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Gasoline consists of mostly aliphatic hydrocarbons, enhanced with iso-octane or aromatic hydrocarbons like toluene and benzene. These aromatic hydrocarbons increase the octane rating of the gasoline. Sometimes, gasoline might contain a significant quantity of ethanol and small quantities of additives like methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), which is also an anti-knock agent and increases the octane rating.
Gasoline is produced in oil refineries via a process known as fractional distillation. Typically the main bulk of gasoline consists of hydrocarbons with between 5 to 12 carbon atoms per molecule. Usually to produce a gallon of gasoline, the oil refineries have to use two gallons of crude oil. That means for every gallon of gasoline your car burns, the United States has to import two gallons of crude oil from abroad. In other words, the amount of energy spent making a gallon of gasoline is more than twice the energy in a gallon of gasoline.
This should also explain to you as to why gasoline is expensive these days. As the price of crude oil increases internationally, the oil refineries are paying more to purchase it. They need to offset the increase and this increase is being passed on to the consumers. As the OPEC has refused to increase the oil output, the chances of gasoline prices decreasing are very dim.
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