Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 46
Claim 1
Independent Claim
144 words
An oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel comprising (a) a heavy oil, (b) a surfactant and (c) water, wherein oil particles having a diameter of 100 μm or less account for 80% by weight or more of all the oil particles and the oil particles have a particle size distribution such that the distribution constant, n, determined from two relational expressions obtained by substituting a particle diameter (μm) corresponding to a cumulative oversize weight of 10% and a particle diameter (μm) corresponding to a cumulative oversize weight of 90% in a Rosin-Rammler distribution function expressed by the equation (1) is in the range of from 0.5 to 1.6: R.sub.(D) =100 exp{-(D/D.sub.c).sup.n } (1) wherein R represents a cumulative oversize weight in %, D represents a particle diameter, n represents a constant (a distribution constant) and D c represents a constant (a particle size characteristic constant).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
144 words
An oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel comprising (a) a heavy oil, (b) a surfactant and (c) water, wherein oil particles having a diameter of 100 μm or less account for 80% by weight or more of all the oil particles and the oil particles have a particle size distribution such that the distribution constant, n, determined from two relational expressions obtained by substituting a particle diameter (μm) corresponding to a cumulative oversize weight of 10% and a particle diameter (μm) corresponding to a cumulative oversize weight of 90% in a Rosin-Rammler distribution function expressed by the equation (1) is in the range of from 0.5 to 1.6: R.sub.(D) =100 exp{-(D/D.sub.c).sup.n } (1) wherein R represents a cumulative oversize weight in %, D represents a particle diameter, n represents a constant (a distribution constant) and D c represents a constant (a particle size characteristic constant).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
54 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 1, wherein the content of the heavy oil as component (a), the content of the surfactant as component (b) and the content of water as component (c) are 60 to 85% by weight, 0.01 to 5% by weight and 10 to 40% by weight, respectively.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 1, which further comprises (d) a water-soluble polymer having a molecular weight of 10,000 or more.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 3, wherein the content of component (d) is 0.005 to 3 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the entire amount of components (a), (b) and (c).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 1, wherein oil particles having a diameter of 1 μm or less account for 15% by weight or less of all the oil particles.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
45 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 1, wherein the surfactant component (b) is obtained by reacting (e) a precursor of an emulsifier comprising a compound having a carboxyl group in its molecule or an ester with (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
47 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 6, wherein the precursor (e) of an emulsifier comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of a chain monocarboxylic acid, a cyclic saturated fatty acid, a diterpenoid carboxylic acid, and a natural fat and oil.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
29 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 6, wherein the precursor (e) of an emulsifier is (e-1) a fatty acid distillation bottom or (e-2) an edible oil.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 6, wherein the neutralizing agent or saponifier (f) is (f-1) a basic compound.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
An oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel comprising (a) a heavy oil, (c) water and (e-1) a fatty acid distillation bottom.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
An oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel comprising (a) a heavy oil, (c) water and (e-1) a fatty acid distillation bottom.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
52 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 10, which further comprises a surfactant other than (b-1) a product obtained by reacting (e) a precursor of an emulsifier comprising a compound having a carboxyl group in its molecule or an ester with (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier, as component (b-2).
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
70 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 11, wherein the content of the heavy oil as component (a), the content of the surfactant as component (b-2), the content of water as component (c) and the content of the fatty acid distillation bottom as component (e-1) are 40 to 85% by weight, 0.1 to 5% by weight, 10 to 40% by weight and 0.1 to 50% by weight, respectively.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
93 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 10, which further comprises a surfactant other than (b-1) a product obtained by reacting (e) a precursor of an emulsifier comprising a compound having a carboxyl group in its molecule or an ester with (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier, as component (b-2), (b-1-1) a product obtained by reacting (e-1) a fatty acid distillation bottom with (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier, and a water-soluble polymer having a molecular weight of 10,000 or more as component (d) or a polyhydric alcohol as component (g).
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
32 words
An oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel comprising (a) a heavy oil, (c) water and (b-1-1) a product obtained by reacting (e-1) a fatty acid distillation bottom with (f) a neutralizing agent saponifier.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
32 words
An oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel comprising (a) a heavy oil, (c) water and (b-1-1) a product obtained by reacting (e-1) a fatty acid distillation bottom with (f) a neutralizing agent saponifier.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
74 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 14, which further comprises a surfactant other than (b-1) a product obtained by reacting (e) a precursor of an emulsifier comprising a compound having a carboxyl group in its molecule or an ester with (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier, as component (b-2), and a water-soluble polymer having a molecular weight of 10,000 or more as component (d) or a polyhydric alcohol as component (g).
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
18 words
An oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel comprising (a) a heavy oil, (c) water and (e-2) an edible oil.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
18 words
An oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel comprising (a) a heavy oil, (c) water and (e-2) an edible oil.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
52 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 16, which further comprises a surfactant other than (b-1) a product obtained by reacting (e) a precursor of an emulsifier comprising a compound having a carboxyl group in its molecule or an ester with (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier, as component (b-2).
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
63 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 17, wherein the ratio of the entire amount of the components (a) and (e-2) to the amount of the component (c) is 60 to 90:40 to 10 by weight and the amount of the component (b-2) is 0.1 to 5% by weight based on the entire amount of the components (a), (c) and (e-2).
