

| Subject: | business of octane |
| From: | gary hradek |
| Date: | Wed, 2 Jan 2002 10:54:05 -0800 |
Here is a very good website about the chemistry of octane http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa070401a.htm I e-mail someone at the site to ask where the octane products where made. His response was "It is a mess. My understanding is that the octane > rating is established during the manufacturing stage. So each grade is created as a unique grade. Hope that helps a little . . . Daniel Emmanuel" One thing for sure Daniel is right about is that "it is a mess" Straight-run gasoline has an octane number of about 70. In other words, straight-run gasoline has the same knocking properties as a mixture of 70% isooctane and 30% heptane. Cracking, isomerization, and other processes can be used to increase the octane rating of gasoline to about 90. Anti-knock agents may be added to further increase the octane rating. Tetraethyl lead, Pb(C2H5)4, was one such agent, which was added to gas at the rate of up to 2.4 grams per gallon of gasoline. The switch to unleaded gasoline has required the addition of more expensive compounds, such as aromatics and highly branched alkanes, to maintain high octane numbers. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send your FREE holiday greetings online! http://greetings.yahoo.com
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