UAI: Test Fuels Are Not Representative of Real-World Fuels

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January 24, 2019

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by Matt Thompson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) An analysis commissioned by the Urban Air Initiative raises questions about studies used by U.S. EPA to model ethanol’s emissions.

The independent analysis, completed by Future Fuel Strategies, looked at nearly 100 vehicle emissions studies, and concluded that the test fuels used often do not match the real-world fuels available to consumers. Many of the studies that were analyzed are used by EPA to model ethanol emissions and were published by the Coordinating Research Council, which is supported by the petroleum industry.

According to the analysis, in many of the studies, test fuels were match blended to meet certain specifications. Meeting those specifications requires the addition of toxic aromatics to the test fuel, beyond what is found in the gasoline that consumers are using. “All we’re saying is we need to start making test fuels that represent what the refineries are doing,” said Steve Vander Griend, technical director for UAI.

This is not the first time these study methods have been called into question, but what is new, according to UAI, is that outside fuel experts with experience in refineries, emissions and vehicle emissions modeling contributed to the analysis. READ MORE

VIDEO: Match Blending Octane for Vehicle Testing (Urban Air Initiative)

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