Ethanol

[Jethro_uk]

No, he'd have been lucky, trust me.

Again, way above his pay grade.

[Dave Plowman (News]

Thought alcohol is in general rather clean burning? Are you saying it is worse than petrol?

[Jethro_uk]

I think the assertion was that unleaded petrol is slightly more carcinogenic than leaded petrol, and that would have made the fire chief correct.

Sadly for the fire chief my memory was a screaming headline at almost exactly the most inconvenient time (when the government was trying to persuade motorists to pay to have their cars converted for unleaded) which never explained why the chief felt unleaded was more of a fire risk than leaded. Which was his contribution to the debate.

ISTR he was from one of the smaller county forces. At this distance it would be easy to believe it was just a shot at a headline - possibly as part of a wager .....

[bert]

In article [e-mail]>, "Dave Plowman (News)" [e-mail]> writes

Lost in the mists of time but, yes their older engines relied on the lead content for valve lubrication. Was a problem converting old Land Rovers to autogas. There was a drip feed system to insert lubricant into the inlet manifold. Can't remember the name. Came from Holland.

[bert]

In article [e-mail], Scott [e-mail]> writes

[Fredxx]

What I am trying to say that when unleaded fuels entered the market they were toxic. You wouldn't want to inhale the vapours or get any splashed on your hands.

As time has progressed there are new regulations with limits on the aromatic content.

The octane rating of ethanol is quite high, so less of a need for these aromatics in E10.

[Jethro_uk]

More so than regular 4-star ?

[Chris Hogg]

Tetraethyl lead, the chemical added to petrol as an anti-knock agent, was itself neurotoxic, as well as being the source of the lead emitted into the atmosphere from the vehicle exhaust. e.g.

and

[Dave Plowman (News]

I often use petrol for cleaning oily car components. And don't bother with gloves. My hands didn't fall off after unleaded disappeared.

[The Natural Philosopher]

yes.

[Fredxx]

The risk you take is your choice, of all the things I don't do, is allow petrol on my hands. I avoid inhaling the fumes.

Benzene and other aromatics have been known as a potent carcinogen for decades. Typically leukaemias and blood cancers.

[Fredxx]

Regular 4-star was largely made of alkanes / paraffins and tetra-ethyl lead.

Tetra-ethyl lead is a danger as it is easily absorbed by the human body and is volatile.

Lead is a neurotoxin and is thought to be consistent with violent crimes:

Lead can be excreted from the human body, albeit slowly, therefore I will leave it to you which is worse. Leukaemia vs nervous system issues?

I was just saying that unleaded fuels were not as safe as some might lead us to believe.

[newshound]

That was Castrol R, a castor oil based lubricant that was reckoned to give slightly lower friction than mineral oil lubricants. This is where the name "Castrol" came from, although their main products Castrolite and XP were mineral oil. Some cafe racers in the old days used to add a tablespoon of Castrol R to each tank of petrol to fake that exhaust smell.

[newshound]

They didn't. The lead came out as a simple oxide.

[Chris Hogg]

Quite.

[Scott]

Where would this water come from? Would the moisture in the air (that replaces the petrol) be sufficient to cause a problem? Does this depend on temperature?

[Paul]

Benzene is bioaccumulative. It collects in bone marrow.

That means every time you choose to expose yourself to it, you're adding to the total amount stored in your bone marrow.

Paul

[bert]

In article [e-mail]>, "Dave Plowman (News)" [e-mail]> writes

Neither did mine - nor did they when covered with sheep dip nor creosote.

[newshound]

+1 (and I still do a bit of chemistry)

[newshound]

I was going to say that too, then I realised that I don't actually know what oxidises it to acetic acid. I assume that is mediated by some biological activity.