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GasolineFAQ
Contents:
4.10.2)VapourLockProtectionClasses
4.10.3)AntiknockIndex(aka(RON+MON)/2,"PumpOctane")
4.10.4)LeadContent
4.10.5)Copperstripcorrosion
4.10.6)MaximumSulfurcontent
4.10.7)MaximumSolventWashedGum(akaExistentGum)
4.10.8)MinimumOxidationStability
4.10.9)WaterTolerance
4.11)Whataretheeffectsofthespecifiedfuelproperties?
4.11.1)Volatility
4.11.2)CombustionCharacteristics
4.11.3)Stability
4.11.4)Corrosiveness
4.12)Arebrandsdifferent?
4.13)Whatisatypicalcomposition?

4.10.2)VapourLockProtectionClasses
5classesforvapourlockprotection,accordingtolocationand/orseason.Thelimitisamaximum
VapourLiquidratioof20attesttemperaturesof41,47,51,56,60C.

4.10.3)AntiknockIndex(aka(RON+MON)/2,"PumpOctane")
The(ResearchOctaneNumber+MotorOctaneNumber)dividedbytwo.Limitsarenotspecified,but
changesinenginerequirementsaccordingseasonandlocationarediscussed.FuelswithanAntiknock
indexof87,89,91(Unleaded),and88(Leaded)arelistedastypicalfortheUSatsealevel,however
higheraltitudeswillspecifyloweroctanenumbers.

4.10.4)LeadContent
Leaded=1.1gPb/Lmaximum,andUnleaded=0.013gPb/Lmaximum.

4.10.5)Copperstripcorrosion
Abilitytotarnishcleancopper,indicatingthepresenceofanycorrosivesulfurcompounds

4.10.6)MaximumSulfurcontent
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Sulfuradverselyaffectsexhaustcatalystsandfuelhydrocarbonleadresponse,andalsomaybeemittedas
pollutingsulfuroxides.Leaded=0.15%massmaximum,andUnleaded=0.10%massmaximum.
TypicalUSgasolinelevelsare0.03%mass.

4.10.7)MaximumSolventWashedGum(akaExistentGum)
Limitstheamountofgumspresentinfuelatthetimeoftestingto5mg/100mls.Theresultsdonot
correlatewellwithactualenginedepositscausedbyfuelvaporisation[40].

4.10.8)MinimumOxidationStability
Thisensuresthefuelremainschemicallystable,anddoesnotformadditionalgumsduringperiodsin
distributionsystems,whichcanbeupto36months.Thesampleisheatedwithoxygeninsideapressure
vessel,andthedelayuntilsignificantoxygenuptakeismeasured.

