Gasoline Fuel Blends for Otto Engines and Gasoline Fuel Additives

Gasoline is a volatile mixture of flammable liquid hydrocarbons derived chiefly from crude petroleum, which is used principally as a fuel for internal-combustion engines. Gasoline is a blend of hydrocarbons with some contaminants, including sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, and certain metals. Methanol and ethanol as alcohol fuels are technically and economically suitable for internal combustion engines. The octane number of gasoline increases continuously and linearly with methanol and ethanol percentages in gasoline. Hence, methanol is an effective compound for increasing the value of the octane number of gasoline. The engine performance improves as the percentages of methanol and ethanol increase in the blend. Fuel additives are used to improve gasoline performance in vehicles and to reduce specific emissions. They include octane enhancers, antiknock compounds, and oxygenates, as well as corrosion inhibitors, detergents, and dyes.