In our case, crude hexanoic acid was produced through the fermentation of grape pomace, an abundant Italian agrifood waste. Commercial 5 wt% Re/γ-Al 2 O 3 was adopted for the catalytic hydrogenation of crude hexanoic acid, and the support acidity allowed the tuning of the reaction selectivity toward the formation of hexyl hexanoate, instead of 1-hexanol, reaching yields of 40 and 25 mol%, respectively. The effects of each bio-additive on Diesel engine performance and exhaust emissions (soot, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons) were evaluated, highlighting noteworthy positive effects especially on the reduction in carbon monoxide and soot emissions, if compared with those of Diesel fuel alone. Similar promising performances were achieved by employing Diesel blend mixtures of 1-hexanol/hexyl hexanoate, mimicking typical compositions of the rhenium-catalyzed post-hydrogenation mixtures. Even in such cases, 1-hexanol/hexyl hexanoate mixtures can be blended with commercial Diesel fuel, up to high loadings currently not yet investigated (20 vol%), without altering the engine performances and, again, significantly lowering soot and carbon monoxide emissions by more than 40%. This work highlights the possibility of obtaining such oxygenated bio-additives starting from waste through to a fully sustainable process and proves their beneficial effects on the reduction in exhaust emissions with no changes in engine performance.

Keywords: waste biomass; rhenium catalyst; hydrogenation; oxygenated bio-additives; exhaust emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/19/6789/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/19/6789/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:19:p:6789-:d:1246546

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().