Effect of volatility and oxygenates on driveability at intermediate ambient temperatures

Technical Report · Sun Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:5253106

Recent regulations reduce summertime fuel front-end volatility by limiting fuel Reid vapor pressure (RVP) to values considerably less than past commercial practices. There has been some concern that such reduced-RVP fuels may lead to degraded driveability, especially in areas with long distribution lead times and low tank turnover rates. In those areas, significant volumes of these fuels may be sold in cool spring weather in order to ensure that the RVP regulations are met at the start of the summer control period. The 1989 CRC driveability program investigated the independent effects of front-end volatility and mid-range volatility on cold-start and warmup driveability of late model vehicles at intermediate ambient temperatures. Front-end volatility was measured by RVP, and mid-range volatility was measured by the temperature at which 50 percent of the fuel is evaporated (T50). Volatility ranges investigated were those that may be required of future summertime fuels.

• Research Organization: Coordinating Research Council, Inc., Atlanta, GA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5253106
• Report Number(s): AD-A-248902/9/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
023000* -- Petroleum-- Properties & Composition
ADDITIVES
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
AUTOMOTIVE FUELS
FUEL ADDITIVES
FUELS
PERFORMANCE
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
VAPOR PRESSURE
VEHICLES
VOLATILITY