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ERIC Number: EJ853489
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Sep
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
A Classroom Demonstration of Water-Induced Phase Separation of Alcohol-Gasoline Biofuel Blends
Mueller, Sherry A.; Anderson, James E.; Wallington, Timothy J.
Journal of Chemical Education, v86 n9 p1045-1048 Sep 2009
A significant issue associated with ethanol-gasoline blends is the phase separation that occurs with the addition of small volumes of water, producing an ethanol-deficient gasoline layer and an ethanol-rich aqueous layer. The gasoline layer may have a lower-than-desired octane rating due to the decrease in ethanol content, resulting in engine knock, while the ethanol-rich aqueous layer may not support combustion. Ethanol and ethanol-gasoline blends are not distributed via gasoline pipelines (in which water may be present), but are often proportionally blended just prior to delivery to retail outlets. We report a simple demonstration that effectively illustrates this issue by inducing a phase separation upon addition of a small volume of water to various alcohol-gasoline blends. (Contains 3 figures.)
Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society. Subscription Department, P.O. Box 1267, Bellmawr, NJ 08099-1267. Tel: 800-691-9846; Tel: 856-931-5825; Fax: 856-931-4115; e-mail: jchemed@egpp.com; Web site: http://www.jce.divched.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A