Home – Home – Jornals – Chemistry for Sustainable Development 2026 number 2

The potential for improving the low-temperature properties of summer diesel fuels using polymer additives is investigated. Polyalkyl methacrylate, sodium sulphonate, and atactic polypropylene with varying degrees of oxidation - low, medium, and high - were used as depressants. All polymers were used as toluene solutions with the polymer/toluene ratio ranging from 1 : 3 to 1 : 30 (by mass) and were introduced into the fuel at a concentration of 0.03-0.07 wt%. It has been found that the effectiveness of the compositions significantly depends on the degree of polymer dilution. The optimal polymer/toluene ratio has been determined to be within (1 : 6)-(1 : 10), providing pour point reduction to (-30)-(-33) °C, compared to the original fuel samples. It is demonstrated that the highest depressant activity is exhibited by the compositions based on highly oxidised atactic polypropylene. The maximum result was achieved by combining the products of plasma-chemical oxidation of benzene and toluene with polymers, which allowed reducing the pour point of fuel samples to -36.5 °C. The effectiveness of the additives also depended on the hydrocarbon composition of the fuel, showing better results in the samples with an increased content of low-molecular-weight n-alkanes C₁₆-C₁₇.