As renewable energy sources, paraffinic liquid fuels and FAME will play an increasingly important role in the heating market as well. As drop-in components, these alternative fuels are blended with conventional heating oils to replace mineral oil-based variants on the market. Against this backdrop, it must be determined whether aging effects occur in fuel blends that could become relevant in practical operation.
February 12, 2026 | Research, Publications
Research Report Published: Aging Behavior of E-Fuel Blends
BMWE-Funded Research Project Completed
The BMWE funded a project in this area, which was completed after 2.5 years of research.
In the project, aged liquid fuels were tested on a test bench and subjected to higher stress levels than those encountered in everyday use. To identify conditions that may promote deposit formation, the following was done to in situ Monitoring of age-related changes was integrated into an NMR mouse. The effects of additives on aging behavior were also investigated.
To this end, samples were collected at regular intervals from the test benches; these were characterized using standardized analytical methods and additionally subjected to specialized analyses such as 1H and 13C High-field (HF) and low-field (LF) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, LF-NMR relaxometry and diffusometry, as well as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), to obtain comprehensive information about the chemical and physical changes induced by aging.
Based on the studies conducted and their results, it can be concluded that the practical use of paraffinic liquid fuels—whether as a pure fuel or in blends with mineral oil-based heating oils—can be considered unproblematic. Additional reliability in practical use can be achieved through the use of suitable additives.
Read the details in DGMK Research Report 839, „Prevention of Aging Products and Deposits in E-Fuels Used as Drop-In Components in Heating Oil in Burner System Components on Application-Oriented Test Benches.“ The report is available free of charge from the DGMK.
Project partners:
- OWI Science for Fuels gGmbH affiliated Institute of the RWTH Aachen
- Institute for Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University
IGF Project 01IF22790N was funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as part of the „Industrial Collaborative Research“ program, pursuant to a resolution of the German Bundestag.