Gasoline Octane

Octane rating or octane number is a standard measure of the performance of a motor or aviation fuel. The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating. In broad terms, fuels with a higher octane rating are used in high-compression engines that generally have higher performance. In contrast, fuels with low octane numbers (but high cetane numbers) are ideal for diesel engines. Use of gasolines with low octane numbers may lead to the problem of engine knocking.

Gasoline is a volatile, flammable liquid obtained from the refinement of petroleum, or crude oil. It was originally discarded as a byproduct of kerosene production, but its ability to vaporize at low temperatures made it a useful fuel for many machines.

Gasoline is primarily a mixture of two volatile liquids, heptane and isooctane. Pure heptane, a lighter fuel, burns so quickly that it produces a great amount of knocking in an engine. Pure isooctane evaporates slowly and produces virtually no knocking. The ratio of heptane to isooctane is measured by the octane rating. The greater the percentage of isooctane, the less knocking and the higher the octane rating. For example, an octane rating of *7 is comparable to a mixture of *7% isooctane and *3% heptane.Gasoline is one of the products derived from distilling and refining petroleum. Compounds of organic lead were added to gasoline in the past to reduce knocking in engines, but due to environmental concerns this is no longer common. Other chemicals are also added to gasoline to further stabilize it and improve its color and smell in a process called “sweetening.”