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  Biodegradable diesel fuelRelated Patent Categories: Mineral Oils: Processes And Products, Products And Compositions, FuelsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060201850. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/787,641, filed Jun. 6, 2001, which claims priority to Patent Cooperation Treat (PCT) International Application Number PCT/ZA99/00094 having an International Filing Date of Sep. 17, 1999, which claims priority to a Foreign Application Number ZA 98 9037 having a Foreign Filing Date of Oct. 5, 1998. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to middle distillates having biodegradability properties and to a process for production of such distillates. More particularly, this invention relates to middle distillates produced from a mainly paraffinic synthetic crude which is produced by the reaction of CO and H.sub.2, typically by the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION [0003] In recent years a trend has developed to produce products which are so called "environmentally friendly", one aspect of which is biodegradability. To this end various bodies, such as ISO and the OECD have developed test methods to quantify biodegradability. One such test is the CO.sub.2 evolution test method, also known as the modified Sturm OECD method 301B, which test for ready biodegradability. In terms of this test, compounds can be considered to be readily biodegradable if they reach 60% biodegradation within 28 days. [0004] Currently available middle distillates, typically crude oil derived diesel fuels, such as US 2-D grade (low sulphur No. 2-D grade for diesel fuel oil as specified in ASTM D 975-94) and/or CARB (California Air Resources Board 1993 specification) grade diesel, do not meet the biodegradability requirements of the abovementioned biodegradability test. [0005] The prior art teaches in ZA 96/9890 that high biodegradability of hydrocarbon base oils could be derived from the presence of predominantly mono-methyl branching on the paraffinic carbon backbone. U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,596 discloses a non-toxic, biodegradable well fluid comprising 98% (mass) n-paraffins and less than 1% (mass) monocyclic aromatics as well as other olefinic components. The biodegradability of the well fluid in the U.S. patent can not be related back to the nature of the paraffinic molecules due to the fact that biodegradability is enhanced through branching and not through linear n-paraffinic molecules. [0006] A need thus exists for a middle distillate cut, typically a diesel fuel, which is readily biodegradable as determined by the abovementioned biodegradability test. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] Thus, according to a first aspect of this invention, there is provided a biodegradable middle distillate cut, such as a diesel fuel, having an aromatics content of less than 9 mass %, as determined by the ASTM D 5186 or IP 391 test method. [0008] The synthetic middle distillate cut may have less than 8.99 mass % monocyclic aromatics content. [0009] The synthetic middle distillate cut may have less than 0.01 mass % polycyclic aromatics. [0010] The synthetic middle distillate cut may have an isoparaffins to n-paraffins mass ratio of between about 1:1 to about 12:1, typically the isoparaffins to n-paraffins mass ratio is between about 2:1 to about 6:1, and in one embodiment is 4:1. [0011] The synthetic middle distillate cut may be a FT process product, or be at least partially produced in accordance with the FT process and/or process philosophy. [0012] According to a second aspect of the invention, the synthetic middle distillate cut includes more than 50 mass % isoparaffins, wherein the isoparaffins consist predominantly of methyl and/or ethyl and/or propyl branched isoparaffins. [0013] The gradient of an isoparaffins to n-paraffins mass ratio profile of the synthetic middle distillate cut may increase from about 1:1 for C.sub.8 to 8.54:1 for C.sub.15 and decrease again to about 3:1 for C.sub.18. [0014] Typically, a fraction of the synthetic middle distillate cut in the C.sub.10 to C.sub.18 carbon number range has a higher ratio of isoparaffins to n-paraffins than a C.sub.8 to C.sub.9 fraction of the synthetic middle distillate cut. [0015] The isoparaffins to n-paraffins mass ratio of the C.sub.10 to C.sub.18 fraction may be between 1:1 and 9:1. [0016] The isoparaffins to n-paraffins mass ratio may be 8.54:1 for a C.sub.15 fraction of the synthetic middle distillate cut. [0017] A C.sub.19 to C.sub.24 fraction of the middle distillate cut may have a narrow mass ratio range of isoparaffins to n-paraffins of between 3.3:1 and 5:1, generally between 4:1 and 4.9:1. [0018] The mass ratio of isoparaffins to n-paraffins may be adjusted by controlling the blend ratio of hydrocracked to straight run components of the synthetic middle distillate cut. Thus, the isoparaffins to n-paraffins mass ratio of the C.sub.10 to C.sub.18 fraction having 30 mass % straight run component may be between 1:1 and 2:5:1. [0019] The isoparaffins to n-paraffins mass ratio of the C.sub.10 to C.sub.18 fraction having 20 mass % straight run component may be between 1.5:1 and 3:5:1. [0020] The isoparaffins to n-paraffins mass ratio of the C.sub.10 to C.sub.18 fraction having 10 mass % straight run component may be between 2.3:1 and 4.3:1. Continue reading... Full patent description for Biodegradable diesel fuel Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Biodegradable diesel fuel patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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