Experiment number (7)

Determination of octane number

By shatox Sx-100M instrumental

1. Objective:
The aim of this experiment was to analyze the octane number
(both RON and MON) from petrol sample.
2. Equipment and apparatus
1. Shatox Sx-100 instrument.
2. Sample of super benzene.
3. Sample of normal gasoline.

1
3. Background Theory:

 In 1927 the knock rating was introduced by Graham Edgar

as a measure for the knock resistance of a fuel. He
suggested using the ratio of two hydrocarbons that could be
produced in sufficient purity and quantity for reference
purposes. He also defined the knock ratings of these two
standard substances: 0 for the unbranched (n-heptane) and
100 for the branched-chain hydrocarbon (2, 2, 4-trimethyl
pentane, iso-octane).
 By this method the knock proneness of gasoline with
different compositions became measurable by their
comparison to corresponding standard mixtures with the
same knock resistance.
 The octane rating is a measure of the resistance of fuels to
auto ignition. It was developed by chemist Russell Marker
at the Ethyl Corporation in 1926.The mixture of iso-octane
and n-heptane gives an octane number to a fuel. It is
defined by the percentage volume of iso-octane present in
the mixture. For example, a mixture with 80% iso-octane
and 20% n-heptane would have an octane number of 80.
This mixture is called the primary reference fuel and it is
2
 considered to have the same anti-Knocking capacity of the
fuel such as petrol under test.

4.Method of measuring octane number:

The two methods that are employed for octane number testing
are called the Research Octane number (RON) and Motor
Octane Number (MON). These are measured under two
differing engine conditions in a standard „„Cooperative Fuels
Research” (CFR) engine which has a variable compression ratio,
a fuel metering system which easily adjusts the fuel–air ratio and
a „„knock meter” which gives a value of the „„knocking
intensity” based on the pressure rise rate in arbitrary units
between 0 and 100.
1. Test conditions for RON test involves an engine speed of
600 rpm, intake temperature of 52 C and spark timing of
13.
2. MON is considered as the better measure of how the fuel
behaves when under load as it is done at a higher engine
speed of 900 rpm. MON testing uses a similar test engine to
that used in RON testing, but with a preheated fuel mixture
at about 149 C, a higher engine speed, and variable ignition

3
 timing (21-14) to further stress the fuel's knock resistance.
Depending on the composition of the fuel In many,
3. average of RON and MON is taken that is called the Anti-
Knock Index(AKI), and often written on pumps as
(R+M)/2). It may also sometimes be called the Road
Octane Number (RdON), Pump Octane Number (PON), or
(R+M)/2. Activation energy is the amount of energy
necessary to start a chemical reaction. Since higher octane
fuels have higher activation

4
5.Result and Calculation:
Table(1,1):
SAMPLE RON MON PON=(RON+MON)/2
Super benzene 93.8℃ 84℃ 88.9℃
Normal gasoline 95℃ 85℃ 90℃

5
6.discusion:

1. what do you mean by octane number?

The octane number (ON) is a measure of the knock
resistance of gasoline. It defines a numerical value from
0 to 100, and describes the behavior of the fuel in the
engine during combustion. In determining the octane
number, a distinction is primarily made between the
research octane number (RON) and the motor octane
number (MON)

6
7. Conclusion
In this experiment we measure the octane number for normal
gasoline and super benzene, we get (RON, MON, PON). It is
obvious that our result is not accurate because as is know the
octane number for super benzene should be higher than normal
gasoline and that because maybe Super gasoline was not clean
or was probably blended with any other type of fuel, or perhaps
any mistake could happened during the experiment.
Also we understand that the " higher the octane number means
that better engine performance" because it's known that low
octane number in gasoline may cause several problems
including the problem of motor vehicles ( when octane number
is low it cause a sound from the motor of vehicles called
*knocking * which is result of outo- ignition
Octane number decrease with an increase in carbon chain length
such as: normal heptane
And octane number increases with carbon chain branching such
as: iso paraffin

7
So we can increase the octane number of fuel by:
1. Putting special additives into the fuel which discourage
auto ignition (such as: toluene, xylene, MTBE….)
2. Blending high octane number fuels in with the ordinary
petrol.