Options for Use of GTL Naphtha as a Blending Component in Oxygenated Gasoline

Options for Use of GTL Naphtha as a Blending Component in Oxygenated Gasoline

Type	Web Page
URL	http://papers.sae.org/2016-01-0879/
Date	2016
Abstract	The benefits of blending ethanol into gasoline fuel are well established. Ethanol’s high latent heat of vaporization and chemical auto-ignition resistance combine in producing significant knock resistance, enabling higher compression ratio and/or higher charge boosting. Its high flame speed characteristics result in shorter burn durations. Its high knock resistance and rapid burning enable ignition phasing optimization. These factors all improve the efficiency of spark ignition (SI) engines. Current flex-fuel vehicles are designed to operate on both conventional gasoline as well as blends containing higher volumes of ethanol and/or methanol, the former being commonly known as E85. The American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM D5798 specification for ethanol fuel blends was adapted in 2011 to prescribe a minimum ethanol content of 51 % with the remainder able to consist of low octane blending streams. This opens the door for fuel manufacturers to include naphtha streams previously not regarded as suitable for spark ignition engines. In this study Low Temperature Fischer-Tropsch (LTFT) Gas to Liquids (GTL) naphtha, a low octane product of a LTFT GTL refinery, was investigated for suitability of use in oxygenated gasoline fuel blends.