ARCO CLAIMS ADVANCE IN GASOLINE FORMULA

ARCO has developed a gasoline formula it believes will reduce gasoline's smog producing potential by at least 37% and toxic emissions by at least 47%. The fuel also will reduce emissions from late model vehicles to levels no greater than those generated by state of the art flexible fuel vehicles using the methanol fuel M85, the company said. ARCO Chairman Lodwrick M. Cook called the new formula, designated EC-X, "the most significant advance in reducing vehicular air pollution since

July 22, 1991

3 min read

ARCO has developed a gasoline formula it believes will reduce gasoline's smog producing potential by at least 37% and toxic emissions by at least 47%.

The fuel also will reduce emissions from late model vehicles to levels no greater than those generated by state of the art flexible fuel vehicles using the methanol fuel M85, the company said.

ARCO Chairman Lodwrick M. Cook called the new formula, designated EC-X, "the most significant advance in reducing vehicular air pollution since development of ARCO's EC-1 and EC-Premium gasolines."

He said, "We believe the environmental performance exhibited by EC-X should become the standard for all gasolines sold in California.

"If all cars and trucks used this formulation, vehicular emissions in the state would be reduced by an average 3.8 million lb/day, the equivalent of taking 8 million vehicles off California's roads each day.

"That's almost one third of the cars and trucks registered in the state."

The new formulation is made possible through a number of major changes in refining processes that affect distillation temperatures, oxygenate blending and production of high octane components.

To make the fuel available in time to meet California's 1996 clean fuel requirements will require substantial modifications at ARCO's Los Angeles refinery during the next several years.

TEST RESULTS

"Test results on our new formulation are spectacular," Cook said.

"Regulatory agencies were fearful that gasoline reformulated to reduce hydrocarbon emissions would increase nitrogen oxide emissions. ARCO has solved that problem."

In designing the new formula, ARCO used data from the joint Auto/Oil Air Quality Improvement Research Project and ARCO's Clean Fuels Task Force.

Testing was conducted at an independent laboratory on a fleet of 10 late model cars. ARCO's test results have been shared with the California Air Resources Board and South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Compared with the average U.S. conventional gasoline in late model vehicles, EC-X showed reductions of 28% in hydrocarbon tailpipe emissions, 36% in evaporative emissions, and 26% in NOx emissions-the three main ingredients in smog. The fuel also achieved a 25% reduction in carbon monoxide (CO) emissions and 47% reduction in tailpipe emissions of toxic compounds.

If used by all motorists in California, the EC-X formulation would reduce total hydrocarbon emissions by 580,000 lb/day, NOx emissions by 280,000 lb/day, toxic emissions by 43,000 lb/day, and total pollutants, including carbon monoxide, by 3.8 million lb/day, ARCO said.

It cited these other environmental aspects of Ec-X: ultra-low sulfur content, low distillation temperatures, very low olefin content, high oxygen content, and reduced Reid vapor pressure and aromatics content.

"The benefits of EC-X formulations can be realized as soon as the fuels are on the market," Cook said. "Comparable pollution reductions from alternative fuels such as M85 will not occur until specially built vehicles make up a significant portion of the fleet many years later."

ARCO expects EC-X to cost about 16/gal more to produce than conventional gasoline.

However, it said, M85's fuel production costs are expected to be much higher-25-40/gal more or gasoline equivalent.