Cetane is a colorless, liquid hydrocarbon of the alkane collection, C 16 H 34, used as a solvent and in cetane quantity determinations. In the identical method that octane quantity scores are utilized to fee the ignition stability of gasoline, cetane values are assigned to diesel gasoline to price its combustion high quality. Cetane numbers are used to point the combustion velocity of diesel gasoline. Diesel fuels with larger cetane scores have shorter ignition delays, offering extra full combustion and permitting engines to function extra successfully.