Advanced Biofuels Based on Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis for Applications in Gasoline Engines

Materials (Basel). 2021 Jun 7;14(11):3134. doi: 10.3390/ma14113134.

Abstract

The aim of the article is to determine the properties of fuel mixtures of Fischer-Tropsch naphtha fraction with traditional gasoline (petrol) to be able to integrate the production of advanced alternative fuel based on Fischer-Tropsch synthesis into existing fuel markets. The density, octane number, vapor pressure, cloud point, water content, sulphur content, refractive index, ASTM color, heat of combustion, and fuel composition were measured using the gas chromatography method PIONA. It was found that fuel properties of Fischer-Tropsch naphtha fraction is not much comparable to conventional gasoline (petrol) due to the high n-alkane content. This research work recommends the creation of a low-percentage mixture of 3 vol.% of FT naphtha fraction with traditional gasoline to minimize negative effects-similar to the current legislative limit of 5 vol.% of bioethanol in E5 gasoline. FT naphtha fraction as a biocomponent does not contain sulphur or polyaromatic hydrocarbons nor benzene. Waste materials can be processed by FT synthesis. Fischer-Tropsch synthesis can be considered a universal fuel-the naphtha fraction cut can be declared as a biocomponent for gasoline fuel without any further necessary catalytic upgrading.

Keywords: Fischer–Tropsch synthesis; alternative fuels; biocomponent; biofuel; biogasoline; bionaphtha; standardization; waste materials.