초록

This invention relates to a process for reducing the level of pollutants in the exhaust of an engine, comprising: operating the engine using as the fuel a water fuel emulsion; and contacting the exhaust gas from the engine with an oxidation catalyst.

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1. A process for reducing the level of pollutants in the exhaust of an engine, comprising:operating said engine using as the fuel a water fuel emulsion; the water fuel emulsion comprises water, fuel and an emulsifier, the emulsifier comprises: (i) at least one fuel-soluble product made by reacting a

1. A process for reducing the level of pollutants in the exhaust of an engine, comprising:operating said engine using as the fuel a water fuel emulsion; the water fuel emulsion comprises water, fuel and an emulsifier, the emulsifier comprises: (i) at least one fuel-soluble product made by reacting at least one hydrocarbyl substituted carboxylic acid acylating agent with ammonia or an amine, the hydrocarbyl substituent of said acylating agent having about 50 to about 500 carbon atoms; (ii) at least one of an ionic or a nonionic compound having a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of about 1 to about 40; iii) a mixture of (i) and (ii); (iv) an emulsion stabilizing amount of a water soluble compound selected from the group consisting of amine salts, ammonium salts, azide compounds, nitro compounds, alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts, and mixtures of two or more thereof in combination with i), ii), or combinations; or v) combinations of i), ii) iii) and iv); and contacting the exhaust from the engine with an oxidation catalyst, the oxidation catalyst being in the form of a flow-through cellular monolith. 2. The process of claim 1 wherein said engine is selected from the group consisting of a mobile power plant, a stationary power plant, a two-stroke per cycle engine, a four-stroke per cycle engine, diesel engine and combinations thereof.3. The process of claim 1 wherein said pollutants comprises NOx, nitrous oxide, diesel particulate matter, or mixtures thereof.4. The process of claim 1 wherein said water-diesel fuel emulsion is comprised of a continuous diesel fuel phase and a discontinuous aqueous phase.5. The process of claim 1 wherein said water fuel emulsion further comprises at least one of a cetane improver, an organic solvent, an antifreeze agent, a fuel additive and combinations thereof.6. The process of claim 5 wherein said antifreeze agent is methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol, glycerol, propylene glycol, or a mixture of two or more thereof and in the range of from about 0.01% to about 20% by weight of the emulsion.7. The process of claim 1 wherein said diesel fuel emulsion comprises from about 50 to about 98% by weight of fuel; about 1% to about 50% by weight of water; and about 0.05% to about 20% by weight of an emulsifier.8. The process of claim 1 wherein said fuel in the emulsion is a diesel fuel.9. The process of claim 1 wherein said oxidation catalyst is comprised of flow-through passages of ceramic or metal coated with a washcoat comprised of zeolite, Al2O3, SiO2, TiO2, CeO2, ZrO2, V2O5, La2O3, or mixtures of two or more thereof, said washcoat supporting a catalyst selected from the group consisting of Pt, Pd, Rh, Ir, Ru, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ag, Ce, Ga, or a mixture of two or more thereof.10. The process of claim 9 wherein said catalyst is Pt, Pd, Rh, Ir, or a mixture of two or more thereof.11. The process of claim 1 wherein said oxidation catalyst is housed in an in-line converter or a converter muffler.12. A process for reducing the level of pollutants in the exhaust of an engine, comprising;operating said diesel engine using as the fuel a water fuel emulsion, the watefuel emulsion comprising water, fuel and an emulsifier, the emulsifier comprising: (i)(a) a first fuel-soluble product made by reacting a first hydrocarbyl substituted carboxylic acid acylating agent with ammonia or an amine, the hydrocarbyl substituent of said first acylating agent having about 50 to about 500 carbon atoms; and (i)(b) a second fuel-soluble product made by reacting a second hydrocarbyl substituted carboxylic acid acylating agent with ammonia or an amine, the hydrocarbyl substituent of said second acylating agent having about 50 to about 500 carbon atoms, component (i)(a) being different than component (i)(b); or (ii) an ionic or a nonionic compound having a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of about 1 to about 10; or (iii) a mixture of (i)(a), (i)(b) and (ii); or (iv) in combination with (iii) an emulsion stabilizing amount of water-soluble compound selected from the group consisting of amine salts, ammonium salts, azide compounds, nitro compounds, alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts, and mixtures of two or more thereof; or (v) combinations of (i)(a), (i)(b), (ii), (iii) and/or (iv) thereof; and contacting the exhaust from the engine with an oxidation catalyst. 13. The process of claim 12 wherein:component (i)(a) a first fuel-soluble product made by reacting a first polyisobutene substituted succinic anhydride with an alkanol amine or an alkylene polyamine, the polyisobutene substituent of said first polyisobutene substituted succinic anhydride having a number average molecular weight of about 1500 to about 3000, said first polyisobutene substituted succinic anhydride being characterized at least about 1.3 succinic groups per equivalent weight of the polyisobutene substituent; and component (i)(b) a second fuel-soluble product made by reacting a second polyisobutene substituted succinic anhydride with an alkanol amine or an alkylene polyamine, the polyisobutene substituent of said second polyisobutene substituted succinic anhydride having a number average molecular weight of about 700 to about 1300, said second polyisobutene substituted succinic anhydride being characterized by about 1.0 to about 1.3 succinic groups per equivalent weight of the polyisobutene substituent.