Super Gasoline Research Articles

Source differentiation of BTEX compounds in groundwater contaminated due to refinery activities

This study aims to identify sources of groundwater contamination in a refinery area using integrated compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA), oil fingerprinting techniques, hydrogeological data, and distillation analysis. The investigations focused on determination of the origin of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), and aliphatic hydrocarbons as well. Groundwater and floating oil samples were collected from extraction wells for analysis. Results indicate presence of active leaks in both the northern and southern zones. In the northern zone, toluene was found to primarily originate from oil products like aviation turbine kerosene (ATK or aviation fuel), kerosene, regular gasoline, and diesel fuel. Additionally, stable isotope ratios of carbon and hydrogen for ethylbenzene, o-xylene (ortho xylene) and p-xylene (para xylene) in zone A suggested the pollution originated from gasoline within the northern zone. The origin of super gasoline (with higher octane) identified in southern zone using δ13C and δ2H values of toluene in the floating oil and groundwater samples. Further, biodegradation of toluene likely occurred in southern zone according to δ13C and δ2H. The findings underscore the critical importance of integrating CSIA and fingerprinting techniques to effectively address the challenges of source identification and relying solely on each method independently is insufficient. Accordingly, comparing the GC-MS results of floating oil samples with ATK and jet fuel (JP4) standards can be effectively utilized for source differentiation. However, this method showed no practical application to distinguish different types of diesel or gasoline. The accuracy and reliability of source identification of BTEX compounds may significantly improve when hydrogeological data incorporates with stable isotopes analysis. Additionally, the results of this study will elevate the procedures for fuel-related contaminants source identification of the polluted groundwater that is crucial to develop effective remediation strategies.

Comparative Study of Gasoline Fuel Mixture to Reduce Emissions in the Metropolitan District

In the present investigation, the behavior of fuel consumption was studied due to the high cost of gasoline and its price increase in Ecuador in recent years, for which reason the different mixtures have been studied to obtain lower consumption. The optimum fuel mixture rate for a T18SED e-tec II engine, Multiport Electronic Fuel Injection System (MPFI) between extra gasoline, super gasoline, and ethanol was obtained on two urban roads in the city of Quito (Ecuador). For the first test, mixtures of 10% super gasoline and 90% extra gasoline were made, and so on, for the following tests: (20–80), (30–70), (40–60), (50–50), (60–40), (70–30), (80–20), and (90–10) % super and extra gasoline. Then, mixtures between super gasoline and ethanol and extra gasoline and ethanol with concentrations of 5% and 10% were made. The results showed a low consumption on Maldonado Avenue with the 20% extra and 80% super mixtures obtaining a value of 2.9 L, while the mixture that presented a higher consumption was 100% extra of 3.4 L. At the end of each test, the fuel tank was completely drained, and the engine control unit (ECU) was reset for each test. The data acquisition was carried out through an OBD II (on-board diagnostic system) installed in each of the tests.

Use of Fuels in the Productivity of Ecuadorian Companies: Assessment of Their Impact on Climate Change

This article aims to analyze the relationship between fuel consumption (gasoline, diesel, and Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and total production in Ecuadorian companies that use some fuel in their processes, in addition to quantifying the CO2 emissions generated by these fuels in 2019. For this purpose, a correlational study of these variables (Pearson’s correlation coefficient) has been made, using statistical data from the ENESEM 2019 Structural Enterprise Survey, prepared by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC). The results show that the relationship between the consumption of Extra gasoline and Ecopais with total production is not significant, while it is in the case of consumption of Super gasoline, Diesel, and LPG. As for CO2 emissions, it is observed that the largest generator is diesel, with almost 4.5 megatons per year, second to gasoline, with a little less than 2 megatons, and finally is LPG, with less than 0.5 megatons. In conclusion, LPG fuel, whose association with total production is the most significant, is the least polluting and in total these business sectors generate almost 7 megatons of CO2 per year of the total 40 megatons generated by the country.

