History of gasoline! what is gas? and why it is NOT gasoline we pay for at the pump?
 

Want to know why you pay what you pay the the pump...and what you are paying for?

When you pay at the pump you are NOT paying for the gasoline

you are in fact paying for alot of other things....

click link, read on and discuss.

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/autos/gasoline-faq/part1/



non-reading folks beware. :lol



Here is a list of questions the article answers:

Subject: 2. Table of Contents

1. Introduction, Intent, Acknowledgements, and Abbreviations
1.1 Introduction and Intent.
1.2 Acknowledgements.
1.3 Abbreviations.
2. Table of Contents
3. What Advantage will I gain from reading this FAQ?
4. What is Gasoline?
4.1 Where does crude oil come from?.
4.2 When will we run out of crude oil?.
4.3 What is the history of gasoline?
4.4 What are the hydrocarbons in gasoline?
4.5 What are oxygenates?
4.6 Why were alkyl lead compounds added?
4.7 Why not use other organometallic compounds?
4.8 What do the refining processes do?
4.9 What energy is released when gasoline is burned?
4.10 What are the gasoline specifications?
4.11 What are the effects of the specified fuel properties?
4.12 Are brands different?
4.13 What is a typical composition?
4.14 Is gasoline toxic or carcinogenic?
4.15 Is unleaded gasoline more toxic than leaded?
4.16 Is reformulated gasoline more toxic than unleaded?
4.17 Are all oxygenated gasolines also reformulated gasolines?
5. Why is Gasoline Composition Changing?
5.1 Why pick on cars and gasoline?
5.2 Why are there seasonal changes?
5.3 Why were alkyl lead compounds removed?
5.4 Why are evaporative emissions a problem?
5.5 Why control tailpipe emissions?
5.6 Why do exhaust catalysts influence fuel composition?
5.7 Why are "cold start" emissions so important?
5.8 When will the emissions be "clean enough"?
5.9 Why are only some gasoline compounds restricted?
5.10 What does "renewable" fuel or oxygenate mean?
5.11 Will oxygenated gasoline damage my vehicle?
5.12 What does "reactivity" of emissions mean?
5.13 What are "carbonyl" compounds?
5.14 What are "gross polluters"?
6. What do Fuel Octane ratings really indicate?
6.1 Who invented Octane Ratings?
6.2 Why do we need Octane Ratings?
6.3 What fuel property does the Octane Rating measure?
6.4 Why are two ratings used to obtain the pump rating?
6.5 What does the Motor Octane rating measure?
6.6 What does the Research Octane rating measure?
6.7 Why is the difference called "sensitivity"?
6.8 What sort of engine is used to rate fuels?
6.9 How is the Octane rating determined?
6.10 What is the Octane Distribution of the fuel?
6.11 What is a "delta Research Octane number"?
6.12 How do other fuel properties affect octane?
6.13 Can higher octane fuels give me more power?
6.14 Does low octane fuel increase engine wear?
6.15 Can I mix different octane fuel grades?
6.16 What happens if I use the wrong octane fuel?
6.17 Can I tune the engine to use another octane fuel?
6.18 How can I increase the fuel octane?
6.19 Are aviation gasoline octane numbers comparable?
6.20 Can mothballs increase octane?
7. What parameters determine octane requirement?
7.1 What is the Octane Number Requirement of a Vehicle?
7.2 What is the effect of Compression ratio?
7.3 What is the effect of changing the air-fuel ratio?
7.4 What is the effect of changing the ignition timing
7.5 What is the effect of engine management systems?
7.6 What is the effect of temperature and Load?
7.7 What is the effect of engine speed?
7.8 What is the effect of engine deposits?
7.9 What is the Road Octane Number of a Fuel?
7.10 What is the effect of air temperature?.
7.11 What is the effect of altitude?.
7.12 What is the effect of humidity?.
7.13 What does water injection achieve?.
8. How can I identify and cure other fuel-related problems?
8.1 What causes an empty fuel tank?
8.2 Is knock the only abnormal combustion problem?
8.3 Can I prevent carburetter icing?
8.4 Should I store fuel to avoid the oxygenate season?
8.5 Can I improve fuel economy by using quality gasolines?
8.6 What is "stale" fuel, and should I use it?
8.7 How can I remove water in the fuel tank?
8.8 Can I use unleaded on older vehicles?
8.9 How serious is valve seat recession on older vehicles?
9. Alternative Fuels and Additives
9.1 Do fuel additives work?
9.2 Can a quality fuel help a sick engine?
9.3 What are the advantages of alcohols and ethers?
9.4 Why are CNG and LPG considered "cleaner" fuels.
9.5 Why are hydrogen-powered cars not available?
9.6 What are "fuel cells" ?
9.7 What is a "hybrid" vehicle?
9.8 What about other alternative fuels?
9.9 What about alternative oxidants?
10. Historical Legends
10.1 The myth of Triptane
10.2 From Honda Civic to Formula 1 winner.
11. References
11.1 Books and Research Papers
11.2 Suggested Further Reading

I found this bit interesting:



"Subject: 4. What is Gasoline?

