In the previous issue, we looked at the effects of a gasoline’s octane rating on your engine. We also noted that ethanol is used to boost that octane rating. Here, we take a look at ethanol.
Ethanol predates gasoline as a fuel for internal combustion engines; Nicolaus August Otto used the plant-based alcohol in the mid-1800s to power his early engine designs. Petroleum-based gasoline followed in the late 1800s, and it eventually became the primary automotive fuel. As early as the 1920s, ethanol was blended into gasoline to boost its knock-reducing octane rating. Use of ethanol-blended gasoline was increased during World War II to help counter gas shortages, but it was ramped down after the war.
More commonly used as a means to increase gasoline’s octane number since the 1920s, however, was…
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Motorcycle Mojo (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2024