Detection of Gasoline Adulteration Using Modified Distillation Curves and Artificial Neural Network

AbstractTo detect adulteration in gasoline, an automatic distillation apparatus was set up to measure the recovered volume and temperature simultaneously. The level metering was performed by online image processing instead of the conventional visual operator‐based measurement. To investigate the effect of additives in super gasoline, regular gasoline and diesel were added and the distillation curves were analyzed. The principal component analysis model was employed to reduce the obtained data. Finally, an artificial neural network was applied to predict the volume percentage of adulterants in super gasoline. Statistical analysis showed that the proposed model has a mean relative error and correlation coefficient of 4.6 % and 0.995, respectively.

Estudio del rendimiento dinámico de un motor Otto al utilizar mezclas de dos tipos de gasolinas: “Extra” y “Súper”

En el presente estudio se determina el rendimiento de un motor ciclo Otto, utilizando gasolina Súper (92 octanos), Extra (87 octanos) y mezclas con estas dos gasolinas, la primera con 50%V de cada tipo, mientras que la segunda con un valor en volumen de 70% de Súper con 30%V de Extra. Se utilizó un dinamómetro para obtener las curvas de potencia y torque, la mezcla Súper 50%V con Extra 50%V obtuvo un mayor valor de potencia con 81.3 HP, la gasolina Súper obtuvo un mayor valor de torque con 89.2 lb-ft. Con las pruebas dinámicas en ruta se midió el consumo de combustible, resultando menor el consumo con la gasolina Súper. Mediante pruebas dinámicas con el equipo ASM y un analizador de gases, se midieron las emisiones de gases contaminantes (CO, CO2, HC y NOx). En el ciclo ASM 2525 se midió CO, HC y NOx siendo la gasolina Súper, Extra y la mezcla Súper 50%V con Extra 50%V respectivamente las menos contaminantes y en el ciclo ASM 5015 siendo la gasolina Súper, Extra y la mezcla Súper 70%V con Extra 30%V respectivamente las menos contaminantes. En la prueba estática de gases, las emisiones bajas resultaron con la gasolina Súper.

Análisis de factibilidad técnica para la producción de bioetanol a partir de residuos de maíz en Ecuador

En el presente trabajo se produjo bioetanol a partir de residuos de maíz en la provincia de Imbabura-Ecuador. Se ha utilizado los residuos del maíz específicamente del tipo “Zea mays l” (Chaucho Mejorado) que se produce en la provincia de Imbabura.
 Se determinó su factibilidad en cuanto a su posible producción en términos de biomasa disponible.
 Se ha caracterizado el etanol en una mezcla E10 es decir 10% de etanol y 90% de Gasolina Súper, para determinar su factibilidad en su uso para el motor como combustible, teniendo resultados satisfactorios.

Evaluación de emisiones de gases en un vehículo liviano a gasolina en condiciones de altura. Caso de estudio Quito, Ecuador

En la actualidad es muy importante estimar la aportación del parque vehicular en los inventarios de emisiones contaminantes para la ciudad de Quito debido a su característica geográfica que la ubica en una altura sobre los 2810 m. En esta investigación se evalúan los factores de emisión en ruta de tres combustibles utilizados principalmente por vehículos livianos en el Ecuador; gasolina Súper con 93 octanos; gasolina Extra con 87 octanos; y gasolina Ecopaís (gasolina Extra y un 5 % de bioetanol). Se utilizó un vehículo Chevrolet Aveo 1.6 L instrumentado con un sistema on-board para obtener información de las emisiones contaminantes y el consumo total de combustible en una ruta predeterminada de 12 km, a velocidad promedio de 40 km/h. Se utilizó el modelo simplificado de combustión para desarrollar un balance de masa respecto a la cantidad de carbono presente en el combustible, y así obtener los factores de emisión ( ) en gramos de contaminante por kilómetro recorrido. Los resultados obtenidos son: gasolina Extra: CO 3.194 g/km, HC 0.060 g/km y NOx 0.142 g/km; gasolina 92 Súper: CO 4.770 g/km, HC 0.099 g/km y NOx 0.281 g/km; y gasolina Ecopaís: CO 5.939 g/km, HC 0.082 g/km y NOx 0.279 g/km.

