SUN OUTLINES R&M ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES

Sun Co. is pressing new environmental initiatives in its U.S. refining/marketing operations.

May 13, 1991

3 min read

Sun Co. is pressing new environmental initiatives in its U.S. refining/marketing operations.

Sun this summer will introduce a partially reformulated gasoline and test a used motor oil recycling program on the U.S. East Coast. The introduction of a partially reformulated gasoline is a key step toward meeting air quality guidelines under 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) amendments. CAA requires 41 cities with higher than acceptable carbon monoxide levels must by 1992 sell gasolines with at least 2.7 wt % oxygen content during November-March. It also calls for fully reformulated gasolines by 1995 in nine metropolitan areas that exceed permissible ozone levels. The 1995 standards limit gasoline content levels to 1 vol % for benzene and 25 vol % for aromatics, require a minimum 2 wt % oxygen content during summer months, and require a detergent to prevent deposit accumulation in fuel systems.

SUN GASOLINE PROGRAM

In early summer Sun will introduce partially reformulated gasolines at 141 Sunoco stations in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Sun will increase the oxygen content of its partially reformulated 86 octane economy grade by 1 wt %. Its 94 octane gasoline, already high in oxygen content, will remain higher than the 1995 summertime requirement of 2 wt % oxygen. Because the two are blended to make Sunoco's regular, midgrade, and premium grades, that will boost oxygen content of all its grades.

Benzene levels in all grades of the new gasolines will be limited to 2 vol %, and all grades will have a detergent additive to meet CAA 1995 standards.

Sun said the partially reformulated Sunoco gasolines will be priced comparably with the non-reformulated Sunoco gasolines, although they will increase company costs by 2-5 cents/gal.

MOTOR OIL RECYCLING

Sunoco will begin testing a used motor oil return/recycling program at about 150 Sunoco and Atlantic stations in the Mid-Atlantic states June 1. Customers can bring as much as 5 gal of waste oil at a time to participating Atlantic or Sunoco stations where it will be stored in underground waste oil tanks, then picked up by certified used oil recyclers. Recyclers sell the oil to steel and cement companies to use as a constant, high heat fuel source. The test program is being offered only to dealers at company owned locations at first. Sun expects the program will prevent improper disposal of at least 100,000 gal/year of used motor oil.