High Purity Oligomeric Oxymethylene Ethers as Diesel Fuels

Oligomeric oxymethylene dimethyl ethers (OMEn, CH3(OCH2)(n)OCH3, n = 1-5) are promising diesel fuels for the reduction of harmful emissions. If OMEs are produced from dimethoxymethane and trioxane, the resulting OME mixtures usually contain residual trioxane which appears, after rectification, in the OME2 fraction. To circumvent this obstacle, substoichiometric amounts of trioxane have been employed in OME synthesis. Thus, OME2 samples with high purity could be prepared. Physicochemical and fuel data of high purity OME2 and higher OMEs have been determined to supplement previously reported data.