4.10.9)WaterTolerance
Highesttemperaturethatcausesphaseseparationofoxygenatedfuels.Thelimitsvaryaccordingto
locationandmonth.ForAlaskaNorthof62latitude,itchangesfrom41CinDecJanto9CinJuly,but
remains10CallyearinHawaii.
Becausephosphorusadverselyaffectsexhaustcatalysts,theEPAlimitsphosphorusinallgasolinesto
0.0013gP/L.
Aswellastheabove,therearevariousrestrictionsintroducedbytheCleanAirActandstatebodiessuch
asCalifornia'sAirResourcesBoard(CARB)thatoftenhavemorestringentlimitsfortheabove
properties,aswellasadditionallimits.Moredetaileddescriptionsofthecomplexregulationscanbe
foundelsewhere[16,41,42]I'vejustincludedsomeofthemajorchanges,assomepropertiesare
determinedbylevelsofpermittedemissions,egthetoxicsreductionrequiredforfuelthathasthe
maximimpermittedbenzene(1.0%),meanstotalaromaticsarelimitedtoaround27%.Therehavebeen
somechangesinearly1996totheimplementationtimetable,andthefollowingtimetablehasnotyet
beenchanged.
TheCleanAirActalsospecifiessomeregionsthatexceedairqualitystandardshavetousereformulated
gasolines(RFGs)allyear,startingJanuary1995.Otherregionsarerequiredtouseoxygenatedgasolines
forfourwintermonths,beginningNovember1992.TheRFGsalsocontainoxygenates.Metropolitan
regionswithsevereozoneairqualityproblemsmustusereformulatedgasolinesin1995thatcontainat
least2.0wt%oxygen,reduce1990volatileorganiccarboncompoundsby15%,andreducespecified
toxicemissionsby15%(1995)and25%(2000).Metropolitanregionsthatexceededcarbonmonoxide
limitswererequiredtousegasolineswith2.7wt%oxygenduringwintermonths,startingin1992.
The1990CleanAirAct(CAA)amendmentsandCARBPhase2(1996)specificationsforreformulated
gasolineestablishthefollowinglimits,comparedwithtypical1990gasoline.Becauseofalackofdata,
theEPAwereunabletodefinetheCAArequiredparameters,sotheyinstitutedatwostagesystem.The
firststage,the"SimpleModel"isaninterimstagethatrunfrom1/Jan/1995to31/Dec/1997.Thesecond
stage,the"ComplexModel"hastwophases,PhaseI(19951999)andPhaseII(2000+),andthereare
differentlimitsforEPAControlRegion1(south)andControlRegion2(north).Eachrefinermusthave
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theirRFGrecertifiedtotheComplexmodelpriortothe1/Jan/1998implementationdate.Thefollowing
aresomeofthecriteriaforRFGwhencomplyingonapergallonbasis,moredetailsareavailable
elsewhere,includingthedetailsofthebaselinefuelcompositionstobeusedfortesting[16,41,42,43].
1990CleanAirActCARB
SimpleComplexPhase2
IIILimitAverage
benzene(max.vol.%)21.001.001.001.000.8
oxygen(min.mass%)0.22.02.02.01.8
(max.mass%)2.72.2
sulfur(max.massppm)150noincrease4030
aromatics(max.vol.%)32toxicsreduction2522
olefins(max.vol.%)9.9noincrease6.04.0
reidvapourpressure(kPa)6055.8(north)48.3
(duringVOCControlPeriod)49.6(south)
50%evaporated(max.C)98.993
90%evaporated(max.C)170148.9143
VOCReductionsRegionI(min.%)35.127.5
(VOCControlPeriodonly)RegionII(min.%)15.625.9
NOxReductionsVOCControlPeriod(min.%)05.5
NonVOCControlPeriod(min.%)00
ToxicsReductions(min.%)15.020.0

Theseregulationsalsospecifyemissionscriteria.egCAAspecifiesnoincreaseinnitricoxides(NOx)
emissions,reductionsinVOCby15%duringtheozoneseason,andspecifiedtoxinsby15%allyear.
Thesecriteriaindirectlyestablishvapourpressureandcompositionlimitsthatrefinershavetomeet.Note
thattheEPAalsocanissueCAASection211waiversthatallowrefinerstochoosewhichoxygenates
theyuse.In1981,theEPAalsodecidedthatfuelswithupto2%weightofoxygen(fromalcoholsand
ethers(exceptmethanol))were"substantiallysimilar"to1974unleadedgasoline,andthuswerenot
"new"gasolineadditives.Thatlevelwasincreasedto2.7wt%in1991.Someotheroxygenateshavealso
beengrantedwaivers,egethanolto10%volume(approximately3.5wt%)in1979and1982,andtert
butylalcoholto3.5wt%in1981.In1987and1988furtherwaiverswereissuedformixtureofalcohols
representing3.7%wtofoxygen.

4.11)Whataretheeffectsofthespecifiedfuelproperties?
4.11.1)Volatility
Thisaffectsevaporativeemissionsanddriveability,itisthepropertythatmustchangewithlocationand
season.FuelformidsummerArizonawouldbedifficulttouseinmidwinterAlaska.TheUSisdivided
intozones,accordingtoaltitudeandseasonaltemperatures,andthefuelvolatilityisadjusted
accordingly.Incorrectfuelmayresultindifficultstartingincoldweather,carburettericing,vapourlock
inhotweather,andcrankcaseoildilution.Volatilityiscontrolledbydistillationandvapourpressure
specifications.Thehigherboilingfractionsofthegasolinehavesignificanteffectsontheemissionlevels
ofundesirablehydrocarbonsandaldehydes,andareductionof40Cinthefinalboilingpointwillreduce
thelevelsofbenzene,butadiene,formaldehydeandacetaldehydeby25%,andwillreduceHCemissions
by20%[44].

