Where my dad works they do a lot of draining the petrol + diesel mix people have put in their cars by mistake. Is there anyway to separate the petrol out of the diesel so you have a usable diesel?

fractional distillation?

Fractional distillation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(i knew gcse chemistry would come in handy at least once in my life....)

As far as I know there isn't. You could get it recycled and used for something like heating oil or similar low grade fuel oil for heating.

If there was the taxman would probably want a cut as well...

Just seen Fuey's post - you probably could do it but not in a economical (or safe) way

The fuel has all it's duty paid for, it's just mixed up. It currently get used in the really old diesel engines that run on just about anything. I was wondering if you could heat it up and boil off the petrol so you get just the diesel left.

Fractional distillation is the answer, but you would end up with `pure` petrol and `pure` derv with the additives gone.

Personally I'd stick to using it in the old dervs and buy stuff with the right additive package for your car.

I was wondering if you could heat it up and boil off the petrol so you get just the diesel left.

FFS have you got a death wish, simple advice DONT

Given that one is lighter than the other, do they not settle out? Or do they really 'mix' with each other when mixed?

(chemistry was never a strong subject of mine)

Depends how shaken, the additives etc.

The two don't sit on one another like water and oil.

Yes - Drop a match in it and see what happens *

*Note: do not actually do this. I nor Briskoda will not be held responsible for any damage to the body or property of yourself or others as a direct or indirect consequence of you taking this advice seriously.

The fuel has all it's duty paid for, it's just mixed up. It currently get used in the really old diesel engines that run on just about anything. I was wondering if you could heat it up and boil off the petrol so you get just the diesel left.

But it is currently a waste and you would be undertaking a waste treatment or recovery activity to produce a new "product" and I'm sure sure good old revenue and customs would think that sufficient to extract yet more duty.

but for gods sake don't try heating it unless you want to die.

Also petrol and diesel and highly complex mixtures of a wide variety of compounds and will mix together fully so won't separate out without a lot of effort. Remember it all came from the same source and you will likely loose all of the various additives.

I was wondering if you could heat it up and boil off the petrol so you get just the diesel left.

Well, you could, but if you have to ask then it would be an even worse idea for you to do it than the time my sis's classmates tried to precipitate something that had been disolved in Toluene using a Bunsen burner!

if you leave it long enough in a big open air tank , stirring occasionally, the petrol will evaporate , then you will be left with just the diesel

if you leave it long enough in a big open air tank , stirring occasionally, the petrol will evaporate , then you will be left with just the diesel

Are you aware of the flash point of petrol?

Try doing an ADR/HAZCHEM course and all will be revealed, a while ago I went to Northolt airfield where a mate is a safety officer and they did just what you are suggesting as a demonstration.

On a runway, two 205 ltr drums, one half full of petrol and the other alight 150 ft down wind of the one containing petrol. Took the sealed top off the one with petrol, and you could see the vapour shimmering as it went with the wind, and within minutes it hit the flames, and the flames ran back along the vapour to the drum and it exploded leaving a burnt/charred line between to two drums that would have set light to anything, and anybody in its path

Even scrap yards are now subject to enviromental laws which prohibit things such as your suggesting.

DO NOT TRY IT.

That sounds awesome Gerry... where can I get some drums?

That sounds awesome Gerry... where can I get some drums?

Take your petrol cap off, and park it in the steet near someone who is smoking and try it....LOL

Us smog monsters don't have that problem.

I really like the YOU WILL DIE posts. Thanks for the concern. Makes me feel a fuzzy. Feeding it to old diesels sounds the best (2.8 metrocabs) or using it to start my binfire.

Thanks all.

I really like the YOU WILL DIE posts. Thanks for the concern. Makes me feel a fuzzy. Feeding it to old diesels sounds the best (2.8 metrocabs) or using it to start my binfire.

Thanks all.

I would suggest you take care with the bin fire as well, just check this out before you try

I would suggest you take care with the bin fire as well, just check this out before you try

Just proves evrything I said about vapour, and as its heavier than air, it just goes where the wind takes it.

binfire - 205L oil drum with holes in it. A little safer than an open fire.

I suppose it does not matter if you have a little bit of petrol in the diesel.

I am sure in the handbook of our old Citroen AX Diesel it said you can mix a Gallon of Unleaded with a full tank of Diesel in winter to stop it from waxing up. Nowadays this is not necessary because in winter months (from October) additive applied to prevent waxing in Diesel. Additive is designed to be effective down to -15°C. Without additive at -5°C, or lower, you need fan heater under bonnet to melt fuel in filter & injection system. Don't store a gallon (4.5 Litres) of summer Diesel and take it to Avimore in Scotland for use in winter!

My father stupidly put 9 gallons of unleaded Petrol into a nearly empty diesel Fabia (1.9 Tdi 100bhp). He claims he was distracted by thinking about the wedding he was going to (not his!). He uses one gallon of this 10% diesel mix in petrol to add to 9 gallons (40 litres) of petrol in his Impreza Turbo. By diluting a 10% mixture by 10 means that the Scubby is getting a 1% Diesel feed in fuel. Similarly if you have 10% petrol in 90% Diesel fuel, then add it at 10 to one ratio.

My father is a Chemical Engineer and Fractioal Distillation would be easy IF and only IF he had right equipment. Don't try it at home because boiling petrol just LOVES to explode and could kill you and blow up your house easily. Boiling petrol or petrol vapour explodes / burns very nicely in your cylinders if you do not believe the explosive nature of fuel. It will spontaneouly ignite without a source of ignition above certain temperatures - its flash point. So no trying to distil fuel PLEASE. There are statutory limits on the amount of fuel that can be stored domestically.

Dispose of contaminated fuel via oil disposal at council tips or use in a car at less than 2% concentration.

Sorry for that essay but I HTH.

why bother seperating it?? just tip it in, with 50/50 with fresh diesel

There are statutory limits on the amount of fuel that can be stored domestically.

My memory says that you can only store 10l of petrol, in 2x 5l petrol cans (steel, or fuel-proof plastics), but you can store several 5 gallon jerrycans of diesel, or several hundred gallons of it in a bunded steel tank.

Where my dad works they do a lot of draining the petrol + diesel mix people have put in their cars by mistake. Is there anyway to separate the petrol out of the diesel so you have a usable diesel?

just dilute it down a bit and you can use in a fairly traditional diesel engine. When buying in bulk on the farm we sometimes got caught out with stocks of "summer" diesel in the winter and I have often added a "pint to the gallon" of petrol into tractors to stop the fuel freezing and never seen any sign of engine damage.

Would be careful with more hi thec modern engines such as common rails

Don't even think about putting it in a CR or PD engine as you could end up with a very very expensive bill for high pressure pumps.