How do you get nitromethane?

Nitromethane is produced industrially by combining propane and nitric acid in the gas phase at 350–450 °C (662–842 °F). This exothermic reaction produces the four industrially significant nitroalkanes: nitromethane, nitroethane, 1-nitropropane, and 2-nitropropane.

How much is a gallon of nitromethane cost?

… Nitromethane used to power the engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars costs about $16 US per gallon!

Is nitromethane more powerful than gasoline?

Pound for pound, nitromethane is less energetic than gasoline, but you can burn a lot more nitromethane in a cylinder. The net result is more power per stroke. You typically need about 15 pounds of air to burn 1 pound of gasoline, whereas you need only 1.7 pounds of air to burn 1 pound of nitromethane.

What is needed for nitromethane?

What's the secret? Nitromethane carries its own oxygen, so it needs much less atmospheric oxygen to burn. The theoretical ideal or stoichiometric air/fuel ratio for gasoline is 14.7:1. That means, 14.7 pounds of air are needed to burn 1 pound of gas.

Can I add nitromethane to my gas?

Nitromethane by itself does not burn, its only supplies more oxygen to the burn. Adding it to gasoline would be the same thing as running very high octane fuel, which involves motor knowlege and reworking to run safely.

GET NITROMETHANE at the store

Can you make nitromethane?

Preparation. Nitromethane is produced industrially by combining propane and nitric acid in the gas phase at 350–450 °C (662–842 °F). This exothermic reaction produces the four industrially significant nitroalkanes: nitromethane, nitroethane, 1-nitropropane, and 2-nitropropane.

How much HP does nitromethane add?

It has been learned that nitromethane can increase power output by as much as 13 percent on an indicated or gross basis when added to methyl alcohol and by 7 percent when added to a benzene-isooctane mixture in concentrations of 20% by volume.

Is methanol the same as nitromethane?

Nitromethane weighs more than methanol

For the same volume, a heavier amount of fuel mixture is needed - that is represented by a smaller numerical air/fuel ratio. This means you will need more fuel per run than you did with straight methanol.

What's the difference between nitrous oxide and nitromethane?

Nitrous oxide has a high oxygen content, allowing you to inject more fuel with each combustion, and thus making more power. Nitromethane however is a fuel substitution that has a high oxygen content, which means it doesn't need as much air as it would need if running on petrol.

What kind of fuel does Nascar use?

Sunoco's 260 GTX Racing Gasoline is the official fuel of NASCAR. Sunoco 260 GTX is an unleaded racing fuel that contains no oxygenates and no metal additives (lead). It also does not contain any ethers or alcohols such as ethanol or methanol or any other oxygenates.

What is the shelf life of nitromethane?

From my experience, it should last well over 1 year. In Quebec we stop racing in september and the season restarts in may. I regularly store fuel over winter and there are no problems.

How much nitromethane does a Top Fuel dragster use?

As you can imagine, these dragsters are not cheap cars by any stretch of the matter. Under full throttle, a Top Fuel Dragster can consume 11.2 gallons of Nitromethane per second!

What octane is jet fuel?

The octane ratings of AVGAS, a gasoline-based fuel, are usually either 91 or 100 (lean mixture) and 96 or 130 (rich mixture). The octane rating of jet fuel is much lower, around 15 – this is much more like automotive diesel and thus much more resistant to detonating due to sparks or compression.

How many gallons of nitromethane does a dragster use in one second?

* Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 11.2 gallons of nitro methane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate with 25% less energy being produced.

Can you buy nitro methane?

Our popular 99.9% Nitromethane in a gallon size. Hyperfuels Nitromethane Bottle - 1 Gallon (Pre-Order) Estimated available to ship June 30th, if purchased by itself, will ship via UPS Ground from our warehouse in Houston, TX.

What color does nitromethane burn?

Chemicals that burn with a white flame and no additional required fuel include isopropyl nitrite, nitromethane, and hexamine.

Why is NOS illegal in a car?

It is not illegal to store or transport them in most states, but it is unlawful to use nitrous oxide as an inhalant, and in the case of automotive-grade nitrous, it can be hazardous because of the added sulfur. For track-only vehicles or vehicles driven only on private property, nitrous oxide is legal everywhere.

Is nitromethane bad for the environment?

Based on this information and the expected low environmental concentrations, it is concluded that nitromethane is not entering the environment in a quantity or concentration or under conditions that have or may have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity or that ...

Does nitromethane cool the engine?

Ergo, lower Nitromethane in the fuel, the cooler the engine runs. It does not run as fast nor does it produce as much power with lower methane. More nitromethane will not cool your engine. The nitromethane is added to improve combustion not to cool engines.

What is the highest octane fuel?

Premium (the highest octane fuel–generally 91–94)

Why does nitromethane make more power?

Nitromethane instead is partly composed of oxygen, and therefore requires only 1.7kg of air to burn per kilogram of fuel. This means that with the same amount of air, a nitromethane engine burns eight times the amount of fuel, making loads more power.

What fuel makes the most power?

The highest energy density fuel is hydrogen, which is also the simplest chemical component in existence. Gasoline, which is derived from refining crude oil, contains much more energy than coal (twice the lower grade bituminous) or wood (three times).

Is nitromethane flammable?

Nitromethane is a FLAMMABLE LIQUID. Use CO2, water spray or alcohol-resistant foam as extinguishing agents. DO NOT use dry chemical extinguishers on a fire.

Is Top Fuel the same as nitro?

Whereas Top Fuelers use supercharged, nitro-burning engines, Top Alcohol Dragsters may use a supercharged methanol-burning engine or an injected nitromethane combination. The injected nitro cars do not use a transmission, and the supercharged cars have three forward speeds.