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4.11.2)CombustionCharacteristics
Asgasolinescontainmainlyhydrocarbons,theonlysignificantvariablebetweendifferentgradesisthe
octaneratingofthefuel,asmostotherpropertiesaresimilar.OctaneisdiscussedindetailinSection6.
Thereareonlyslightdifferencesincombustiontemperatures(mostarearound2000Cinisobaric
adiabaticcombustion[45]).Notethattheactualtemperatureinthecombustionchamberisalso
determinedbyotherfactors,suchasloadandenginedesign.Theadditionofoxygenateschangesthepre
flamereactionpathways,andalsoreducestheenergycontentofthefuel.Thelevelsofoxygeninthefuel
isregulatedaccordingtoregionalairqualitystandards.

4.11.3)Stability
Motorgasolinesmaybestoreduptosixmonths,consequentlytheymustnotformgumswhichmay
precipitate.ReactionsoftheunsaturatedHCsmayproducegums(thesereactionscanbecatalysedby
metalssuchascopper),soantioxidantsandmetaldeactivatorsareadded.ExistentGumisusedto
measuretheguminthefuelatthetimetested,whereastheOxidationStabilitymeasuresthetimeittakes
forthegasolinetobreakdownat100Cwith100psiofoxygen.A240minutetestperiodhasbeenfound
tobesufficientformoststorageanddistributionsystems.

4.11.4)Corrosiveness
Sulfurinthefuelcreatescorrosion,andwhencombustedwillformcorrosivegasesthatattacktheengine,
exhaustandenvironment.Sulfuralsoadverselyaffectsthealkylleadoctaneresponse,andwilladversely
affectexhaustcatalysts,butmonolithiccatalystswillrecoverwhenthesulfurcontentofthefuelis
reduced,sosulfurisconsideredaninhibitor,ratherthanacatalystpoison.Thecopperstripcorrosiontest
andthesulfurcontentspecificationareusedtoensurefuelquality.Thecopperstriptestmeasuresactive
sulfur,whereasthesulfurcontentreportsthetotalsulfurpresent.

4.12)Arebrandsdifferent?
Yes.Theabovespecificationsareintendedtoensureminimalqualitystandardsaremaintained,however
aswellasthefuelhydrocarbons,themanufacturersaddtheirownspecialingredientstoprovide
additionalbenefits.Aqualitygasolineadditivepackagewouldinclude:
Octaneenhancingadditives(improveoctaneratings)
Antioxidants(inhibitgumformation,improvestability)
Metaldeactivators(inhibitgumformation,improvestability)
Depositmodifiers(reducedeposits,sparkplugfoulingandpreignition)
Surfactants(preventicing,improvevaporisation,inhibitdeposits,reduceNOxemissions)
Freezingpointdepressants(preventicing)
Corrosioninhibitors(preventgasolinecorrodingstoragetanks)
Dyes(productcolourforsafetyorregulatorypurposes).
Duringthe1980ssignificantproblemswithdepositsaccumulatingonintakevalvesurfacesoccurredas
newfuelinjectionsystemswereintroduced.Theseintakevalvedeposits(IVD)weredifferentthanthe
injectordeposits,inpartbecausethevalvecanreach300C.Enginedesignchangesthatpreventdeposits
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usuallyconsistofensuringthevalveisflushedwithliquidgasoline,andprovisionofadequatevalve
rotation.Gasolinefactorsthatcausedepositsarethepresenceofalcoholsorolefins[46].Gasoline
manufacturersnowroutinelyuseadditivesthatpreventIVDandalsomaintainthecleanlinessof
injectors.Theseusuallyincludeasurfactantandlightoiltomaintainthewettingofimportantsurfaces.
Intakevalvedepositshavealsobeenshowntohavesignificantadverseeffectsonemissions[47],and
depositdepositcontroladditiveswillberequiredtobothreduceemissionsandprovidecleanengine
operation[48].AslightymoredetaileddescriptionofadditivesisprovidedinSection9.1.
Texacodemonstratedthatawellformulatedpackagecouldimprovefueleconomy,reduceNOx
emissions,andrestoreengineperformancebecause,aswellasthetraditionalliquidphasedeposit
removal,someadditivescanworkinthevapourphasetoremoveexistingenginedepositswithout
adverselyaffectingperformance(ashappenswhenwaterispouredintoarunningenginetoremove
carbondeposits:))[49].Chevronhavealsopublisheddataontheeffectivenessoftheiradditives[50],
andsuccessfullylitigatedtogetTexocotomodifysomeoftheirclaims[51].Mostsuppliersofquality
gasolineswillformulatesimilaradditivesintotheirproducts,andcheaperproductlinesarelessliketo
havesuchadditivesadded.Asdifferentbrandsofgasolineusedifferentadditivesandoxygenates,itis
probablethatimportantfuelparameters,suchasoctanedistribution,areslightlydifferent,eventhough
thepumpoctaneratingsarethesame.
So,ifyouknowyourcariswelltuned,andingoodcondition,butthedriveabilityispatheticonthe
correctoctane,tryanotherbrand.Rememberthatthecompositionwillchangewiththeseason,soifyou
losedriveability,tryyetanotherbrand.AsvariousCleanAirActchangesareintroducedoverthenext
fewyears,gasolinewillcontinuetochange.

