Surely you've already accompanied an adult to a gas station, haven't you? So you probably heard him ask the gas station attendant to add gas to the car's tank and he smelled the strong and characteristic smell of this fuel so commonly spoken and used in the daily life of people. Everyone knows that gasoline is an important fuel used by millions of people around the world every day. But do you really know what gasoline is? If not, shall we meet her now?
It is an organic compound (has carbon and hydrogen atoms in its constitution), formed by eight carbon atoms and 18 hydrogen atoms, whose molecular formula is C8H18, which is liquid. Its coloring depends on the type of materials that are mixed with it to be resold at the station. Generally speaking, it is a colorless or yellowish liquid, with aboiling point that can reach 135 OC (evaporates slower than water).
It is a liquid obtained from an important mixture called petroleum. That's right, gasoline is obtained from petroleum, so petroleum is a mixture (made up of various substances such as diesel, kerosene, gasoline, asphalt putty, etc.), the gasoline is separated from this mixture through a process called refining or distillation fractioned.
Oil, a liquid full of dissolved substances
You might be wondering, does gasoline exist in nature then? That's right. It is part of petroleum, but that does not mean that man cannot produce it in the laboratory.
During refining of the oil, a procedure called fractional distillation is performed, in which the oil is subjected to heating and its components are separated into towers, called fractionation towers, as each oil component changes to a gaseous state at a temperature value different.
Oil refinery
In the laboratory, gasoline can be obtained through chemical reactions where mineral coal reacting with hydrogen gas or mineral coal with water can be used. The only problem is that these are economically unfeasible processes, as they are extremely expensive, but possible. Because of this, obtaining gasoline from petroleum refining is the method used all over the world.
Gasoline is used in explosion engines, such as cars and motorcycles, so the greater the efficiency of the gasoline to undergo explosion, the greater the power of the engine.
In a vehicle's engine it is compressed into a compartment and after that it explodes, the more the gasoline resists compression without suffering an explosion, the greater its quality and efficiency.
In short, the longer the gasoline takes to explode, the better it is. This quality of gasoline is measured through the so-called octane index. The higher the octane index, the more it resists compression and the higher its quality.
Note: There are substances called antiknocks that make gasoline more resistant to compression, that is, they increase its octane rating.
Nowadays there are different types of gasoline that can be found at gas stations, but the difference is in the mixtures made. The types of gasoline are:
Ordinary gasoline (C gasoline):it is the one that, in addition to gasoline obtained from petroleum (pure type A gasoline), receives the addition of a percentage of anhydrous ethanol (alcohol), which varies between 20% and 25%.
Additive gasoline:it is a type A (pure) gasoline to which a package of additives is added, which has the main advantage of detergent and dispersing actions. These additives are added to minimize deposit formation in carburetors and fuel injectors, reducing the likelihood of engine failure and wear.
Premium Gasoline: It is a gasoline that has a special formulation. It has a higher octane rating and therefore greater resistance to explosion than regular gasoline. It also contains anhydrous ethyl alcohol (ethanol) in its composition in the proportion of 25% (a tolerance of 1% more or less is admitted). It is less polluting than regular gasoline.
Petrol podium:It is a cleaner gasoline than the others, as it has an amount of sulfur that is around 97% less than that of other types. In addition its octane is also higher, it takes much longer to explode.
As can be seen, these are types of gasoline that improve the performance of vehicles and also help in their maintenance, but the price also varies, being a little saltier in some cases.
By Me. Diogo Lopes Dias
