Shell announces nitrogen enhanced gasoline

[pruzink]

Drove by a Shell station today & saw a sign advertising "Nitrogen Enhanced" gasoline. I had to laugh about the thought of why anybody would want nitrogen in their gasoline. This is what CNET had to say about it http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10185640-48.html
I guess their will be some people thinking they will get more power & better fuel economy because the sign says it it "nitrogen enhanced". I want to see when they start selling the "plutonium" grade gasoline.

 

[boutmuet]

One of the nice things about diesel fuel is it is less susceptible to these marketing gimmicks.. at least in the US where it is less popular than gasoline.

 

[nortones2]

Some clues here: http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=239444&page=3

Presumably the detergent additive already used by the "premium" brands.

 

[Joe_Meehan]

Presumably the detergent additive already used by the "premium" brands.

Likely and it is also likely that the oil companies are just advertising the better fuel additive packages that all US gasoline must have today.

 

[dieseldorf]

the gasoline is not enhanced with nitrogen, the additives used it in are. Supposed to work better in newer DI engines.

 

[nortones2]

Chevron have this to say: http://tinyurl.com/6bdk6u Nitrogen in the form of amine compounds. Shell probably want to avoid saying the additive is related to ammonia....

 

[mtbmaniac]

Does anyone know if enriching their gasoline with nitrogen, are NOx emissions being increased?

 

[TDIMeister]

Nitrogen itself does next to nothing in gasoline, but its compounds have well-known properties as explosives and combustion accelerants (e.g. TNT - trinitro-toluene, EHN - ethylhexylnitrate, nitromethane, amyl nitrate, etc.). If the advertised additive(s) helps to accelerate combustion in an engine without affecting the knocking propensity, some benefits in fuel efficiency (of a very small order, a few percent at most) is conceivable and could be noticed after several tankfuls.

The quantity of additive used would be in the order of parts per million (ppm), so the affect on NOx emissions in- and of itself will be negligable, but any increase in combustion rate will tend to increase NOx, which would then get converted in a 3-way catalyst in a gasoline engine at over 95% effectiveness anyway...

 

[PDJetta]

Drove by a Shell station today & saw a sign advertising "Nitrogen Enhanced" gasoline. I had to laugh about the thought of why anybody would want nitrogen in their gasoline. This is what CNET had to say about it http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10185640-48.html
I guess their will be some people thinking they will get more power & better fuel economy because the sign says it it "nitrogen enhanced". I want to see when they start selling the "plutonium" grade gasoline.

I began seeing that sign a month or so ago at the Shell near where I live and I meant to google on it to see what kind of marketing BS it is. My guess is that it is a standard gasoline additive that all refiners use and its a nitrogen containing compound.

--Nate

 

[grizzlydiesel]

does that mean the fuel is carbonated???? or, nitronated??? i would imagine the fizz would cause filling problems, what with nitrogen being a gas and all.....

 

[nortones2]

Guinness contains nitrogen, and carbon dioxide, under pressure, and gives a nice smooth head when poured, but I don't recall any such thrill with gasoline....

 

[Powder Hound]

... are NOx emissions being increased?

I agree with TDIMeister in that the added N is insignificant in the light of 75-80% of the intake charge air is already nitrogen. But I disagree in that the amine compounds are not the nitrate compounds normally associated with explosives or the combustion enhancers you find in diesel additives.

Gasoline combustion additives have the exact opposite goal in mind. Higher quality (higher octane) ratings in gasoline are meant to inhibit combustion during compression. The desired effect for diesels is exactly opposite: higher quality of fuel will ignite more readily under compression.

 

[Thunderstruck]

does that mean the fuel is carbonated?

Soon you'll see all the gas drivers doing 10 minute fill ups, waiting for the foam to settle.

 

[TooSlick]

Lots of issues (particularly in Europe), with fuel injector deposits in DI gas engines, since the injector tips are right in the combustion chamber. The gas residue rapidly thermally decomposes and can cause significant deposits within a few thousand miles.

The new RDS & BP gasolines are meant to minimize these deposits...

TS

 

[EVO&TDI]

"Shell claims that nitrogen-enriched molecules chemically react with carbon deposits that have collected on the valves. These nitrogen-enriched molecules then clean the valves and permit maximum gasoline and air compression within the cylinder." Maybe they tweaked the amount but I think it's more marketing than new technology. If anyone really cares if it's new or not my wife works for the company that produces the additive for Shell, let me know and I'll bug her for an answer.

 

[grizzlydiesel]

nitrogen reacts with the carbon...........

im just stumped trying to think of a molecule that has nitrogen and carbon in it.....

 

[david_594]

nitrogen reacts with the carbon...........

im just stumped trying to think of a molecule that has nitrogen and carbon in it.....

Never took organic chemistry in school did you?

There are plenty of them.

 

[Joe_Meehan]

.. My guess is that it is a standard gasoline additive that all refiners use and its a nitrogen containing compound.

--Nate

I agree.

 

[naturist]

nitrogen reacts with the carbon...........

im just stumped trying to think of a molecule that has nitrogen and carbon in it.....

There are entire classes of them. Amines. Amino acids. Amides. Imides. Isocyanates. Proteins. Just for starters.

You want specific compounds? Urea. Tryptophan. Methy nitrate. Hexyl nitrate (hey, that's in your PowerService!). The possible list is truly endless.

 

[Joe_Meehan]

There are entire classes of them. Amines. Amino acids. Amides. Imides. Isocyanates. Proteins. Just for starters.
You want specific compounds? Urea. Tryptophan. Methy nitrate. Hexyl nitrate (hey, that's in your PowerService!). The possible list is truly endless.

Organic chemistry is fun.

 

[k1xv]

How about cyanide?