Tratamiento de diésel con ozono para la preparación de combustibles alternativos

The treatment of a commercial diesel with ozone was studied in order to improve the properties of the fuel with regard to Cetane index and undesirable emissions. Two products were generated by the treatment, a liquid phase and a solid phase. Both products showed higher molecular weight and lower interfacial tension than the original diesel. Compared with the original diesel, the liquid phase showed lower content of aromatics and carbonyl groups, whereas the solid phase showed higher content of aromatics and probably of acidic, carboxylic, aldehydes and ketones. By using the solid phase as a surfactant, w/o microemulsion was formulated (80% p/p liquid phase and 0.6 - 0.5% w/w solid-phase, 3-4.4% w/w of 1-hexanol as co-surfactant, and 15-17% w/w of water). Compared with the original diesel, the liquid phase presented a sulphur content equal to a desulfurization of 22% w/w and both the liquid phase and the w/o microemulsion showed a decrease of Ni content and an increase of the °API and the cetane index, indicating that both products may be used as fuels with higher power of ignition and lower toxicity than the original diesel.