Diesel Fuel for Use in Arctic and Subtropical Climates

The paper reviews the possibility of obtaining all-season diesel fuel that can be effectively used in both Arctic and subtropical climates. The resulting fuel has a cetane number at the required level for summer diesel fuels of Euro 5 standard, a flash point of at least 62°C, and a pour point of less than –55°C without the use of a depressant-dispersant. The conducted research showed that none of the narrow fractions isolated from oil typical of refineries in the central part of the Russian Federation had the required properties, even taking into account the addition of ignition promoters. The improvement of the low-temperature properties due to cracking of n-alkanes during catalytic dewaxing leads to a significant decrease in the cetane number. Therefore, this paper considers the application of a diesel-fuel isodewaxing process on a platinum catalyst. This process makes it possible to improve significantly the low-temperature properties of the dewaxed product with a moderate decrease in its cetane number. The optimal conditions for the isodewaxing process were determined. The optimal feed for the unit was selected.