What are the hydrocarbons in gasoline?
Hydrocarbons ( HCs ) are any molecules that just contain hydrogen and carbon, both of which are fuel molecules that can be burnt ( oxidised ) to form water ( H2O ) or carbon dioxide ( CO2 ). If the combustion is not complete, carbon monoxide ( CO ) may be formed. As CO can be burnt to produce CO2, it is also a fuel. The way the hydrogen and carbons hold hands determines which hydrocarbon family they belong to. If they only hold one hand they are called “saturated hydrocarbons” because they can not absorb additional hydrogen. If the carbons hold two hands they are called “unsaturated hydrocarbons” because they can be converted into “saturated hydrocarbons” by the addition of hydrogen to the double bond. Hydrogens are omitted from the following, but if you remember C = 4 hands, H = 1 hand, and O = 2 hands, you can draw the full structures of most HCs. Gasoline contains over 500 hydrocarbons that may have between 3 to 12 carbons, and gasoline used to have a boiling range from 30C to 220C
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