Evaporation characteristics of ETBE-blended gasoline

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials 2015-04, Vol.287, p.151-161
• Main Authors: Okamoto, Katsuhiro, Hiramatsu, Muneyuki, Hino, Tomonori, Otake, Takuma, Okamoto, Takashi, Miyamoto, Hiroki, Honma, Masakatsu, Watanabe, Norimichi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blending; Ethyl Ethers - chemistry; Ethyl tert-buthyl ether; Evaporation; Evaporation model; Fires; Flash point; Flash points; Gasoline; Gasoline - statistics & numerical data; Hazards; Mathematical models; Pentanes - chemistry; Toluene - chemistry; Vapor pressure; Volatilization
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2015.01.024

•We chose 8-component hydrocarbon mixture as a model gasoline, and defined the molar mass of gasoline.•We proposed an evaporation model assuming a 2-component mixture of gasoline and ETBE.•We predicted the change in the vapor pressure of ETBE-blended gasoline by evaporation.•The vapor pressures were measured and compared as a means of verifying the model.•We presented the method for predicting flash points of the ETBE-blended gasoline. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming, production of gasoline blended with ethyl tert-buthyl ether (ETBE) is increasing annually. The flash point of ETBE is higher than that of gasoline, and blending ETBE into gasoline will change the flash point and the vapor pressure. Therefore, it is expected that the fire hazard caused by ETBE-blended gasoline would differ from that caused by normal gasoline. The aim of this study was to acquire the knowledge required for estimating the fire hazard of ETBE-blended gasoline. Supposing that ETBE-blended gasoline was a two-component mixture of gasoline and ETBE, we developed a prediction model that describes the vapor pressure and flash point of ETBE-blended gasoline in an arbitrary ETBE blending ratio. We chose 8-component hydrocarbon mixture as a model gasoline, and defined the relation between molar mass of gasoline and mass loss fraction. We measured the changes in the vapor pressure and flash point of gasoline by blending ETBE and evaporation, and compared the predicted values with the measured values in order to verify the prediction model. The calculated values of vapor pressures and flash points corresponded well to the measured values. Thus, we confirmed that the change in the evaporation characteristics of ETBE-blended gasoline by evaporation could be predicted by the proposed model. Furthermore, the vapor pressure constants of ETBE-blended gasoline were obtained by the model, and then the distillation curves were developed.