Tricky canister
Write this post pushed me to the case of my friend, who "got" for a serious repair of his old Gazelle after refueling the car with dubious gasoline. The very fact of engine failure was confirmed by bad fuel at a service station, and, of course, it would be possible to start routine disassembly at a gas station, but in most cases this does not lead to a result. What to do? We will try to analyze the problem from a physical and technical point of view.
Gasoline, as is known, is a rather complicated substance and does not have any single chemical formula. It is a mixture of light hydrocarbons with various additives that determine the quality and characteristics of gasoline. The quality of fuel in the production process is influenced by about 2 million factors, ranging from the quality of equipment, raw materials, to the qualifications of production personnel, which sometimes intuitively control the process, like bakers and cooks) A very accurate comparison. Some boil the soup, others boil gasoline. It is cooked. After all, this is chemical production and the technologist there is the most important person. But even if the refineries, of which in Russia, by the way, produce a product of acceptable quality, about 30 large versus more than 200 in the USA, this is not a guarantee that it will get into your tank with this quality. Problems with deterioration begin in the process of transportation, transfer and delivery to the final gas station. Gasoline is quite troublesome, requiring close monitoring. Temperature drops, atmospheric pressure, dirty tanks, water condensate and even microbiology (!) Worsen gasoline, turning it into a real headache for the driver. The quality of gasoline is also affected by the presence of impurities. Therefore, in the production process, it must be cleaned. This is a very expensive and long process. However, the requirement for fuel quality increases and manufacturers are forced to do so. Depending on the degree of purification and the quality of the additives, automotive fuel is divided according to the ecological level, in accordance with the European classification: Euro-2 (sulfur not more than 0.005%), Euro-3 (sulfur up to 0.0015%), Euro-4 (sulfur up to 0.0005%) and Euro-5 (sulfur up to 0.0001%). Of course, in addition to sulfur, there are other impurities in gasoline, such as lead, arsenic, phosphorus, alkyl nitrates, naphthalene, and more.
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Unlike the hero of the famous movie “Gentlemen of Fortune”, which was diluted with petrol by urine with urine, now there are many other elegant chemical ways to improve fuelrelieving . That just does not add to gasoline, translating it from one brand to another. Starting from complex and expensive chemicals, to simple acetone, which takes gasoline from AI-92 to 95th for a few hours. Just in time for the driver to drive away from the gas station. In one Tomsk funny newspaper of vacancies, I saw an announcement of such content.
What should a specialist do at a gas station with a higher chemical education? I do not understand.
Of course, there are various devices for fuel analysis. As a rule, they are either very expensive, or they are a whole laboratory. Various rapid tests in the form of strips, tablets, etc. can also be found on the market. Even there is a "grandfather's" way - to add potassium permanganate to determine the presence of condensate in gasoline. These are the Kalchak approaches. Of course, fuel quality can only be tested under laboratory conditions, but explicit gas falsification can be excluded, for example, by spectrophotometric methods.
A trip to friends by chemists not only refreshed memories of their former youth (after all, good vodka can be drunk only in a decent chemical laboratory), but gave food for thought. It turned out that there is a thunder of methods for determining spectrophotometric methods of impurities in gasoline, ranging from phosphorus and lead, to water condensate. It turned out, also, that many manufacturers add brand-name additives that make gasoline of bright colors, thereby trying to protect themselves from fakes. It was not unimportant that many methods work very well closer to the ultraviolet range, but the analysis can be carried out in the visible and infrared ranges, but this is worse. It was also useful to know that high-quality gasoline should always be optically transparent and that in most cases of unauthorized addition of foreign substances, gasoline "slightly" becomes cloudy, which also clearly indicates falsification. After analyzing this information, I began to search for inexpensive devices that can solve this problem.