Austerity and Fuel Consumption in Greece: An Empirical Investigation

Greek economic crisis in the last years and the subsequent austerity policy measures resulted to a decline in consumers’ income. This paper investigates empirically the Greek consumers’ reactions to income changes regarding their consumption of different types of fuels during the period 2007-2011. The empirical findings suggest that fuel consumption elasticity of income is different among different types of fuels. Furthermore the income elasticity is different among different Greek geographic regions. More specifically, fuels with high consumption i.e. 95 RON unleaded gasoline and diesel-bio fuels are found to be income inelastic as compared to fuels with low consumption i.e. 98-100 RON unleaded gasoline and new super gasoline LRP. Furthermore, for the high consumed fuels, consumers’ behavior patterns to income changes in the island are opposite to that in the rest Greek territory.

Comparative politics and environmental taxation

In this paper, we take a step towards understanding the role of democratic institutions on the level of pollution taxation. Persson et al. (J. Polit. Economy 108 (2000) 1121) argue that presidential–congressional regimes set lower taxes than parliamentary regimes. This conclusion results from the checks and balances built into the former, and the higher degree of legislative cohesion in the latter. We test this prediction on gasoline and diesel prices using the method of propensity score matching along with data from 86 democratic countries. The empirical evidence is consonant with the theory: we find that ceteris paribus the average price of super gasoline is $0.14–$0.20 less per liter in presidential–congressional systems; the average price of diesel gasoline is $0.11–$0.14 less per liter.

Method for determination of methyl tert-butyl ether in gasoline by gas chromatography

A simple method for the determination of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in gasoline has been developed. The separation of MTBE from other analytes was controlled by the use of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry in the full scan mode using the characteristic primary, secondary and tertiary ions m/ z 73, 57 and 43. The sample mass spectrum did not show any superimposition of other analytes. The separation from the common gasoline component 2-methylpentane was sufficient for reliable quantitation. An application of the developed conditions using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection was performed by the analysis of regular, euro super, super premium unleaded and ‘Optimax’ gasoline from petrol stations in the area of Frankfurt/Main, Germany. Regular unleaded gasoline shows an average MTBE content of 0.4% (w/w), whereas the MTBE content in euro super gasoline varies between 0.4 and 4.2% (w/w). The blending of MTBE to super premium has increased from 8.2% (w/w) in 1998 to 9.8% (w/w) on average in 1999. The recently introduced gasoline ‘Optimax’ shows an average MTBE content of 11.9% (w/w). The presented method might also be used for the analysis of other ethers, such as ethyl tert-butyl ether, which requires the use of another internal standard.

Accuracy and sensitivity of the potentiometric determination of total sulphur in petroleum

A potentiometric method is described for the determination of total sulphur in crude oil and its fractions over all concentration ranges. The method involves the quantitative conversion of sulphur to sulphate using an oxygen flask method followed by potentiometric titration using lead nitrate as titrant with a lead-selective indicator electrode. The sensitivity, accuracy and reproducibility of the method were investigated by analysing a series of standard sodium sulphate solutions and synthetic standards. The limits of detection ranged from 3.2 × 10–4 to 1.6 × 10–6 g ml–1. The results were plotted on Gran plots and showed an error ranging from 0.51 to 3.0%, while the relative standard deviation did not exceed 3.13%. The method was applied successfully to the determination of total sulphur in crude oil and its fractions, before and after treatment, in addition to premium and super gasoline with and without tetraethyllead (TEL). The results showed that the amount of sulphur present in these fractions ranged from 0.035% m/m in super gasoline with TEL to 0.73% m/m in gas oil, and amounted to 1.99% m/m in crude oil with a relative standard deviation of between 0.9 and 5.17%.

Rapid dielectric method for determination of lead content in automotive gasolines

A rapid method was developed for determining tetraethyl lead content in gasolines for purposes of air pollution abatement. The method is based on absorption, by a dielectric, of radiowaves in the UHF range. The method measures the attenuation of electromagnetic waves upon passage through a liquid layer. The instrumentation is described and the method is compared to more conventional chemical and spectroscopic methods. Gasoline with and without tetraethyl lead additive and super gasoline with the tetraethyl lead additive were tested. Maximum dielectric losses and permittivity as functions of tetraethyl lead content are shown.