Preparation of additive mixtures for mineral oils and mineral oil distillates

Abstract

The present invention provides a continuous process for preparing additive mixtures for mineral oils and mineral oil distillates, comprising A) a cold flow improver for middle distillates, and at least one further component selected from B) and C): B) a further cold flow improver, C) an organic solvent, which comprises mixing cold flow improver and optionally solvent by means of a static mixer, the temperature of the additive mixture at the outlet of the static mixer being from 0° to 100° C.

1 - 14 . (canceled)  
   
   
       15 . An additive mixture for improving cold flow properties of mineral oils and mineral oil distillates, said additive mixture being prepared in a continuous process by mixing: a cold flow improver A) for middle distillates, and at least one further component selected from the group consisting of a further cold flow improver B), an organic solvent C), and mixtures thereof, in a static mixer having an outlet temperature of from 0° C. to 100° C. to provide the additive mixture.  
   
   
       16 . A fuel oil comprising a mineral oil or a mineral oil distillate and the additive mixture of claim  1 .  
   
   
       17 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the outlet temperature is from 30 to 90° C.  
   
   
       18 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the cold flow improver comprises at least one copolymer of ethylene and further ethylenically unsaturated comonomers.  
   
   
       19 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the cold flow improver comprises at least one oil-soluble polar nitrogen compound.  
   
   
       20 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the cold flow improver comprises at least one comb polymer.  
   
   
       21 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the cold flow improver comprises at least one alkylphenol-aldehyde resin.  
   
   
       22 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the cold flow improver comprises at least one polyoxyalkylene derivative.  
   
   
       23 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the cold flow improver comprises at least one olefin copolymer.  
   
   
       24 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the static mixer comprises a helical mixer having helical element groups having from 2 to 200 mixing elements.  
   
   
       25 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the static mixer has a mixing zone having a relative mixer L/D of from 2 to 50, where L is length and D is the diameter of the mixing zone.  
   
   
       26 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein a pressure drop over the mixing zone is less than 10 bar.  
   
   
       27 . The process additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein a mixing time is less than 60 s.  
   
   
       28 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the cold flow improver comprises a terpolymer which, apart from ethylene, contains from 0.1 to 12 mol %, of vinyl neononanoate or of vinyl neodecanoate, and from 3.5 to 20 mol %, of vinyl acetate, and a total comonomer content is between 8 and 21 mol %.  
   
   
       29 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the cold flow improver comprises a terpolymer which, apart from ethylene and from 8 to 18 mol % of vinyl esters, also contains from 0.5 to 10 mol % of olefins selected from the group consisting of propene, butene, isobutylene, hexene, 4-methylpentene, octene, diisobutylene, norbornene, and mixtures thereof.  
   
   
       30 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the outlet temperature of the additive mixture at the outlet of the static mixer is from 50 to 85° C.  
   
   
       31 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the cold flow improver comprises a terpolymer which, apart from ethylene, contains from 0.2 to 5 mol %, of vinyl neononanoate or of vinyl neodecanoate, and from 3.5 to 12 mol %, of vinyl acetate, and a total comonomer content is between 8 and 21 mol %.  
   
   
       32 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the cold flow improver comprises a terpolymer which, apart from ethylene, contains from 0.2 to 5 mol %, of vinyl neononanoate or of vinyl neodecanoate, and from 8 to 15 mol %, of vinyl acetate, and the total comonomer content is between 12 and 18 mol %.  
   
   
       33 . The additive mixture of claim  1 , wherein the cold flow improver comprises a terpolymer which, apart from ethylene, contains from 0.1 to 12 mol %, of vinyl neononanoate or of vinyl neodecanoate, and from 8 to 15 mol %, of vinyl acetate, and the total comonomer content is between 12 and 18-mol %.  
   
   
       34 . An additive mixture for improving cold flow properties of mineral oils and mineral oil distillates, said additive mixture being prepared by passing a cold flow improver to a static mixer and therein mixing the cold flow improver with a further cold flow improver selected from the group consisting of a further ethylene copolymer, an oil-soluble polar nitrogen compound, a comb polymer, an alkylphenol aldehyde resin, a polyoxyalkylene derivative, an olefin copolymer, an organic solvent, and mixtures thereof, wherein the cold flow improver and the further cold flow improver is a copolymer of ethylene and at least one olefinically unsaturated compound, the static mixer having from 2 to 200 mixing elements and said static mixer having an outlet temperature ranging from 30° C. to 90° C. to provide said additive mixture.  
   
   
       35 . The additive mixture of  claim 34 , wherein the olefinically unsaturated compound is selected from the group consisting of a vinyl ester, an acrylic ester, a methacrylic ester, an alkyl vinyl ether, an alkene, and mixtures thereof.  
   
   
       36 . The additive mixture of  claim 34 , wherein the olefinically unsaturated compound have alkyl groups which are substituted by one or more hydroxyl groups.  
   
   
       37 . The additive mixture of  claim 34 , wherein the mixing elements are helical mixing elements.