Preparation and Evaluation of Lubricity Additives for Low-Sulfur Diesel Fuel

This paper adopted the co-precipitation method to prepare Ni/Zr-loaded MgO/Al2O3 catalysts for the transesterification. The catalysts were characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy. The catalyst had a platelet-like structure and an average size of approximately 1-2 mu m. The surface area was affected by the calcination temperature, with a sharp decrease in the surface area as the calcination temperature was further increased from 820 to 920 degrees C. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were obtained by a process called transesterification, which reacted waste vegetable oil with methanol under the action of the prepared catalyst. The effect of FAMEs on the lubricating performance of low-sulfur diesel (LSD) was determined using the high frequency reciprocating rig test. FAMEs were efficient enough to serve as a lubricity additive (LA), and the efficiency increased with an increasing concentration of the additive. The low-temperature flow performance of the additive was characterized by the cloud/pour test. Unsaturated FAMEs were effective in improving low-temperature flow property of LSD. Besides, a better low temperature performance was presented by adding kerosene to LSD/1% LA compared to adding to LSD in the test.