Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: energyplay who wrote (11505)	11/14/2006 4:58:29 AM
From: Elroy Jetson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 219977

Ethanol was always available to increase octane levels in gasoline but it cost more than the gasoline. Ethanol has an octane rating of 113 and methanol 107. In California gasoline contains 6.5% ethanol and can contain up to 10%. This both increases the octane and oxygenates the fuel to burn more completely lowering some emissions. Other octane boosters are aromatic fractions from crude oil and ethers. Most aromatics are carcinogenic. Unocal based in Los Angeles primarily used aromatics to boost their octane, due to the abundance of aromatics in their crude. Many Chevron employees called Unocal gasoline "Hartley's stink juice" in recognition of the CEO of Unocal and the powerful odor of Unocal Premium gasoline. The octane rating of "simple distillation" depends on the crude oil used. During WW-II, octane became extremely important in aircraft engines. Germany obtained their crude oil from Romania which produced a light sweet crude which resulted in an octane rating of 87 through simple distillation. In contrast, the crude produced in the US resulted in a far lower octane rating. In the 1920s, typical octane ratings in America ranged from 40 to 60. In that era, a 50% mixture of gasoline and ethanol could raise the octane to 77 to 87, which is exactly what race car drivers did. American refiners during WW-II had to resort to three new techniques to increase their octane up to the levels the Germans obtained through simple distillation. 1.) Midgely chose tetra-ethyl lead, a molecule from an expired German patent, as the most economical way to increase octane rating in 1922. 2.) Catalytic cracking, as you mentioned, a process developed in the 1930s results in a higher yield of gasoline like product with higher octane. 3.) Alkylation, developed in the early 1940s, (a low temperature process which combines short chains into longer chains in the form of rings - a structure which results in higher octane). During the 1930s and 1940s, as a result of these techniques, typical gasoline octane ratings increased by 20 from 40-60 to 60-80. By the end of WW-II, the octane of additive rich American aircraft fuel had increased to 100/125 (lean/rich octane ratings) while German aircraft fuel with some additives were typically of 100/130 octane ratings. The fuels were quite similar, but American refiners had to do quite a lot of processing to upgrade American crude oil. The German engines also had fuel injection which could use emergency methanol-water and nitrous-oxide injection, which gave 50% more engine power for 5 minutes of dogfight. This could be done only five times and then the aircraft engine went to the scrap yard - or after 40 hours run-time, whichever came first. .