Gasoline Fuels

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EPA regulations require that each automobile manufacturer or importer of gasoline, diesel fuel, or a fuel economy additive have its product registered prior to its automobile introduction into commerce. In some cases, EPA requires testing of these automobile fuels and fuel additives for possible health effects. EPA also requires that gasoline contain a certified detergent in order to reduce fuel emissions. EPA issued standards in 1973 that called for a gradual phase-down of lead to reduce the automover health risks from lead fuel emissions from gasoline, culminating in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and EPA regulations banning lead in motor automobile parts automobile vehicle gasoline after 1995.

Beginning in 1989, EPA required gasoline to meet volatility standards to decrease evaporative emissions of gasoline fuels in the automover parts summer months when ozone levels are typically at their highest. In the early 1990s, EPA began monitoring the winter oxygenated automobile fuels program implemented by the states to help control fuel emissions of carbon monoxide during the winter months, and established the reformulated gasoline (RFG) program to reduce fuel emissions of smog-forming and toxic pollutants.

More recently, EPA promulgated new regulations automobile parts setting standards for gasoline fuels toxics performance levels and standards for low sulfur gasoline fuels to reduce harmful air pollution and help ensure the automobile effectiveness of advanced emission control technologies in automobile vehicles.

Biodiesel

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Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel manufactured from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant greases. It is safe, biodegradable, and produces less air pollutants than petroleum-based diesel.

Biodiesel can be used in its pure form (B100) or blended with petroleum diesel. Common blends include B2 (2% biodiesel), B5, and B20. B2 and B5 can be used safely in most diesel engines. However, most automobile vehicle manufacturers do not recommend using blends greater than 5%—using higher blends will void some automobile engine warranties. Check with your owner’s manual or vehicle automobile manufacturer to determine the right blend for your automobile vehicle.

Advantages

* Domestically produced from non-petroluem, renewable automobile resources
* Can be used in most diesel engines, especially newer ones
* Less air pollutants (other than nitrogen oxides) and greenhouse gases
* Biodegradable
* Non-toxic
* Safer to handle

Disadvantages

* Use of blends above B5 not yet warrantied by automobile parts makers
* Lower fuel economy and power (10% lower for B100, 2% for B20)
* Currently more expensive
* More nitrogen oxide fuel emissions
* B100 generally not suitable for use in low temperatures
* Concerns about B100's impact on engine cooling system durability

Biodiesel prices vary across the country and tend to be slightly higher than those for petroleum diesel. Visit DOE's Alternative Fuel Station Locator for locations of service stations selling biodiesel.

Light-Duty Diesel Vehicles

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Although light-duty diesel vehicles are not technically "alternative fuel vehicles," they can run on biodiesel, an alternative fuel under the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Biodiesel, which is mainly used as a blend, can be used in most light-duty diesel vehicles with no engine modification. The most common biodiesel blend is B20, which is 20% biodiesel and 80% conventional diesel. B5 (5% biodiesel, 95% diesel) is also commonly used in fleets. To learn more about this fuel, go to the Biodiesel section or the Alternative Fueling Station Locator.

Light-duty vehicles are those that have less than a 8,500 lbs gross automobile vehicle weight rating. They include sedans, pickup trucks, high-performance automobile sports cars, and passenger vans. For a list of available options, see the Automobile Diesel Technology Forum Web site.

Emissions

Currently most light-duty diesel vehicles are equipped with oxidation catalysts that reduce carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, and many have particulate matter (PM) traps that reduce PM emissions as well as CO, and HC emissions. In combination these devices can decrease CO by 80%, HC by 90% and PM by 98%.

Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) fuel emission are mostly controlled through advanced Automobile combustion strategies, such as, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). In order to meet future emission standards automobile emission control devices, such as, lean NOx traps (LNT) or selective catalytic reduction (SCR), which uses ammonia in the form of automobile urea as a reductant, may be needed on some vehicles to meet these emission standards. These devices can reduce NOx by 70-80%.