After an hour on the Internet, I came across a funny shild. Grove - I2C Color Sensor
Despite the low price ($ 10), the label has decent characteristics. On board are 16 supersensitive photodiodes (4 blocks of 4 pcs.), Which serve 16-bit ADCs. In each block one photodiode is “clean”, i.e. not closed by an appropriate filter. Thus, the sensor can work as a spectrum analyzer, especially since there is a switch on the lighting LED on board, which can also be controlled by software. By the way, it is easy to re-solder it to a “blue” one, which is necessary for analyzing gasoline impurities. The sensor has a fairly decent spectral characteristics. However, this is not a toy at all. The datasheet describes various uses. Up to medicine and research. By the way, the sensor is very stable and showed excellent results on the repeatability of measurements. The launch on the Arduino UNO took 5 minutes. Sample program code here. I think that on the basis of this sensor, you can create a lot of interesting devices, and having a set of “reference” substances, for example, samples of really high-quality gasoline (where you can only take)) you can simply “train” the end device to compare samples from gas stations with standards. Well, if not gasoline? You can probably make smart glasses to determine the quality of beverages (milk, wine, juices), although such devices are already appearing.
But returning to gasoline, I want to do a small survey of a respected habr-community before tinkering with the prototype in order to clarify interest in this simple idea.
Please express your opinion about the following device.
The device is intended for car enthusiasts. This is a refueling canister for gasoline with an electronic unit, a small screen, a special button and operates on 3 finger-type batteries. This canister is designed to determine the quality of gasoline at gas stations to prevent engine damage from poor-quality fuel.
The canister has a volume of 5 or 10 liters. To check the quality of gasoline, it is necessary to buy fuel at a gas station and pour it into a canister. Then, by clicking on the "Check" button, wait for 10 seconds for the test results. You will see the following information on the screen.
1. The amount of gasoline poured (in liters, indicating the underfilling / overflow in%)
2. Type of gasoline (A-92, 95, 98 and its brand)
3. Transparency - (cloudy, transparent)
4. The quality of gasoline on a 4-point scale - (bad, relative, good, very good)
The canister is safe to use. Electronic and optical measurements cannot cause a fire, explosion, etc. The canister can be used for storage and transportation of fuel, as well as the ordinary canister. Of course, to certify such a device will be difficult and it can only be an information indicator.
Problem analysis
Gasoline, as is known, is a rather complicated substance and does not have any single chemical formula. It is a mixture of light hydrocarbons with various additives that determine the quality and characteristics of gasoline. The quality of fuel in the production process is influenced by about 2 million factors, ranging from the quality of equipment, raw materials, to the qualifications of production personnel, which sometimes intuitively control the process, like bakers and cooks) A very accurate comparison. Some boil the soup, others boil gasoline. It is cooked. After all, this is chemical production and the technologist there is the most important person. But even if the refineries, of which in Russia, by the way, produce a product of acceptable quality, about 30 large versus more than 200 in the USA, this is not a guarantee that it will get into your tank with this quality. Problems with deterioration begin in the process of transportation, transfer and delivery to the final gas station. Gasoline is quite troublesome, requiring close monitoring. Temperature drops, atmospheric pressure, dirty tanks, water condensate and even microbiology (!) Worsen gasoline, turning it into a real headache for the driver. The quality of gasoline is also affected by the presence of impurities. Therefore, in the production process, it must be cleaned. This is a very expensive and long process. However, the requirement for fuel quality increases and manufacturers are forced to do so. Depending on the degree of purification and the quality of the additives, automotive fuel is divided according to the ecological level, in accordance with the European classification: Euro-2 (sulfur not more than 0.005%), Euro-3 (sulfur up to 0.0015%), Euro-4 (sulfur up to 0.0005%) and Euro-5 (sulfur up to 0.0001%). Of course, in addition to sulfur, there are other impurities in gasoline, such as lead, arsenic, phosphorus, alkyl nitrates, naphthalene, and more.
')
That gasoline, and then the children ...
