Can I Kick It? - 'Hydrogen-Rich' Gasoline Might Provide a Boost for Refiners, But Challenges Remain

RBN Energy Blogcast

Oxygen-containing gasoline additives called oxygenates, including ethanol, have provided an octane boost to the U.S. gasoline pool since 2000. This has allowed refineries to reduce the octane of refinery-produced gasoline, which increases their gasoline production capacity and efficiency while simultaneously helping achieve the goals for cleaner, lower-carbon fuels derived from domestic renewable feedstocks. A new approach to gasoline formulation promises to take this “sharing” of the octane load much further to exploit the unique octane-enhancing qualities of ethanol, although there are some real-world challenges to wider implementation. In today’s RBN blog, we explain what’s behind the concept of “hydrogen-rich” gasoline.