Clean Diesel

Ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD)—which is called "clean diesel" when used in conjunction with advanced fuel emission control devices—is available at fueling stations nationwide and can be used in any diesel vehicle. This automobile fuel reduces the sulfur content in diesel fuel by 97%. Europe has used ULSD for several years. The United States began its changeover to ULSD in June 2006, after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandated that 80% of highway automobiel diesel fuel produced or imported contain 15 ppm or less sulfur. For more information, see the Clean Diesel Fuel Alliance.

The Federal Alternative Fuel Vehicle Tax Credit provision of EPAct 2005 includes a tax credit for lean-burn diesel vehicles. The credit is sometimes referred to as the Clean Diesel Tax Credit and is effective January 1, 2006, however, no 2006 or 2007 diesel vehicles met the fuel emissions requirements for credit. No 2008 automobile vehicles have been certified as qualifying for the credit. Diesel vehicles up to 6,000 lbs that meet EPA Tier II Bin 5 emission requirements will be eligible for the credit and automobile diesel vehicles weighing 6,001-8,500 lbs must meet Tier II Bin 8 requirements. Manufacturers will certify that their automobile vehicles meet the emissions requirements with EPA. The IRS must then issue a notice that the automover vehicle qualifies for the tax credit before consumers or commercial businesses can claim the credit. There are other IRS requirements to claim the credit. Watch www.irs.gov for more information.

What is biobutanol?

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Butanol is a 4-carbon alcohol (butyl alcohol). Biobutanol is butanol produced from biomass feedstocks. Currently, butanol's primary use is as an industrial solvent in products such as lacquers and enamels.

Biobutanol as an Alternative Fuel

Like ethanol, biobutanol is a liquid alcohol fuel that can be used in today's gasoline-powered internal combustion engines. The properties of biobutanol make it highly amenable to blending with gasoline. It is also compatible with ethanol blending and can improve the blending of ethanol with gasoline. The energy content of biobutanol is 10 to 20 percent lower than that of gasoline.

Under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, biobutanol can be blended as an oxygenate with gasoline in concentrations up to 11.5 percent by volume (i.e., the EPA considers blends of 11.5% or less biobutanol with gasoline to be "substantially similar" to pure gasoline). Blends of 85 percent or more biobutanol with gasoline are required to qualify as an EPAct alternative fuel. Biobutanol proponents claim that today's vehicles can be fueled with high concentrations of biobutanol—up to 100%—with minor or no vehicle modifications, although testing of this claim has been limited.

Benefits

The benefits of biobutanol are similar to the benefits of ethanol. It can be produced domestically from a variety of homegrown feedstocks while creating U.S. jobs. Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced because carbon dioxide captured when the feedstock crops are grown balances carbon dioxide released when biobutanol is burned. The following are additional potential benefits of biobutanol:

*It is easily blended with gasoline for use in today's gasoline-powered vehicles. Under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, biobutanol can be blended as an oxygenate with gasoline in concentrations up to 11.5 percent by volume. Biobutanol proponents claim that gasoline-powered vehicles can be fueled with biobutanol as an alternative fuel (blends of 85 percent or more biobutanol with gasoline) with minor or no vehicle modifications, although testing of this claim has been limited.
*Its energy density is only 10 to 20% lower than gasoline's.
*It is compatible with the current gasoline distribution infrastructure and would not require new or modified pipelines, blending facilities, storage tanks, or retail station pumps.
*It is compatible with ethanol blending and can improve the blending of ethanol with gasoline.
*It can be produced using existing ethanol production facilities with relatively minor modifications.

Low-Level Biodiesel

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When biodiesel is blended with petroleum diesel, it produces a fuel that is compatible with diesel engines, displaces imported petroleum, and reduces harmful emissions. Blends like B2 (2% biodiesel and 98% diesel) and B5 (5% biodiesel and 95% diesel) are becoming increasingly common as drivers become more aware of the many benefits. Higher-level biodiesel blends, such as B20, are also becoming more widely available and can qualify for credits under the Energy Policy Act of 1992.

Benefits

As of 2006, most U.S. highway diesel fuel is limited to 15-ppm sulfur, down from a 500-ppm limit. This new ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD) might have reduced lubricating properties before additives. Adding as little as 0.25% biodiesel, which is very low in sulfur, can significantly increase fuel lubricity. B2 and B5 are becoming increasingly popular for this reason.

