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Gasoline or petrol is a
petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting mostly of aliphatic
hydrocarbons and enhanced with aromatic hydrocarbons toluene, benzene or
iso-octane to increase octane ratings, primarily used as fuel in
internal combustion engines. Most Commonwealth countries or former
Commonwealth countries, with the exception of Canada, use the term
"petrol" (abbreviated from petroleum spirit). The term "gasoline" is
commonly used in North America where it is often shortened in colloquial
usage to "gas". This should be distinguished in usage from genuinely
gaseous fuels used in internal combustion engines such as liquified
petroleum gas (which is stored pressurised as a liquid but is allowed to
return naturally to a gaseous state before combustion). The word
"gasoline" can also be used in British English to refer to a different
petroleum derivative historically used in lamps; however, this use is
now uncommon.
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