TEXACO TO INTRODUCE CLEAN BURNING GASOLINE

Texaco Inc. is poised to unveil a new gasoline it says can cut tailpipe emissions by controlling carbon deposits in vehicle combustion chambers.

Texaco said its CleanSystem3 (CS3) gasoline breaks new ground in gasoline additive technology with a patented detergent-dispersant developed at company research centers in the U.S. and Europe.

The company's schedule calls for introduction of CS3 gasoline in three octane ratings Mar. 1 at 14,000 Texaco branded service stations in the U.S. A full rollout of the new fuel is planned in the spring in Europe and in selected Latin American markets.

Other fuel additives developed by refiners in recent years are capable in liquid phase of cleaning carbon deposits from motor vehicle fuel systems. Texaco's tests show CS3 gasoline retains carbon cleansing capabilities into the vapor phase, preventing or reducing carbon buildup on piston tops and cylinder heads during combustion.

With continued use, Texaco said, CS3 can restore performance of internal combustion engines, improve fuel economy and reduce tailpipe emissions of nitrogen oxides. CS3 additive is fully compatible with federally mandated reformulated gasolines to be introduced in 1995 in some U.S. cities under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

Texaco asked David E. Cole, director of the University of Michigan's office for the study of automotive information, to independently evaluate its findings. After review, Cole described CS3 gasoline as an auto maintenance tool - similar to periodic tuneups, oil filter replacement, or oil changes - that can help restore performance of old cars and prevent damaging engine deposits in next ones.

"This fuel technology, essentially slows a vehicle's aging process," he said.

EXTENSIVE TESTING

Texaco said CS3 gasoline is one of the most thoroughly tested products it has developed.

Researchers in Texaco laboratories at Beacon, N.Y., Austin and Port Arthur, Tex., and Ghent, Belgium, subjected the fuel to lab tests, road tests, and road test simulations equal to more than 7 million miles of driving.

CS3 gasoline was tested in cars of U.S. state police. Twenty-six Texaco employees' cars, including five models, used CS3 in more than 300,000 combined miles of city and highway driving. In Europe, the gasoline was tested in 10 vehicles, including five models, against a commercial European gasoline. The CS3 additive was tested in several gasoline grades with and without oxygenates.

Texaco said CS3 passed two industry accepted tests developed to measure a fuel's ability to clean up fuel injectors and intake valves and keep them free of carbon buildup:

Chrysler's 2.2 1. port fuel injector test required CS3 to clean fuel injectors fouled more than 10% to less than 5% restriction in less than 10,000 miles of driving.
BMW's intake valve deposit test required CS3 to limit carbon buildup on intake valves to less than 100 mg in a 10,000 mile test.

To measure the gasoline's ability to clean and keep clean motor combustion chambers, Texaco ran multiple dynamometer tests on six engines. Combustion chamber carbon deposits on average were 30% less in engines burning gasolines with CS3 additive than in engines using gasolines with other advanced additives.

NOx EMISSIONS

In lab and road tests conducted by Texaco, tailpipe NOx emissions of engines using gasoline with CS3 additive averaged about 15% less than Nox emissions of engines burning gasolines with other additives.

In one instance, Texaco devised a three phase test to compare CS3 additive with two additives approved by the California Air Resources Board (CARB):

In Phase 1, Texaco drove two groups of three cars 9,000 miles with each group using a gasoline blended with a different CARB approved additive.
In Phase 2, Texaco substituted CS3 gasoline in one group and drove both groups another 9,000 miles.
After 18,000 total miles, Texaco began Phase 3 by switching fuels in the two groups-CARB fuel for CS3 and vice versa-and driving another 9,000 miles.

During Phase 1, NOx emissions increased at similar rates in both test groups. During Phase 2, NOx emissions increased an average 19.2% in the CARB group but decreased an average 2.7% in the CS3 group. In Phase 3, NOx emissions increased an average 21% among CARB vehicles, while NOx emissions decreased by an CS3 average 0.5% among vehicles.

Because NOx is a main contributor to smog formation, Texaco said, CS3 gasoline could save custom nonattainment areas million of dollars in compliance costs. The company predicted emission reductions achieved by motorists using CS3 gasoline would qualify for emission credits in the trading system to be established under the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed economic incentive program.