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Cost, Effectiveness, and Deployment of Fuel Economy Technologies for Light-Duty Vehicles (2015)

Chapter: Appendix Q: Examples of EPA's Standards for Gasoline

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix Q: Examples of EPA's Standards for Gasoline." National Research Council. 2015. Cost, Effectiveness, and Deployment of Fuel Economy Technologies for Light-Duty Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21744.
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Appendix Q

Examples of EPA’s Standards for Gasoline

Several examples of EPA’s standards for gasoline are listed below (EPA 2013):

  • The Gasoline Sulfur program was phased-in from 2004 to 2007. Refiners can produce gasoline with a range of sulfur levels as long as their annual corporate average does not exceed 30 parts per million (ppm). In addition, no individual batch can exceed 80 ppm. Sulfur can adversely affect catalysts and may also be emitted as a sulfur oxide.
  • The Mobile Source Air Toxics (MSAT) rules reduce hazardous air pollutants, also known as air toxics, emitted by cars and trucks. Air toxics include benzene and other hydrocarbons such as 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, and naphthalene.
  • Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) was mandated for metropolitan areas with the worst smog beginning in 1995. RFG is a blended oxygenated fuel which burns cleaner than conventional gasoline, reducing emissions of smog-forming and toxic pollutants.
  • EPA regulates the volatility/Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) of conventional gasoline sold at retail stations during the summer smog season to reduce evaporative emissions that contribute to smog.
  • Winter Oxygenate Fuel programs increase fuel oxygen and are mandated in certain areas for carbon monoxide control.
  • E15 is a fuel containing a mixture of gasoline and ethanol, specifically 15-volume percent ethanol and 85-volume percent gasoline. EPA has granted a partial waiver to allow E15 to be introduced into commerce for use in model year 2001 and newer light-duty motor vehicles, subject to several conditions.
  • Phosphorous in limited to 0.0013 g P/L since it can adversely affect exhaust catalysts.
  • ASTM standards include D4814 - 13a, Standard Specification for Automotive Spark-Ignition Engine Fuel. All fuels must comply with various properties contained in this specification. Antiknock Index (AKI) is defined as the Research Octane Number + Motor Octane Number divided by two. AKI limits are not specified in the ASTM standards. AKI limits change with engine requirements and according to season and location. Fuels with an AKI of 87, 89, 91 are listed as typical for the U.S. at sea level, however higher altitudes will specify lower octane numbers.

REFERENCE

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). 2013. Control of Air Pollution From Motor Vehicles: Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards. Proposed Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 98.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix Q: Examples of EPA's Standards for Gasoline." National Research Council. 2015. Cost, Effectiveness, and Deployment of Fuel Economy Technologies for Light-Duty Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21744.
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Page 406
Next: Appendix R: Impact of Low Carbon Fuels to Achieve Reductions in GHG Emissions (California LCFS 2007 Alternative Fuels and Cleaner Fossil Fuels CNG, LPG) »
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The light-duty vehicle fleet is expected to undergo substantial technological changes over the next several decades. New powertrain designs, alternative fuels, advanced materials and significant changes to the vehicle body are being driven by increasingly stringent fuel economy and greenhouse gas emission standards. By the end of the next decade, cars and light-duty trucks will be more fuel efficient, weigh less, emit less air pollutants, have more safety features, and will be more expensive to purchase relative to current vehicles. Though the gasoline-powered spark ignition engine will continue to be the dominant powertrain configuration even through 2030, such vehicles will be equipped with advanced technologies, materials, electronics and controls, and aerodynamics. And by 2030, the deployment of alternative methods to propel and fuel vehicles and alternative modes of transportation, including autonomous vehicles, will be well underway. What are these new technologies - how will they work, and will some technologies be more effective than others?

Written to inform The United States Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards, this new report from the National Research Council is a technical evaluation of costs, benefits, and implementation issues of fuel reduction technologies for next-generation light-duty vehicles. Cost, Effectiveness, and Deployment of Fuel Economy Technologies for Light-Duty Vehicles estimates the cost, potential efficiency improvements, and barriers to commercial deployment of technologies that might be employed from 2020 to 2030. This report describes these promising technologies and makes recommendations for their inclusion on the list of technologies applicable for the 2017-2025 CAFE standards.

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