Why does premium fuel cost more?

[medic]

Fuel tanker man is right, depending on the station that you go to. I used to work at a station that had 4 tanks. 2 were for 87 octane, 1 for 89 octain and the third was for 93 octane.

Pretty much, they use a product called "drip gas" to raise the octane of the gasoline. The more drip gas added to the gasoline, the higher the octane becomes.

When it leaves the refinery, is it worth 25 cents more a gallon for the higher octane? Probably not, but you have to take into consideration all that happens along the way. The refinery obviously doesn't produce as much high octane as they do 87. They would be able to produce much more 87 more effciently if that was all that they produced. They need the additional drip gas to make the higher octane fuel. Then, the filling station needs to put another tank in the ground to hold this high octane fuel. They need a pump to dispense this fuel. All of this costs money, so the consumer purchasing the product will pay for all of these extras.

 

[drive it forever]

My oldest brother is a maintenance/HVAC guy for UDF. UDF sells Mobil gas. He has told me that the 89 octane is a precise blend of 93 and 87 octanes. A few years back, a TV station here in columbus did a news story about gasoline octanes. They discovered that BP, or Amoco's 89 octane was really 87 octane. Ohio doesent require a test for gasoline octanes, and hence BP took advantage of consumers who purchased 89 octane. On some gas pumps, you might see two odometers for gallons. The one with the larger reading is for 87 octane, the one with the smaller numer is for the highest octane. If you buy 89 octane and look at both gauges as you pump, you will (or should if its blended) see both gauges go up.

 

[G-MAN]

I think the octane of modern gas is primarily the result of the catalyst used in cracking, whereas when I was growing up in the 60s octane was controlled by the amount of additives used, usually tetraethyl lead. Today, higher octane gas requires more time in the catalyst, more heat, more pressure. It just plain costs more to make.

 

[Razl]

Is it purely marketing

Around here (RI) 93 octane costs about 25 cents more per gallon. How do you think the real cost is to produce the octane boost.

Secondly, do gas stations that have 3 grades have at least 3 storage tanks? Or is 93 mixed with 87 to make 89?

I've was thinking about this pumping gas this morning.

 

[bulwnkl]

Fuel_tanker_man has posted that there are only 2 storage tanks, and that the mid grades are simply blends. If you search for his posts you'll find a few dandy threads.

 

[Tosh]

The short answer is that it takes more crude oil to make higher octane gasoline.

 

[wileyE]

Most the 89 is 87 and 91 blended right at the pump through an adjustable mix valve. The actual mix varies to acheive the 89, but usually aprox 70% reg and 30% premuim. Since the midgrade fuel is usually priced right in the middle you can see the 70/30 blend works to their favor. If you were to do a 50/50 split by pumping twice you'd have better fuel at the same price.

 

[Tree Hugger]

quote:

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Originally posted by wileyE:
Most the 89 is 87 and 91 blended right at the pump through an adjustable mix valve. The actual mix varies to acheive the 89, but usually aprox 70% reg and 30% premuim. Since the midgrade fuel is usually priced right in the middle you can see the 70/30 blend works to their favor. If you were to do a 50/50 split by pumping twice you'd have better fuel at the same price.

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No, not really, you'd have higher octane fuel at the same price...

 

[mechtech]

Tree Hugger - Don't you get what wileyE is saying?