A recent patent from British Petroleum makes a disturbing admission:
piston-engined aircraft need such high-octane fuel that tetraethyl lead is still
added to it to keep its octane rating up. So while all new cars can now use
unleaded fuel, aircraft engines are still dropping lead from the sky. In WO
98/22556, BP claims a new high-octane fuel which is a mix of triptane,
iso-pentane, iso-octane, toluene and methyl tertiary-butyl ether. This, says BP,
raises the octane number to over 100, which makes it a usable lead-free aircraft
fuel.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Technology
Google shouldn鈥檛 be pressuring schools to use its AI
91色情片
Technology
Australia鈥檚 social media ban faces high court challenge
News
Technology
The nuclear waste repository in Finland designed to outlast modern civilisation
Features
Technology
How did the biggest crypto heist in history just happen?
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles