Compatibility of Elastomers with Polyoxymethylene Dimethyl Ethers and Blends with Diesel

Michael Kass, Martin Wissink, Chris Janke, Raynella Connatser, Scott Curran

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers (PODEs) have shown promise as candidates for diesel fuel blendstocks due to their low sooting tendency, high cetane number, and diesel-comparable boiling point range. However, there is a lack of literature regarding compatibility of PODEs with common automotive elastomers, which would be a prerequisite to their adoption into the marketplace. To address this need, an exposure study and complementary solubility analysis were undertaken. A commercially available blend of PODEs with polymerization degree ranging from 3 to 6 was blended with diesel certification fuel at 0, 33, 50, 67, at 100% by volume. Elastomer coupons were exposed to the various blends for a period of 4 weeks and evaluated for volume swell. The elastomer materials included multiple fluoroelastomers (Viton and fluorosilicone) and acrylonitrile butadiene rubbers (NBR), as well as neoprene, polyurethane, epichlorohydrin (ECO), PVC-nitrile blend (OZO), ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and silicone. The exposure results indicated overall poor compatibility for PODE, with every elastomer except for fluorosilicone exhibiting greater than 30% volume swell at the 33% blend level. The general trend across the elastomers was either a consistent increase in volume swell with PODE concentration, or maximum in volume swell at an intermediate blend fraction. One notable exception is EPDM, which is not generally compatible with diesel fuel and which exhibited a reduction in volume swell with increasing PODE concentration. The same elastomers and PODE/diesel blends were evaluated using Hansen solubility parameter analysis, which predicted similar trends to the exposure study with the exception of ECO. From these results, we conclude that adoption of PODEs as a diesel fuel blendstock will require either the development of specialized elastomers, or that the blend fraction be kept to a low level to maintain compatibility with existing elastomers.

Original languageEnglish
JournalSAE Technical Papers
Volume2020-April
Issue numberApril
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 14 2020
EventSAE 2020 World Congress Experience, WCX 2020 - Detroit, United States
Duration: Apr 21 2020Apr 23 2020

Funding

This research used resources at the National Transportation Research Center, a DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multi-program laboratory operated by UT-Battelle for the U. S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC0500OR22725. This paper and the work described were sponsored by the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) under the DOE Co-Optimization Fuels and Engines Initiative. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support and direction of Alicia Lindauer at BETO, Kevin Stork at VTO, and the Co-Optima leadership team. The authors are also very appreciative of cooperation and guidance received from Dr. Steven Abbott of the Hansen Solubility Team.

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