Concept in Definition ABC
Miscellanea / / July 04, 2021
By Javier Navarro, in Nov. 2016
The gasoline used as fuel It has different prices and qualities depending on the octane used.
Octane gas
To measure the ability to endurance In gasoline to withstand high temperatures, a gas, octane, is used. In this way, in the resistance measurement, the behavior of gasoline is compared with the behavior of a mixture of gases, which is octane. Thus, when it is stated that a gasoline has 80 octane, this means that it behaves like a mixture of gases in which there is 80% octane gas. On synthesis, gasoline does not contain octane, but octane is a gas that is used as a reference. In this way, each type of motor requires a proportion of determined octane and this is called octane.
There are two types of octane inside a vehicle engine: motor octane and front octane. The former are measured at 900 revolutions per minute and heat the mixture to 150 degrees Celsius. The latter measure the components of crude oil that pass to the gaseous state in distillation.
Observing advantages of high octane
The power of the media engines transport increases as a function of octane. This is because the octane level improves the combustion the motor. It should be noted that better combustion implies fuel savings, lower emission of toxic gases and, in addition, the engine remains in better condition.
Engines and octane have evolved in parallel
The evolution of the engines is directly related to the quality octane rating of gasoline. Thus, until the 1970s, vehicles generally had a low compression ratio and therefore the octane number used was low. With the emergence of new technologies applied to engines, the need to increase the octane number arose.
Regarding what the octane rating should be to use, drivers should consult the vehicle's user manual, which specifies what type of octane is the most convenient. If an inappropriate octane is used, the engine piston suffers and can lead to deterioration. In any case, the type of octane to be used must be that indicated by the vehicle manufacturer.
In recent years, products designed to increase the octane number of gasoline have appeared on the market. This type of product helps to reestablish engine deterioration.
Photos: Fotolia - luxpainter / oporkka
Octane Topics