About Gasoline. Gasoline is a mixture of many organic compounds, mostly hydrocarbons containing from 4 to 12 carbon atoms (branched-chain paraffins, cycloparaffins, olefins, and aromatics). It is a liquid suitable for use as fuel in spark-ignition of internal combustion engines (Otto engine). An important quality parameter is the octane level, which is a quantity that measures the antiknock properties of the fuel in comparison to a mixture of isooctane and heptane. Gasoline should have an octane number of at least 60 but optimized engines use Gasoline with higher octane levels. Bulk Gasoline trades commonly occur in the spot market, in which the commodity can be purchased for immediate delivery.
The development of Gasoline began near the invention of the Otto engine, at the end of the nineteenth century, with demand and production growing rapidly during World War I. Since the beginning of Gasoline production, additives have been extremely used to enhance its properties. Gasoline is an important petroleum product, figuring among the top produced commodities worldwide. Over 20 million barrels of Gasoline are produced daily, and, by country, the United States is the lead producer, followed by China.
Gasoline Handling. Storage tanks have been made of several materials, although the most popular today is reinforced fiberglass. As a result of environmental concerns about gasoline leakage from underground tanks, many new installations have double-wall construction with leak detectors between the two walls. Since Gasoline is extremely volatile, an internal floating roof can be used inside a fixed roof can also be used. Gasoline is transported depending on the quantity and the destination. The most common ways are via pipelines in batches, rail cars (landmass transportation, usually in DOT-111 cars, holding 34,500 US gallons) and trucks (land transportation, ranging from 400 to 7,500 US gallons). Gasoline is extremely flammable, so it must be kept away from heat, sparks, flames, or other sources of ignition.
