Lubricity and tribological performance of 2-methylfuran and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran blended with diesel

The implementation of biofuel additives for gasolinegasoline and diesel engines to improve their combustion properties has been investigated comprehensively. TheseThese blended fuels improve fuel performance by increasing oxygen content, enhancing octane number, and reducing greenhousegreenhouse gas emissions. This paper will study the lubricity and tribological properties of diesel blended with MF and MTHF (2,2-methylfuran / Diesel and 2,2-methyltetrahydrofuran / Diesel). The results will be assessed using a modified version of ASTM D6079, using a high-frequency reciprocating test rig. It's known that blending up to 30% of MF and MTHF with diesel improves engine efficiency. However, increasing the blend ratio to 30% doesdoes not resultresult in a significant enhancement of lubricity performance. It was found that 5% MF blends reduce the wear scar size by over 50% and significantly reduce the friction coefficient. Higher MF concentrations did not yield a noticeable improvement, so the optimal blend ratio is 5%. This was attributed to the planar aromatic molecular structure of MF. In contrast, MTHF, an aliphatic molecule, adoptsadopts a boat conformation, which significantly increases steric hindrance in its blends, leadingleading to poor tribological properties. The wear mechanisms for MF differ at 5%-10%, 20%, and 30%. Further development of this research should gather information from surface analyses, such as surface topography, high-magnification SEM, and FTIR, to understand wear mechanisms and study the tribofilm properties resulting from the testing.