While doing one of my favorite activities, perusing back issues of Popular Science on their website, I found an interesting article in a 1924 issue about the introduction of tetraethyl lead for making high-octane gasoline. Tetraethyl lead, called "Ethyl fluid" back then, was dispensed into the regular gasoline at the pump with a metering system, instead of being pre-mixed.
Maybe what could be done is to have good, alcohol-free regular unleaded gasoline available for those who can tolerate the lower octane, with the option of adding TEL at the pump for those who need it. That would reduce the need for TEL for a population of aircraft, while keeping it available for those fewer ones that need it, and would get leaded fuel out of the distribution system. All the fuel in the tank trucks would be lead-free. It wouldn't completely eliminate TEL, but would reduce the total amount used.
For those who are older, remember that Sunoco used to have gas pumps that allowed the customer to select his octane by blending two grades of gasoline at the pump? You turned a knob to select the octane on the pump. Surely with all the modern digital controls someone could come up with the necessary metering pump.
Maybe what could be done is to have good, alcohol-free regular unleaded gasoline available for those who can tolerate the lower octane, with the option of adding TEL at the pump for those who need it. That would reduce the need for TEL for a population of aircraft, while keeping it available for those fewer ones that need it, and would get leaded fuel out of the distribution system. All the fuel in the tank trucks would be lead-free. It wouldn't completely eliminate TEL, but would reduce the total amount used.
For those who are older, remember that Sunoco used to have gas pumps that allowed the customer to select his octane by blending two grades of gasoline at the pump? You turned a knob to select the octane on the pump. Surely with all the modern digital controls someone could come up with the necessary metering pump.
