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Exhaust emissions were measured as a function of gasoline composition in two fleets of vehicles - 20 1989 vehicles and 14 1983-1985 vehicles. Eighteen different gasolines were tested which varied in aromatic, olefin, and MTBE content and in the 90 percent distillation temperature (T90). Subject to the cautions and qualifications described in the body of this paper, mass exhaust emissions in both fleets of vehicles were affected by changes in fuel composition. Responses to changes in MTBE and olefins were similar in both fleets: adding MTBE reduced emissions of HC and CO, and reducing olefins lowered emissions of NOx while raising emissions of HC. In the current fleet, reducing aromatics lowered HC and CO, while in the older fleet, reducing aromatics raised HC and lowered NOx. In the current fleet, lowering T90 reduced HC over 20%, while raising NOx slightly. In the older fleet, lowering T90 reduced HC by only 6%.

This paper presents results derived from Phase I of the Auto/Oil Air Quality Improvement Research Program. The Clean Air Act-defined mobile source toxic air pollutants benzene, 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde have been measured in exhaust from twenty current model vehicles and fourteen older model vehicles during testing with 18 gasolines of varying composition. The gasoline fuel compositional variables evaluated included aromatic content, methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) content, olefin content, and the 90% distillation temperature (T90). The four fuel parameters were varied at target values of 45 and 20 vol % total aromatics, 0 and 15 vol % MTBE, 20 and 5 vol % total olefins and 360 and 280 °F 90% distillation temperature. An industry average fuel and an emissions certification test fuel were tested as reference fuels. In the current fleet, benzene levels were lowered when either fuel aromatics or T90 were reduced.

Species analyses have been performed on engine-out and tailpipe hydrocarbon mass emissions to help understand why fuels with higher T50 and/or T90 distillation temperatures produce higher engine-out and tailpipe hydrocarbon emissions and why fuels with higher T90 distillation temperatures produce higher engine-out and tailpipe specific reactivities. Species analyses were also performed to examine the effects of fuel sulfur level on engine-out and tailpipe species and specific reactivities. These analyses were performed on three different test-vehicle fleets representing varying levels of emissions control technology and the effect of emissions control technology was examined. Individual hydrocarbon species concentrations in both the engine-out and tailpipe were found to correlate linearly with the concentrations of the same species in the fuel, implying that a small fraction of the fuel escapes the combustion process and conversion over the catalyst.