Natural gasoline is a liquid form of natural gas that can be obtained by fractional distillation or from condensates. It consists of hydrocarbons like butane, pentane, and hexane, and was used as a fuel source for early automobiles and airplanes. It has a low octane rating and can be volatile, but can be combined with other substances to create gasoline. It is also used as a solvent and diluent, but must be kept away from sources of ignition.
Natural gasoline is a form of natural gas that becomes a liquid at regular atmospheric pressure and moderate temperatures. It can form naturally from condensates or can be obtained by fractional distillation of wet natural gas. When natural gasoline is formed from condensates, it is often referred to as drip gas. Unlike the gasoline, or petrol, used to power modern automobiles, natural gas is relatively low in octane and can be substantially more volatile. It can be combined with other substances to create gasoline, although it was also used on its own in the early days of automobiles.
The chemical makeup of natural gasoline typically consists of hydrocarbons, such as butane, pentane, and hexane. This range of hydrocarbons can be obtained by fractional distillation or can form naturally from condensates. When this particular range of hydrocarbons is distilled, it is sometimes used in the denaturation of alcohol that is expected to be used as a fuel source. This is typically intended to prevent people from ingesting fuel alcohol, as adding certain compounds can make it unpalatable.
In the early days of internal combustion engines, natural gasoline was a commonly used fuel source. Both early automobiles and airplanes used engines with relatively low compression ratios, which ran well on natural drip gas and the commercially distilled version. Drip gas was often used to power personal vehicles in the early part of the 20th century by people who had easy access to wells. Subsequent advances in automobile engines resulted in higher octane requirements, so drip gas was no longer suitable.
Commercially available gasoline typically has various additives included to raise the octane rating in the 80s or 90s. This is substantially higher than the 30-50 you can expect from natural gas. Despite this, there have been problems with people stealing drip gas from refineries and natural gas pipes. Natural gas’ low octane rating typically causes the engine to knock. Incomplete ignition can also cause harmful tailpipe emissions, which have been used to identify vehicles powered by stolen natural gas.
In addition to uses such as denaturing alcohol and burning it as a fuel, drip gas can also be useful as a solvent and diluent. Being a very volatile substance, any use as a cleaner or solvent must be carefully kept away from sources of ignition. It can also be used as a thinner, especially for paint. Many of the hydrocarbons found in natural gasoline can also be found in commercially available solvents, cleaners, and thinners. These products are often specifically designed to be less volatile.
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