cetane number

American

noun

a measure of the ignition quality of a diesel engine fuel by comparison with various mixtures in which the alpha form of methylnaphthalene is given a standard value of 0 and cetane is given a standard value of 100.

cetane number British

noun

Also called: cetane rating. a measure of the quality of a diesel fuel expressed as the percentage of cetane in a mixture of cetane and 1-methylnapthalene of the same quality as the given fuel Compare octane number

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cetane number

First recorded in 1930–35

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023