The impact of U. S. environmental regulations on fuel quality

Conference · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:5961062

Strauss, K H; Dukek, W G ^[1]

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1. eds.

The amendments to the Clean Air Act passed in 1990 focused attention on the emissions from mobile sources, such as automobiles and trucks, as they degrade air quality, particularly in urban areas. In legislating the 1990 amendments, it was recognized that a change in gasoline composition could have as great an effect on improved air quality as design changes in the automobile itself. Without lead available to meet vehicle octane requirements, the refiners increased the use of isoparaffinic and aromatic streams as blending components and began a search for replacement octane enhancers. More reforming units were added in refineries to produce streams of high aromatic content, a step that fortuitously produced more hydrogen gas for treating other products, such as jet fuel and heavier middle distillates, to reduce sulfur content and improve stability. The close relationship between motor gasoline and the quality of other products explains why the advent of reformulated gasoline in the 1990s is viewed with concern by refiners, particularly because the government has now decided to also mandate improvements in diesel fuel quality that will require much of the hydrogen that was counted on to treat jet fuels. As a consequence, the fuel subcommittees of Committee D-2 on Petroleum Products decided that the best forum for highlighting the interrelationships between all major fuels and the impending regulations to improve air quality was a symposium. The symposium began with the latest thinking of the Federal and State governments on air quality regulations and results were then presented from the industry Auto/Oil Air Quality Research Program. The impact of these pending changes on petroleum refining was then discussed. Later, the impact on fuel users for various applications and the effect on ASTM standards was presented. Papers have been processed separately for inclusion on the data base.

• OSTI ID: 5961062
• Report Number(s): CONF-9112174-; ISBN: 0-8031-1446-X
• Resource Relation: Conference: Symposium on the impact of U.S. environmental regulations on fuel quality, Austin, TX (United States), 11 Dec 1991
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
CLEAN AIR ACTS
COMPLIANCE
MEETINGS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
AIR QUALITY
AMENDMENTS
DIESEL FUELS
ECONOMIC IMPACT
EXHAUST GASES
GASOLINE
JET ENGINE FUELS
LEADING ABSTRACT
PETROLEUM REFINERIES
STANDARDS
ABSTRACTS
DISTILLATES
DOCUMENT TYPES
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GAS OILS
GASEOUS WASTES
GASES
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
LAWS
LIQUID FUELS
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DISTILLATES
PETROLEUM FRACTIONS
POLLUTION LAWS
WASTES
023000* - Petroleum- Properties & Composition
020900 - Petroleum- Environmental Aspects
290301 - Energy Planning & Policy- Environment
Health
& Safety- Regional & Global Environmental Aspects- (1992-)