Descriptors-based machine-learning prediction of cetane number using quantitative structure–property relationship

The physicochemical properties of liquid alternative fuels are important but difficult to measure/predict, especially when complex surrogate fuels are concerned. In the present work, machine learning is used to develop quantitative structure–property relationship models. The fuel chemical structure is represented by molecular descriptors, allowing the linking of important features of the fuel composition and key properties of fuel utilization. Feature selection is employed to select the most relevant features that describe the chemical structure of the fuel and several machine learning algorithms are tested to construct interpretable models. The effectiveness of the methodology is demonstrated through the development of accurate and interpretable predictive models for cetane numbers, with a focus on understanding the link between molecular structure and fuel properties. In this context, matrix-based descriptors and descriptors related to the number of atoms in the molecule are directly linked with the cetane number of hydrocarbons. Furthermore, the results showed that molecular connectivity indices play a role in the cetane number for aromatic molecules. Also, the methodology is extended to predict the cetane number of ester and ether molecules, leveraging the design of alternative fuels towards fully sustainable fuel utilization.