4.13)Whatisatypicalcomposition?
Thereseemstobeaperceptionthatallgasolinesofoneoctanegradearechemicallysimilar,andthus
generalrulescanbepromulgatedabout"energycontent","flamespeed","combustiontemperature"etc.
etc..Nothingisfurtherfromthetruth.Thebehaviourofmanufacturedgasolinesinoctaneratingengines
canbepredicted,usingpreviousoctaneratingsofspecialblendsintendedtodeterminehowaparticular
refinerystreamrespondstoanoctaneenhancingadditive.Refinerscandesignandreconfigurerefineries
toefficientlyproduceawiderangeofgasolinesfeedstocks,dependingonmarketandregulatory
requirements.Thereisaworldwidetrendtomovetounleadedgasolines,followedbytheintroductionof
exhaustcatalystsandsophisticatedenginemanagementsystems.
Itisimportanttonotethat"oxygenatedgasolines"haveahydrocarbonfractionthatisnottoodifferentto
traditionalgasolines,butthatthehydrocarbonfractionof"reformulatedgasolines"(whichalsocontain
oxygenates)aresignificantlydifferenttotraditionalgasolines.
Thelast10yearsofvariouscompositionalchangestogasolinesforenvironmentalandhealthreasons
haveresultedinfuelsthatdonotfollowhistoricalrules,andtheregulationsmappedoutforthenext
decadealsoensurethecompositionwillremaininastateofflux.Thereformulatedgasoline
specifications,especiallythe1/Jan/1998Complexmodel,willprobablyintroducemajorreductionsinthe
distillationrange,aswellaschangingthevariouslimitsoncompositionandemissions.
I'mnotgoingtolistall500+HCsingasolines,butthefollowingarerepresentativeofthevariousclasses
typicallypresentinagasoline.Thenumbersaftereachchemicalare:ResearchBlendingOctane:Motor
BlendingOctane:BoilingPoint(C):Density(g/ml@15C):MinimumAutoignitionTemperature(C).It
isimportanttorealisethattheBlendingOctanesarederivedfroma20%mixoftheHCwitha60:40
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iC8:nC7(60OctaneNumber)basefuel,andtheextrapolationofthis20%to100%.Thesenumbers
resultfromAPIProject45,andarereadilyavailable.Asmodernrefinerystreamshavehigherbase
octanes,theseBlendingOctanesarehigherthanthosetypicallyusedinmodernrefineries.Forexample,
modernBlendingOctaneratingscanbemuchlower(toluene=111RONand94MON,2methyl2
butene=113RONand81MON),butdetailedcompilationsaredifficulttoobtain.
ThetechniqueforobtainingBlendingOctanesisdifferentfromratingthepurefuel,whichoftenrequires
adjustmentofthetestengineconditionsoutsidetheacceptablelimitsoftheratingmethods.Generally,
theactualoctanesofthepurefuelaresimilarforthealkanes,butareupto30octanenumberslowerthan
theAPIProject45BlendingOctanesforthearomaticsandolefins[52].
AtraditionalcompositionIhavedreamedupwouldbelikethefollowing,whereasneweroxygenated
fuelsreducethearomaticsandolefins,narrowtheboilingrange,andaddoxygenatesuptoabout1215%
toprovidetheoctane.Theamountofaromaticsinsuperunleadedfuelswillvarygreatlyfromcountryto
country,dependingontheconfigurationoftheoilrefineriesandtheuseofoxygenatesasoctane
enhancers.TheUSisreducingthelevelsofaromaticsto25%orlowerforenvironmentalandhuman
healthreasons.
Somecountriesareincreasingthelevelofaromaticsto50%orhigherinsuperunleadedgrades,usually
toavoidrefineryreconfigurationcostsortheintroductionofoxygenatesastheyphaseoutthetoxiclead
octaneenhancers.Anupperlimitisusuallyplacedontheamountofbenzenepermitted,asitisknown
humancarcinogen.
15%nparaffinsRONMONBPdAIT
nbutane113:114:0.5:gas:370
npentane62:66:35:0.626:260
nhexane19:22:69:0.659:225
nheptane(0:0bydefinition)0:0:98:0.684:225
noctane18:16:126:0.703:220
(youwouldnotwanttohavethefollowingalkanesingasoline,
soyouwouldneverblendkerosinewithgasoline)
ndecane41:38:174:0.730:210
ndodecane88:90:216:0.750:204
ntetradecane90:99:253:0.763:200
30%isoparaffins
2methylpropane122:120:12:gas:460
2methylbutane100:104:28:0.620:420
2methylpentane82:78:62:0.653:306
3methylpentane86:80:64:0.664:
2methylhexane40:42:90:0.679:
3methylhexane56:57:91:0.687:
2,2dimethylpentane89:93:79:0.674:
2,2,3trimethylbutane112:112:81:0.690:420
2,2,4trimethylpentane100:100:98:0.692:415
(100:100bydefinition)
12%cycloparaffins
cyclopentane141:141:50:0.751:380
methylcyclopentane107:99:72:0.749:
cyclohexane110:97:81:0.779:245
methylcyclohexane104:84:101:0.770:250
35%aromatics
benzene98:91:80:0.874:560
toluene124:112:111:0.867:480
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ethylbenzene124:107:136:0.867:430
metaxylene162:124:138:0.868:463
paraxylene155:126:138:0.866:530
orthoxylene126:102:144:0.870:530
3ethyltoluene162:138:158:0.865:
1,3,5trimethylbenzene170:136:163:0.864:
1,2,4trimethylbenzene148:124:168:0.889:
8%olefins
2pentene154:138:37:0.649:
2methylbutene2176:140:36:0.662:
2methylpentene2159:148:67:0.690:
cyclopentene171:126:44:0.774:
(thefollowingolefinsarenotpresentinsignificantamounts
ingasoline,buthavesomeofthehighestblendingoctanes)
1methylcyclopentene184:146:75:0.780:
1,3cyclopentadiene218:149:42:0.805:
dicyclopentadiene229:167:170:1.071:

