What is Knocking
The objectionable metallic sound produced during the working of an internal combustion engine is known as knocking. It leads to wastage of fuel.
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Factors effect Knocking.
Knocking depends upon the composition of the fuel, it falls off in the following order : Straight chain paraffins > Branched chain paraffins > Olefins > Aromatic hydrocarbons
Knocking may also be prevented or minimised by adding small amounts of certain compounds known as anti-knock compounds, e.g. tetraethyl lead (TEL) [(C2H5)4Pb] Such petrol is known as leaded petrol or ethyl petrol.
Tetraethyl lead is used as a mixture of TEL (63%), ethylene bromide (26%), ethylene chloride (9%) and methylene blue (2%). About 0.5-0.6 ml of this mixture is added to 1 litre of petrol.
In the cylinder of combustion engine, TEL decomposes to produce radicals which combine with the radicals produced due to irregular combustion. As a result, the reaction chains are broken and smooth burning of fuel occurs. This prevents knocking ![]()
This lead is deposited in the cylinder which is removed by ethylene bromide to form lead bromide volatile at the ignition temperature,
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However, use of TEL in petrol is facing a serious problem of lead pollution. To avoid this, a new compound cyclopentadienyl manganese carbonyl (called as AK-33-X) is used, in developed countries, as an ant knocking compound.