Home > Science Fact Finder > Energy - Why Was Lead Added To Gasoline And Why Is Lead-Free Gasoline Used In New Cars?

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page

Why was lead added to gasoline and why is lead-free gasoline used in new cars?

Tetraethyl lead (a colorless, oily, poisonous liquid), commonly called "lead," was used as a gasoline additive for automobiles made between the mid-1940s and the end of the 1970s. There were several reasons for adding lead to gasoline. First, lead improved the way that gasoline burned. Second, it reduced or eliminated the "knocking" sound caused by premature ignition in high-performance large engines and in smaller, high-compression engines. Lead also provided lubrication, which prevented the close-fitting parts of the engine from chafing against one another.

New cars (cars made between the 1980s to the present), however, require the use of lead-free gasoline. This is because new cars come with pollution control devices called catalytic converters, and lead destroys the substance used as the catalyst.

...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Consumption And Conservation
   1. Does the United States currently produce enough energy to meet its consumption needs?
   2. How much energy is saved by raising the setting for a home air conditioner?
   3. Which countries consume the most energy?
   4. How much water does an average person use each day?
   5. What does the term "cooling degree day" mean?
   6. How much energy is saved by recycling one aluminum can?
   7. What is the advantage of switching from incandescent to fluorescent light bulbs?
   8. How much money can be saved by lowering the setting on a home furnace thermostat?
2. Fossil Fuels
   1. Why are coal, oil, and natural gas called fossil fuels?
   2. How is a "heating degree day" defined?
   3. How and when was coal formed?
   4. What types of coal are there?
   5. What is a "miner's canary"?
   6. How is underground coal mined?
   7. When was the first oil well in the United States drilled?
   8. Why was lead added to gasoline and why is lead-free gasoline used in new cars?
   9. When did gasoline stations open?
   10. What are the main components of motor vehicle exhaust?
   11. How is gasohol made?
   12. How does driving speed affect gas mileage for most automobiles?
   13. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives to gasoline to power automobiles?
3. Alternative Energy
   1. What is alternative energy?
   2. There are three types of primary energy that flow continuously on or to the surface of the Earth. What are they?
   3. What is the difference between passive solar energy systems and active solar energy systems?
   4. What is biomass energy?
4. Nuclear Energy
   1. What is nuclear energy?
   2. How many nuclear power plants are there worldwide?
   3. What is the difference between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion?
   4. What is the Rasmussen Report?
   5. What is a meltdown?
   6. Where did the expression "China Syndrome" originate?
   7. Which nuclear reactors have had accidents?
   8. What caused the Chernobyl accident?
   9. What was the distribution of radioactive fallout after the Chernobyl accident?
   10. What actually happened at Three Mile Island?
   11. How is nuclear waste stored?