Air Pollutants Clear Out as Clean-Air Programs Close In
EPA has released a new report based on its clean fuel data collected from 1995-2005 that finds emission reductions have often been significantly greater than regulatory requirements.
Here are a few highlights of the report, which provides a view of recent gasoline property trends:
- Gasoline sulfur decreases—Average annual sulfur content in all gasoline dropped from about 300 parts per million (ppm) in 1997 to about 90 ppm in 2005.
- Reformulated gasoline (RFG) nitrogen oxide (NOx) reductions exceed requirements—RFG exceeded applicable NOx performance standards during both Phase I (1998-1999) and Phase II (2000 and beyond).
- RFG toxics reductions exceed requirements—On average, Phase I RFG complied with Phase II standards, and toxic performance still improved with the transition to Phase II standards.
- Conventional gasoline NOx and toxics emissions decreased—Between 1998 and 2005, the summer NOx emissions of conventional gasoline were reduced by 5.7 percent, while summer exhaust toxics were reduced by 4.7 percent.
- Ethanol use in RFG increased and MTBE use decreased—In the summer of 1996, about 11 percent of the RFG sold contained ethanol while virtually all the remainder contained MTBE. By the summer of 2005, the ethanol share increased to about 53 percent, with corresponding decreases in MTBE.
