Difference in fuels...?

Question

What is the difference between diesel and unleaded fuel?

Answer 1

Assuming by "diesel" you mean commercial diesel fuel oil:

For more information, see Gasoline (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline) and Diesel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel). You may also benefit from a review of http://www.prime-mover.org/Engines/GArticles/octane.html

Both are derived from petroleum feedstocks ("crude oil") and are blends of various hydrocarbons. Ordinarily, motor fuels are produced from light crude oils; "sweet" crude is low in sulfur content; all other crude is "sour."

Because of the exorbitant costs associated with removing the sulfur from the crude feedstock (as is required by law), the fuel market for sour crude is exceedingly small.

In the typical internal-combustion engine, diesel is (for the most part) a "compression-ignition" fuel; generally, gasoline is ignited by electrical spark.

Consequently, diesel has a very low (and almost never published) "anti-knock index" rating (typically on the order of 15-25).

By contrast, gasoline may be blended to have relatively high "anti-knock index" numbers (usually between 87 and 93 "octane" at the filling station, though competition gasolines may have "anti-knock index" numbers greater than 100).

To the greatest practical extent, sulfur is REMOVED from modern diesel (it's currently impossible to remove EVERY atom of sulfur from the feedstock, but we're pretty close to that).

Regardless the "anti-knock index" value, all gasolines contain approximately the same energy per unit volume; correspondingly, all petroleum-derived diesel fuel oils contain approximately the same energy per unit volume -- but diesel has more energy per unit volume than gasoline.

Answer 2

Diesel fuel goes in diesel engines only. Unleaded gas goes in gasoline engines. Its the difference between oil and gasoline.

Answer 3

diesel comes first in the re fining process it also has additives like sulpher and other chemicals to help with lubricating internal engine componants found in diesel engines unleaded gas is designed to burn cleaner and hotter and also with the help of a spark plug diesel does not it is designed to ignite under extreme commpression. diesel does not burn as easily and as fast as gas. they both produce the same effect in both tupes of motors but they achieve this effect in slightly different manners