4.1 Where does crude oil come from?.

The generally-accepted origin of crude oil is from plant life up to 3
billion years ago, but predominantly from 100 to 600 million years ago [1].
"Dead vegetarian dino dinner" is more correct than "dead dinos".
The molecular structure of the hydrocarbons and other compounds present
in fossil fuels can be linked to the leaf waxes and other plant molecules of
marine and terrestrial plants believed to exist during that era. There are
various biogenic marker chemicals ( such as isoprenoids from terpenes,
porphyrins and aromatics from natural pigments, pristane and phytane from
the hydrolysis of chlorophyll, and normal alkanes from waxes ), whose size
and shape can not be explained by known geological processes [2]. The
presence of optical activity and the carbon isotopic ratios also indicate a
biological origin [3]. There is another hypothesis that suggests crude oil
is derived from methane from the earth's interior. The current main
proponent of this abiotic theory is Thomas Gold, however abiotic and
extraterrestrial origins for fossil fuels were also considered at the turn
of the century, and were discarded then. A large amount of additional
evidence for the biological origin of crude oil has accumulated since then.

4.2 When will we run out of crude oil?

It has been estimated that the planet contains over 6.4 x 10^15 tonnes of
organic carbon that is cycled through two major cycles, but only about 18%
of that contributes to petroleum production. The primary cycle ( turnover of
2.7-3.0 x 10^12 tonnes of organic carbon ) has a half-life of days to
decades, whereas the large secondary cycle ( turnover 6.4 x 10^15 tonnes of
organic carbon ) has a half-life of several million years [4]. Much of this
organic carbon is too dilute or inaccessible for current technology to
recover, however the estimates represent centuries to millenia of fossil
fuels, even with continued consumption at current or increased rates [5].

The concern about "running out of oil" arises from misunderstanding the
significance of a petroleum industry measure called the Reserves/Production
ratio (R/P). This monitors the production and exploration interactions.
The R/P is based on the concept of "proved" reserves of fossil fuels.
Proved reserves are those quantities of fossil fuels that geological and
engineering information indicate with reasonable certainty can be recovered
in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating
conditions. The Reserves/Production ratio is the proved reserves quantity
divided by the production in the last year, and the result will be the
length of time that those remaining proved reserves would last if production
were to continue at the current level [6]. It is important to note the
economic and technology component of the definitions, as the price of oil
increases ( or new technology becomes available ), marginal fields become
"proved reserves". We are unlikely to "run out" of oil, as more fields
become economic. Note that investment in exploration is also linked to the
R/P ratio, and the world crude oil R/P ratio typically moves between
20-40 years, however specific national incentives to discover oil can
extend that range upward.

Concerned people often refer to the " Hubbert curves" that predict fossil
fuel discovery rates would peak and decline rapidly. M. King Hubbert
calculated in 1982 that the ultimate resource base of the lower 48 states of
the USA was 163+-2 billion barrels of oil, and the ultimate production of
natural gas to be 24.6+-0.8 trillion cubic metres, with some additional
qualifiers. As production and proved resources were 147 billion barrels of
oil and 22.5 trillion cubic metres of gas, Hubbert was implying that volumes
yet to be developed could only be 16-49 billion barrels of oil and 2.1-4.5
trillion cubic metres. Technology has confounded those predictions for
natural gas [6a].

The US Geological Survey has also just increased their assessment of US
( not just the lower 48 states ), inferred reserves crude oil by 60 billion
barrels, and doubled the size of gas reserves to 9.1 trillion cubic metres.
When combined with the estimate of undiscovered oil and gas, the totals
reach 110 billion barrels of oil and 30 trillion cubic metres of gas [7].
When the 1995 USGS estimates of undiscovered and inferred crude oil are
calculated for just the lower 48 states, they totalled ( in 1995 ) 68.9
billion barrels of oil, well above Hubbert's highest estimate made in 1982.

The current price for Brent Crude is approx. $22/bbl. The world R/P ratio
has increased from 27 years (1979) to 43.1 years (1993). The 1995 BP
Statistical Review of World Energy provides the following data [6,7].

Crude Oil Proved Reserves R/P Ratio
Middle East 89.4 billion tonnes 93.4 year
USA 3.8 9.8 years
USA - 1995 USGS data 10.9 33.0 years
Total World 137.3 43.0 years

Coal Proved Reserves R/P Ratio
USA 240.56 billion tonnes 247 years
Total World 1,043.864 235 years

Natural Gas Proved Reserves R/P Ratio
USA 4.6 trillion cubic metres 8.6 years
USA - 1995 USGS data 9.1 17.0 years
Total World 141.0 66.4 years.

One billion = 1 x 10^9. One trillion = 1 x 10^12.
One barrel of Arabian Light crude oil = 0.158987 m3 and 0.136 tonnes.

If the crude oil price exceeds $30/bbl then alternative fuels may become
competitive, and at $50-60/bbl coal-derived liquid fuels are economic, as
are many biomass-derived fuels and other energy sources [8]."

Thats a huge ass article. I cant belive anyone would take the time to read all of it. And its kinda obvious ur paying for the additives and other stuff in the gas.

wow. captian obvious strikes again

not really...the additives aren't expensive..but the price is regulated by the R/P ratio...
read what i posted in blue above.

gasoline is worth about 12 cent a gallon without the R/P ratio. but the R/P ratio prices gas accordingly to what execs state should be what we would be paying if crude oil on earth was running out within the next 20-40 years.

So basically the price we pay at the pump is soley based on the presumption that gas will run out completely between the next 20-40 yrs...this is done on purpose as a fail safe to buffer anything number of things (such as war, refinery problems, technology advances, environmental legislation, etc...) that can prevent or hinder crude oil from going from the oil beds to the pumps.

when in reality based on what fossil fuels/crude oil we have gasoline production will run out with in the next 900 to 10,000 yrs or centuries to millennia.

If we were paying for gas to reflect this fact that crude oil is not running out until after 900 yrs then gasoline at the pump would be somewhere between free and 12 cents a gallon.