Another reason for using B2 or B5 is to introduce a large quantity of renewable fuel into the diesel fuel market with no noticeable impact on users or fuel properties. Using 100 gallons of B5 brings roughly the same air-quality and alternative fuel use benefits as using 25 gallons of B20 or 5 gallons of B100. Minnesota adopted a statewide requirement for B2 use in 2005. After some problems from out-of-specification fuel the first winter, the program is working well. Louisiana, Maryland, and Washington have enacted similar programs contingent on state biodiesel production reaching certain levels.

What types of vehicles can run on biodiesel blends?

As long as the biodiesel used for blending meets ASTM D6751 standards, low-level biodiesel blends such as B2 and B5 can be used safely in any compression-ignition engine designed to be operated on diesel fuel. This can include light-duty and heavy-duty diesel cars and trucks, tractors, boats, and electrical generators. See a list of stations that dispense biodiesel blends.

What is coal to liquids?

Coal to liquids is a term describing processes for converting coal into liquid fuels such as gasoline and diesel. Currently, the major coal-to-liquids production process is the Fischer-Tropsch process, involving conversion of coal into gas and then into liquids. Several processes that convert coal directly into liquids (direct liquefaction) also exist.

Coal to Liquids for Alternative Fuels

Coal-to-liquids processes have the potential to produce a range of useful fuels and chemicals. These include transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and methanol. Producing liquid transportation fuels from coal using the Fischer-Tropsch process has been demonstrated on a large scale.

One major benefit of coal-to-liquids fuels is their compatibility with currently existing vehicle technologies and fuel distribution systems. Coal-derived gasoline and diesel could be transported through existing pipelines, dispensed at existing fueling stations, and used to fuel today's gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles.

Shuttle Buses

Like transit buses, shuttle buses reduce the number of cars on the road. Shuttle buses are typically "return-to-base" fleets—they start from a central location and return to that same location at the end of the shift—and are therefore capable of centralized fueling. This makes them well suited to alternative fuel operation, as does their high-mileage operation. Many shuttle fleets have realized the benefits of alternative fuels and hybrid electric technologies and have begun to convert their fleets.

Shuttle Bus Benefits

Alternative fuel and advanced technology shuttle buses provide important benefits, including the following:

*They reduce emissions. Because shuttle buses typically accumulate many miles each day, alternative fuel and advanced technology models provide more emission reduction benefits than most other vehicles.

*They can be eligible for significant funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and excise tax credits. For more on these incentives, see Federal and State Incentives and Laws. Also learn about other funding opportunities.

*They help shuttle bus fleets reduce operational and maintenance costs while displacing petroleum use.

*They can enhance public relations when they are cleaner, quieter, and less expensive to operate than conventional buses.

For help reaping the benefits of alternative fuel and advanced technology shuttle buses, see Shuttle Bus Implementation Considerations.

Planning & Combining Trips

Combining errands into one trip saves you time and money. Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a longer multipurpose trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm. Trip planning ensures that traveling is done when the engine is warmed-up and efficient.

With a little planning, you can avoid retracing your route and reduce the distance you travel as well. You'll not only save fuel, but also reduce wear and tear on your car

Commuting

If you can stagger your work hours to avoid peak rush hours, you'll spend less time sitting in traffic and consume less fuel.

If you own more than one vehicle, drive the one that gets the best gas mileage whenever possible.

Consider telecommuting (working from home) if your employer permits it.

If possible, take advantage of carpools and ride-share programs. You can cut your weekly fuel costs in half and save wear on your car if you take turns driving with other commuters. Many urban areas allow vehicles with multiple passengers to use special High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.

Consider using public transit if it is available and convenient for you. The American Public Transit Transportation Association has links to information about public transportation in your state.

Traveling

A roof rack or carrier provides additional cargo space and may allow you to meet your needs with a smaller car. However, a loaded roof rack can decrease your fuel economy by 5 percent. Reduce aerodynamic drag and improve your fuel economy by placing items inside the trunk whenever possible.

Avoid carrying unneeded items, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 lbs in the trunk reduces a typical car's fuel economy by 1-2 percent.