If you did not know better you would probably put petrol and diesel in one category simply because they both make a car move. Petrol is a volatile flammable mixture of hydrocarbons such as hexane,heptane and octane. It is derived from petroleum which is used mainly as a fuel in internal-combustion engines. On the other hand, diesel is also used in an internal combustion engine where heat produced by the compression of air in the cylinder is used to ignite the fuel, but diesel is made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms that are in specific ratio to each other.
Petrol
Advantages of petrol
- Petrol is more volatile than diesel
- It is limited in use
- Even at the rapidly rising cost, it is still cheaper than any other fuel
- petrol has higher energy density than almost any other form of energy
- petrol lets vehicles travel further between refills than almost any other form of energy
- Cheaper to run
- Many people have a car that only runs on petrol, so it’s cheaper to keep buying more petrol than to buy a new vehicle that runs on some other form of energy.
- Energy content: 34.6 MJ/litre
- Viscosity: No change
- Torque (for 10L engine): 300Nm @ 4000 rpm
- Power (for 10L engine): 600Hp @ 5500 rpm
- Auto-ignition temperature: 246°C
Disadvantages of Petrol
- Very costly in certain countries
- gasoline is that is made from a type of petroleum not common (light sweet crude) and
- does not burn clean even with high tech and costly fuel systems
- we have a finite supply of petroleum
- It is a pollutant
- US Consumption (2006): 148 Billion gallons
Diesel
Advantages of Diesel
- Diesel releases less carbon dioxide into the air because it is more fuel efficient
- Diesel fuel does not evaporate as easily as gasoline, so it is much safer in accidents
- It is easier to turbocharge a diesel engine
- It is easier to supercharge a diesel engine
- Diesel fuel and exhaust just smells better
- Petrol only contains about 34.6 megajoules per litre (MJ/l)while diesel contains about 38.6 megajoules per litre
- Energy content: 38.6 MJ/litre
- Viscosity: increase at lower temperatures
- Torque (for 10L engine): 1000 Nm @ 2000 rpm
- Power (for 10L engine): 490Hp @ 3500 rpm
- Auto-ignition temperature: More torque at low speeds
Disadvantages of Diesel
- Cost:they require more fuel in the long run, resulting in considerably higher costs
- The specialized storage required for diesel also adds to the costs.
- Environment: The production of crops used to make bio-diesel can also damage farmlands.
- Diesel also emits dirty black smoke when used to run an engine
- Messiness: It is much easier to spill and slower to evaporate once spilled
- Noise: Diesel engines are noisier than petrol engines
Now that you know the big differences between the petrol and diesel. You should be able to make good judgement the next time you are faced with the tough decision of either going for a diesel or petrol empowered car.
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