Unlike the hero of the famous movie “Gentlemen of Fortune”, which was diluted with petrol by urine with urine, now there are many other elegant chemical ways to improve fuel
At the gas station requires a manager with higher chemical education. Work experience is required.
What should a specialist do at a gas station with a higher chemical education? I do not understand.
Express fuel control
Of course, there are various devices for fuel analysis. As a rule, they are either very expensive, or they are a whole laboratory. Various rapid tests in the form of strips, tablets, etc. can also be found on the market. Even there is a "grandfather's" way - to add potassium permanganate to determine the presence of condensate in gasoline. These are the Kalchak approaches. Of course, fuel quality can only be tested under laboratory conditions, but explicit gas falsification can be excluded, for example, by spectrophotometric methods.
Spectrophotometry and not only
A trip to friends by chemists not only refreshed memories of their former youth (after all, good vodka can be drunk only in a decent chemical laboratory), but gave food for thought. It turned out that there is a thunder of methods for determining spectrophotometric methods of impurities in gasoline, ranging from phosphorus and lead, to water condensate. It turned out, also, that many manufacturers add brand-name additives that make gasoline of bright colors, thereby trying to protect themselves from fakes. It was not unimportant that many methods work very well closer to the ultraviolet range, but the analysis can be carried out in the visible and infrared ranges, but this is worse. It was also useful to know that high-quality gasoline should always be optically transparent and that in most cases of unauthorized addition of foreign substances, gasoline "slightly" becomes cloudy, which also clearly indicates falsification. After analyzing this information, I began to search for inexpensive devices that can solve this problem.
What is just not done for Arduino ...
After an hour on the Internet, I came across a funny shild. Grove - I2C Color Sensor
Despite the low price ($ 10), the label has decent characteristics. On board are 16 supersensitive photodiodes (4 blocks of 4 pcs.), Which serve 16-bit ADCs. In each block one photodiode is “clean”, i.e. not closed by an appropriate filter. Thus, the sensor can work as a spectrum analyzer, especially since there is a switch on the lighting LED on board, which can also be controlled by software. By the way, it is easy to re-solder it to a “blue” one, which is necessary for analyzing gasoline impurities. The sensor has a fairly decent spectral characteristics. However, this is not a toy at all. The datasheet describes various uses. Up to medicine and research. By the way, the sensor is very stable and showed excellent results on the repeatability of measurements. The launch on the Arduino UNO took 5 minutes. Sample program code here. I think that on the basis of this sensor, you can create a lot of interesting devices, and having a set of “reference” substances, for example, samples of really high-quality gasoline (where you can only take)) you can simply “train” the end device to compare samples from gas stations with standards. Well, if not gasoline? You can probably make smart glasses to determine the quality of beverages (milk, wine, juices), although such devices are already appearing.
But returning to gasoline, I want to do a small survey of a respected habr-community before tinkering with the prototype in order to clarify interest in this simple idea.
Please express your opinion about the following device.
The device is intended for car enthusiasts. This is a refueling canister for gasoline with an electronic unit, a small screen, a special button and operates on 3 finger-type batteries. This canister is designed to determine the quality of gasoline at gas stations to prevent engine damage from poor-quality fuel.
The canister has a volume of 5 or 10 liters. To check the quality of gasoline, it is necessary to buy fuel at a gas station and pour it into a canister. Then, by clicking on the "Check" button, wait for 10 seconds for the test results. You will see the following information on the screen.
1. The amount of gasoline poured (in liters, indicating the underfilling / overflow in%)
2. Type of gasoline (A-92, 95, 98 and its brand)
3. Transparency - (cloudy, transparent)
4. The quality of gasoline on a 4-point scale - (bad, relative, good, very good)
The canister is safe to use. Electronic and optical measurements cannot cause a fire, explosion, etc. The canister can be used for storage and transportation of fuel, as well as the ordinary canister. Of course, to certify such a device will be difficult and it can only be an information indicator.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/228771/
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