A colorless liquid hydrocarbon found in petroleum that is used as a standard for measuring the ignition quality of diesel fuel.
From Latin 'cetus' (whale) + chemical suffix '-ane' indicating a hydrocarbon. The name references the compound's relationship to cetyl alcohol, which was originally derived from whale oil.
Cetane ratings are why diesel fuel pumps advertise their numbers like gas stations do octane—a higher cetane number means the fuel ignites more readily in a diesel engine, similar to how octane prevents knock in regular car engines.
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