(356k) Bio-Derived Dioxolanes As Renewable Diesel Fuel

Dioxolanes as important intermediates in the synthetic production of many value-added chemicals are also showing excellent fuel properties as bio-diesel fuel themselves. Dioxolanes can be produced through the acetalization of aldehydes with 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO), which is the major compound in the biomass fermentation broth. We report the synthesis and phase separation of two dioxolane compounds from 2,3-BDO via acetalization with 2-ethyl butyraldehyde and 2-ethyl hexyl aldehyde, separately, over heterogeneous Nafion catalyst. Fuel properties including freezing point, viscosity, and heating values of the produced compounds were tested and compared with current bio-diesel fuels. An accelerated aging and oxidation setup was also applied to the dioxolane products in order to mimic real-world conditions, and the resulting esters were tested for fuel properties to investigate the effects of degradation on the dioxolanes. The dioxolane fuel properties were observed to change significantly after the aging process, and the compounds were analyzed for biodiesel suitability.