Cetane number (diesel fuel) and octane number

(gasoline) both measure the tendency of the fuel to

ignite spontaneously. In the cetane number scale,
high values represent fuelsthat ignite readily and,
therefore, perform better in a diesel engine. In the
octane number scale, high values represent fuels that
resist spontaneous ignition and, therefore, have
lesstendency to knock in a gasoline engine.
Because
both scales were developed so thathigher numbers
represent higher quality for the respective use, high
cetane numberfuels have
Measure of the ignition quality of gas (gasoline or petrol). Higher this number, the less susceptible is the gas to
'knocking' (explosion caused by its premature burning in the combustion chamber) when burnt in a standard (sparkignition internal combustion) engine. Octane number denotes the percentage (by volume) of iso-octane (a type of
octane) in a combustible mixture (containing iso-octane and normal-heptane) whose 'antiknocking' characteristicsmatch those of the gas being tested. In the older vehicles, high octane numbers were
achieved by adding lead tetraethyl to the gas (the 'leaded gas'), a pollutant that contributes to lead poisoning (see
Lead). In the newer vehicles, the same result is achieved by the engine design that increases turbulence in the
combustion chamber, and/or by adding aromatic hydrocarbons (such as xylenes) and oxygenates (oxygencontaining compounds such as alcohols) to the gas (the 'unleaded gas'). Also called Octane rating. See also cetane
number.

Octane number is a value used to indicate the resistance of a motor fuel to knock.
Octane numbers are based on a scale on which isooctane is 100 (minimal knock)
and heptane is 0 (bad knock).

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ow octane numbers, and vice versa