Quote:
Originally Posted by Russo
no it's not.. refined fuel could be sold in every state.. it's the crazy politicians and the people who elect them that decide the regulations on whether the fuel is "good enough" to be sold in their state... this is why CA has 91 octane and every other state has 93 octane, or why some states have Flex Fuel that does damage to your engine and causes you to get less mpg, but they rather corn farmers make money at the taxpayer expense..
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Refined fuel is sold in every state, I'm not sure what you mean by that. EPA regulations directly related to octane are at the refineries, not at the pumps. Availability of higher/lower AKI(R+M/2) octane rated gasoline is based on regional demand for gasoline and the ability to fulfill demand with blending. Typically lower regional demand for gasoline means greater availability of higher octane ratings. However, altitude and in turn air density play a key role as well. Proportionate demand for each respective grade of gasoline is a big player too.
Refineries separate crude by density into blend stocks. Effective octane rating among these blend stocks varies. Remember, the octane rating simply tells you the resistance to uncontrolled detonation in relation to an iso-octane and iso-heptane blend of a given value. 93 octane gas is not really 93% octane, but holds the same combustion characteristics in regard to knock. Anyway, these blend stocks are mixed to the desired octane rating. If you trash everything but the good stuff, you can get a nice 95-97 or even 100+ octane gasoline, but this leaves less blend stock to mix with lower octane components to produce mid-grade or reduces the minimum octane rating of low-grade. This is why you see lower octane in almost all high-altitude regions because the effective octane demanded by a given engine is reduced thanks to lower oxygen density per unit air-volume. Supplying lower octane here allows the high-grade components to be blended into other supplies where premium demand is higher. High demand for premium gasoline, like in california, will actually over time result in refineries having to scale up the blending of premium into lower grades to produce mid-grade gasolines leaving less supply of the "good stuff" to maximize octane rating in premium.
Then you have intellectual property coming into play, to some extent regulations, and of course profitability. You would be surprised how little is a result of regulation compared to finance and money grubbing bastards. I trade crude for a living and spent time as a financial economist for Sunoco in the early 2000s.