Freezing point of gasoline. Looking for the exact value
What determines the freezing point of gasoline?
Gasoline is a light fraction obtained from petroleum. A distinctive feature of gasoline is the ability to easily mix with air. According to this principle, carburetor engines were built, which for more than half a century worked on this property of gasoline.
And among all refined products, it is gasoline that has one of the best low-temperature properties (not counting aviation, rocket and other specialized types of fuel). So at what temperature will gasoline freeze? The average freezing point of gasoline AI-92, AI-95 and AI-98 is approximately -72 ° C. At this temperature, these fuels do not turn into ice, but become like jelly. Accordingly, the ability of gasoline to mix with air is almost completely lost. Which makes it useless once frozen.
The pour point of gasoline depends primarily on its purity. The more third-party impurities that are not light hydrocarbons in it, the faster it will freeze. The second factor is additives that are designed to increase the thermal freezing threshold.
There are special additives designed specifically for the conditions of the far north. They further increase the resistance of gasoline to low temperatures. This guarantees uninterrupted operation of the equipment. In the middle lane, these additives are not used as unnecessary.
What is the freezing point of gasoline?
The freezing point of gasoline is related to its ability to evaporate. There is a standard that requires refineries to create a product that is guaranteed to evaporate, mix with air and ignite in the combustion chamber from a spark. For example, the minimum point at which ignition will occur is considered to be the temperature of the fuel-air mixture, equal to -62 ° C
Under normal conditions, subject to the operating conditions of the car and refueling only with high-quality fuel, gasoline in the line or tank will never freeze. It simply does not happen on continental land such frosts (except for the poles). However, there are cases when such a phenomenon was still observed.
Low-quality fuel contains a large amount of impurities in its composition. Some of these impurities are unable to stay in suspension for a long time and partially precipitate to the bottom of the tank after each refueling. Gradually, a layer of contaminants forms in the tank. It is this layer that becomes the most vulnerable to low temperatures. And in combination with other mechanical contaminants at ambient temperatures below -30 ° C, this mixture can freeze on the fuel intake screen or inside the filter. Accordingly, the supply of fuel to the system will be paralyzed or significantly hindered.
Important properties are also the boiling point, combustion and flash points of gasoline. But we will talk about this separately in another article.
