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Octane numbers
The octane number of a fuel is based on how fuels auto ignite, under compression.
It is based on the scale where isooctane is 100 (minimal ignition under pressure) and
For example, a petrol with an octane number of 92 has the same knock as a mixture of 92%
It is important to know octane numbers for petrol because the auto ignition of fuels causes a
“knocking” effect in petrol engines. This is where it ignites twice; once due to the high pressure
and again when the spark ignites the petrol. This causes the car engine to be less efficient and it
However, diesel engines rely on this knocking effect, as they have no spark plugs and rely on
There are two ways to increase the octane number of a fuel. One is to put special additives
into the fuel which discourage auto ignition, and the other is to blend high-octane fuels in with
Anti-knocking additives
Anti-knocking additives are substances which reduce the tendency of a fuel to auto-ignite,
Since the 1920’s, small amounts of lead compounds have been used as economical and
Concern over the environmental effects of leaded petrol has lead to a gradual phasing out of
leaded petrol.
Petrol companies have focused their attention on refining and blending to get high octane
ratings.
The best kind of alkane for fuels is not the most plentiful in crude oil.
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The shorter the alkane chain, the higher the octane number. However, the volatility of the
The short alkane chains have to be mixed in petrol to lower their volatility and higher the
The other factor that affects the octane number is the degree of branching in the alkane
chain. The more branched the alkane is, the higher the octane number.
Crude oil contains both straight-chain and branched alkanes, but it does not contain enough
Chemists have solved this problem; increasing the octane numbers by isomerism, reforming
and cracking.
Isomerism
When the chains join together again, they are more likely to be branched.
low or the reaction would take too long, so a compromise is made between yield
The catalyst involved in the isomerization is platinum; the products are then passed over a
form of zeolite, which acts as a molecular sieve, separating the straight chains from the
branched chains.
Reforming
Reforming is where alkanes are converted to cyclo-alkanes and cyclo alkanes to aromatic
hydrocarbons.
Substances such as hexane (which are common in crude oil) are converted to cyclo-hexane.
Cracking
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Cracking involves breaking up large alkanes which have too many carbons for petrol into
These shorter chains are often branched, which gives them a higher octane number.
Cracking also helps to solve the supply and demand problem. Some fractions are abundant in
the crude oil, but are not needed. However, other fuels are in great demand but are not
Most of the cracking is done by heating up the fuel in the presence of a catalyst. This process
is referred to as cat cracking. The fuel that is heated can be kerosene, diesel oil, or any other
Zeolites are once again used in this process, as they act as excellent catalysts. Zeolite Y is
used to crack the fuel, as it particularly effective at producing fuels with a high octane rating.
As well as the shorter chained alkanes, alkenes are also formed. These are more often
One problem with cracking is that coke (carbon) tends to form on the catalyst surface, and so
the catalyst eventually becomes inactive. To overcome this, the catalyst is circulated with the
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