Coleman fuel  Coleman fuel is a petroleum naphtha product marketed by the Coleman Company. Historically called white gas (not white spirit), it is a liquid petroleum fuel (100% light hydrotreated distillate) usually sold in one-gallon cans in the United States; in Europe it is usually sold in one-litre bottles. Coleman fuel is used primarily for fueling lanterns and camp stoves. Additionally, it is a popular fuel for fire dancing. Originally, it was simply casing-head gas or drip gas, which has similar properties. Drip gas was sold commercially at gas stations and hardware stores in North America until the early 1950s. The white gas sold today is a similar product but is produced at refineries and has a very low benzene content, benzene being a human carcinogen. Coleman fuel is a mixture of cyclohexane, nonane, octane, heptane, and pentane. Though Coleman fuel has an octane rating of 50 to 55 and a flammability similar to gasoline, it has none of the additives found in modern gasoline. Most burners will readily burn unleaded gasoline (or white gas), however.