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As a means of reducing evaporative emissions from gasoline sources, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other legislative and regulatory bodies have required reductions in gasoline volatility. Further reductions are being proposed. This paper reports the results of an investigation into the resulting flammability potential of low volatility gasolines contained in automobile tanks when low ambient temperatures are experienced. The hydrocarbon composition and the flammability tendency of the vapor in fuel tanks of passenger cars were determined via a matrix of 45 different gasoline volatility, temperature, and tank level combinations. A flammability device was developed and used to ignite vapors drawn from the tanks of in-use vehicles at the test conditions. The Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) of the test gasolines ranged from 6.5 to 9.4 psi in the near-full tank level and 6.4 to 7.8 psi at a low tank level.

Several gasoline supply companies have introduced versions of reformulated gasolines to gain experience in manufacturing, transporting, and marketing this new type of gasoline while providing environmental benefits. This paper describes the evaluation of one such reformulated gasoline on a variety of engine and vehicle technologies. The reformulated gasoline tested in this program is marketed exclusively in the metropolitan St. Louis area. Thus, a side-by-side comparison of fuels representing the average gasoline sold in St. Louis and the reformulated gasoline was made. The reformulated gasoline was blended at the limits of established manufacturing specifications to provide a conservative estimate of the environmental benefits of such a fuel. Emissions and driveability performance of both fuels were tested in cars representing four distinct vehicle technologies.

Effective January 1, 1986, regulations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limited the amount of alkyl lead antiknock additives that could be used in “leaded gasoline” to 0.1 gram per gallon. This has led to considerable concern about the potential for serious wear problems in older engines that were designed to run on leaded fuel. Phillips has completed a study to address this concern and identify limits of potential impact. This paper reports the results of this work. The subject test program was completed on a late model 302 Ford V8 engine modified to be equivalent to engines built prior to 1971 (primary engines of concern). The reported results show that fuel containing as little as 0.05 gram per gallon lead is sufficient to protect engines operated at low to moderate speeds against excessive wear.