Determination of the Optimum formula for Composite Motor Gasoline Octane Number Blending Enhancer

Abstract

To decrease the dependency of producing high octane number gasoline on the catalytic processes in petroleum refineries and to increase the gasoline pool, the effect of adding a suggested formula of composite blending octane number enhancer to motor gasoline composed of a mixture of oxygenated materials (ethanol and ether) and aromatic materials (toluene and xylene) was investigated by design of experiments made by Mini Tab 15 statistical software. The original gasoline before addition of the octane number blending enhancer has a value of (79) research octane number (RON). The design of experiments which study the optimum volumetric percentages of the four variables, ethanol, toluene, and ether and xylene materials leads to 30 experiments. The results obtained show that RON can reach a value of 103.1 (30.5% RON improvement) when a formula of composite octane number blending enhancer containing a volumetric percentage of 15, 25, 25 volumetric percent of ethanol, toluene and xylene respectively. The cost study in comparison with the price of high octane number gasoline sold in Iraq show that this formula has a high cost of 2050 Iraqi Dinar (IQD)/liter gasoline, while  the formula of composite octane number blending enhancer containing 15% volumetric percentage of Ethanol only leading to gasoline of 89.6 RON (13.4 % ON improvement) gave minimum cost of 300 IQD / liter gasoline for the blend of octane number enhancer making the total price of the gasoline to be competitive with the high ON gasoline imported from outside Iraq.  While the formula of 7.5, 12.5, 37.5 and 5% volumetric percentage of ethanol, toluene, xylene, and ether respectively have a maximum cost of 2525 IQD of produced gasoline of 101.3 RON (octane number improved by 28.23%).