Acetone = better mpg, but risky?

[xN8x]

http://pesn.com/2005/03/17/6900069_Acetone/

 

http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Acetone_as_a_Fuel_Additive

 

Both of these sites support it but I know that Acetone can eat away plastic and rubber and aren't some parts of the fuel line/injections systems plastic or rubber? Plus, wouldn't this make more heat... which would could cause warping or fouling of spark plugs? Maybe it would be ok if it wasn't used every tank but more like 1 in every 15 - 20 tanks or when you really want good gas mileage. Any input?

[Darkness]

I wouldn't try it. Acetone is the same stuff that is in nail polish remover. It's basically a solvent, much like ethanol is. We use the stuff in the biochemistry lab to dissolve different organic things. I can't imagine how acetone will improve gas mileage, unless it is having the effect of cleaning your system, and that seems to me to be a pretty rough way to do it.

 

And according to the study, it changes the surface tension of the fuel? I call BS on that. How the heck are they testing that? Do they have a physical chemist on hand? This seems like a whole lot of guesswork and wishful thinking. Kind of like putting mothballs in your gas tank to raise the octane. I would steer clear of it in any car that you value.

 

Oh, and think of it this way, since acetone is such a great organic solvent, and your car is not brand new, you are going to have a little blow-by on the piston rings, meaning you are putting this nice organic solvent into your oil system.

 

Eh, educated guesses on my part as well, but I did graduate with a biology major and chemistry minor, so take that for what its worth.

[Jcrow]

Do a search on toluene and xylene. These will boost octane

[Darkness]

Yep, they used to boost octane way, way back, but not anymore. For more info, you can check: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/autos/gasoline-faq/part3/preamble.html

 

For the pertinant part:

 

6.20 Can mothballs increase octane?

 

The legend of mothballs as an octane enhancer arose well before WWII when

naphthalene was used as the active ingredient. Today, the majority of

mothballs use para-dichlorobenzene in place of naphthalene, so choose

carefully if you wish to experiment :-). There have been some concerns about

the toxicity of para-dichlorobenzene, and naphthalene mothballs have again

become popular. In the 1920s, typical gasoline octane ratings were 40-60

[11], and during the 1930s and 40s, the ratings increased by approximately 20

units as alkyl leads and improved refining processes became widespread [12].

 

Naphthalene has a blending motor octane number of 90 [52], so the addition of

a significant amount of mothballs could increase the octane, and they were

soluble in gasoline. The amount usually required to appreciably increase the

octane also had some adverse effects. The most obvious was due to the high

melting point ( 80C ), when the fuel evaporated the naphthalene would

precipitate out, blocking jets and filters. With modern gasolines,

naphthalene is more likely to reduce the octane rating, and the amount

required for low octane fuels will also create operational and emissions

problems.

 

 

Basically, if you are using octane of less than 90 and dump a huge number of mothballs in your tank, you might be able to raise your octane. How many ounces of napthalene would it take at 90 octane to raise 15 gallons of 87 octance fuel to, say, 89?

 

I think Acetone would fall into this category as well, though I have not taken the time to research it. This was from a simple Google of Mothballs and Toluene (a chemical known to cause cancer, btw, which is why its use was stopped in educational labs as a disinfectant).