OxygenatesPublishedoctanevaluesvaryalotbecausetheratingconditionsaresignificantlydifferentto
standardconditions,forexampletheAPIProject45numbersusedaboveforthehydrocarbons,reported
in1957,gaveMTBEblendingRONas148andMONas146,howeverthatwaspartlybasedonthelead
response,whereastodayweuseMTBEinplaceoflead.
methanol133:105:65:0.796:385
ethanol129:102:78:0.794:365
isopropylalcohol118:98:82:0.790:399
methyltertiarybutylether116:103:55:0.745:
ethyltertiarybutylether118:102:72:0.745:
tertiaryamylmethylether111:98:86:0.776:

Therearesomeotherpropertiesofoxygenatesthathavetobeconsideredwhentheyaregoingtobeused
asfuels,particularlytheirabilitytoformveryvolatileazeotropesthatcausethefuel'svapourpressureto
increase,thechemicalnatureoftheemissions,andtheirtendencytoseparateintoaseparatewater
oxygenatephasewhenwaterispresent.Thereformulatedgasolinesaddresstheseproblemsmore
successfullythantheoriginaloxygenatedgasolines.
Beforeyourushouttomakeahighlyaromaticorolefinicgasolinetoproduceahighoctanefuel,
remembertheyhaveotheradverseproperties,egthearomaticsattackelastomers,maygeneratesmoke,
andresultinincreasedemissionsoftoxicbenzene.Theolefinsareunstable(besidessmellingfoul)and
formgums.Theartofcorrectlyformulatingagasolinethatdoesnotcauseenginestoknockapart,does
notcausevapourlockinsummerbutiseasytostartinwinter,doesnotformgumsanddeposits,burns
cleanlywithoutsootorresidues,anddoesnotdissolveorpoisonthecarcatalystorowner,isbasedon
knowledgeofthegasolinecomposition.
PleasecheckattributionsectionforAuthorofthisdocument!Thisarticlewaswrittenby
filipg@repairfaq.org [FeedbackForm] [mailto].ThemostrecentversionisavailableontheWWW
serverhttp://www.repairfaq.org/filipg/[Copyright][Disclaimer]

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