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
25 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 16, wherein the edible oil (e-2) is a recovered oil of an edible fat and oil.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
91 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 16, which further comprises a surfactant other than (b-1) a product obtained by reacting (e) a precursor of an emulsifier comprising a compound having a carboxyl group in its molecule or an ester with (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier, as component (b-2), (b-1-2) a product obtained by reacting (e-2) an edible oil with (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier, and a water-soluble polymer having a molecular weight of 10,000 or more as component (d) or a polyhydric alcohol as component (g).
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
31 words
An oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel comprising (a) a heavy oil, (c) water and (b-1-2) a product obtained by reacting (e-2) an edible oil with (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
31 words
An oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel comprising (a) a heavy oil, (c) water and (b-1-2) a product obtained by reacting (e-2) an edible oil with (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
74 words
The oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 21, which further comprises a surfactant other than (b-1) a product obtained by reacting (e) a precursor of an emulsifier comprising a compound having a carboxyl group in its molecule or an ester with (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier, as component (b-2), and a water-soluble polymer having a molecular weight of 10,000 or more as component (d) or a polyhydric alcohol as component (g).
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
46 words
A process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel which comprises producing emulsions different from each other in the particle size distribution by using a plurality of emulsifiers in parallel and operating the emulsifiers with shear forces different from each other, and mixing these emulsions.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
46 words
A process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel which comprises producing emulsions different from each other in the particle size distribution by using a plurality of emulsifiers in parallel and operating the emulsifiers with shear forces different from each other, and mixing these emulsions.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
38 words
A process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel which comprises producing emulsions different from each other in the particle size distribution by varying the kind and amount of addition of a surfactant and mixing the emulsions.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
38 words
A process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel which comprises producing emulsions different from each other in the particle size distribution by varying the kind and amount of addition of a surfactant and mixing the emulsions.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
34 words
A process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel which comprises continuously producing an emulsion on a line mixer while circulating part of the emulsion while regulating the amount and time of circulation.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
34 words
A process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel which comprises continuously producing an emulsion on a line mixer while circulating part of the emulsion while regulating the amount and time of circulation.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
52 words
A process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel which comprises continuously producing an emulsion on a line mixer while periodically varying the kind or amount of feed, or both of the surfactant while regulating the cycle time according to the kind or amount of feed, or both of the surfactant.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
52 words
A process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel which comprises continuously producing an emulsion on a line mixer while periodically varying the kind or amount of feed, or both of the surfactant while regulating the cycle time according to the kind or amount of feed, or both of the surfactant.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
92 words
A process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel which comprises producing an emulsion from 60 to 85% by weight of (a) a heavy oil, 10 to 40% by weight of (c) water, 0.01 to 10% by weight of (e) a precursor of an emulsifier comprising a compound having a carboxyl group in its molecule or an ester, and 0.01 to 5% by weight of (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier for the precursor (e) while reacting the precursor (e) with the neutralizing agent or saponifier (f) to form an emulsifier.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
92 words
A process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel which comprises producing an emulsion from 60 to 85% by weight of (a) a heavy oil, 10 to 40% by weight of (c) water, 0.01 to 10% by weight of (e) a precursor of an emulsifier comprising a compound having a carboxyl group in its molecule or an ester, and 0.01 to 5% by weight of (f) a neutralizing agent or saponifier for the precursor (e) while reacting the precursor (e) with the neutralizing agent or saponifier (f) to form an emulsifier.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
145 words
The process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 27, wherein oil particles having a diameter of 100 μm or less account for 80% by weight or more of all the oil particles in the emulsion and the oil particles in the emulsion have a particle size distribution such that the distribution constant, n, determined from two relational expressions obtained by substituting a particle diameter (μm) corresponding to a cumulative oversize weight of 10% and a particle diameter (μm) corresponding to a cumulative oversize weight of 90% for a Rosin-Rammler distribution function expressed by the equation (1) is in the range of from 0.5 to 1.8: R.sub.(D) =100exp{-(D/De).sup.n } (1) wherein R.sub.(D) represents a cumulative oversize weight in %, D represents a particle diameter, n represents a constant (a distribution constant), and De represents a constant (a particle size characteristic constant).
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
28 words
The process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 28, wherein the distribution constant, n, is in the range of from 0.5 to 1.6.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
37 words
The process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 28, wherein oil particles having a diameter of 1 μm or less account for 15% by weight or less of all the oil particles.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
56 words
The process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 27, wherein the compound having a carboxyl group in its molecule as the precursor (e) of an emulsifier comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of a chain monocarboxylic acid, a cyclic saturated fatty acid and a diterpenoid carboxylic acid.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
30 words
The process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 27, wherein the ester as the precursor (e) of an emulsifier is a natural fat and oil.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
33 words
The process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 32, wherein the precursor (e) of an emulsifier is (e-1) a fatty acid distillation bottom or (e-2) an edible oil.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
26 words
The process for producing an oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel according to claim 27, wherein the neutralizing agent or saponifier (f) is a basic compound (f-1).
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
15 words
An oil-in-water type heavy oil emulsion fuel produced by the process according to claim 27.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
14 words
An oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion fuel produced by the process according to claim 28.