THE EFFECT OF HIGH-INTENSITY ULTRASOUND ON DIESEL FUELS

High-intensity ultrasound was applied to an automotive diesel fuel usi ng a 23 kHz 'horn' system. The saturated components of the fuel underg o similar reactions to pure n-alkanes and those with chain lengths sho rter than similar to C-20 are 'cracked' to lower alkanes and alkenes a s has been reported previously by Suslick er al. In addition, sonicati on promoted a polymerization reaction which concentrated aromatic and nitrogen-containing compounds into insoluble sediments or gums. These were similar to those obtained from stability tests of diesel fuels an d suggest that sonication may prove to be a useful method for the acce lerated testing and prediction of long-term diesel stability.