Reducing gasoline loss from evaporation by the introduction of a surface-active fuel additive

Abstract

Apart from the emission of hydrocarbons within the exhaust gases of vehicles, gasoline hydrocarbons are released into the environment from the tanks of cars during refueling and also during transportation and storage as a result of evaporation. Losses of gasoline when moving from producer to consumer are 1.5–2%. Up to 40% of the hydrocarbons emitted by road transport evaporate from the fuel systems of cars with gasoline engines. In the context of the global problem of depleting energy resources and the associated degradation of the environment the reduction of gasoline losses from evaporation remains an important environmental and economic issue. The aim of this work is to validate a method of reducing evaporation loss by modifying the quality of the fuel being used. An approach to assessing the toxicity of gasoline vapor has been proposed which may point to the effect that the individual components of gasoline have on this. A method has been developed to reduce evaporation loss and also improve the mixture in the engine by introducing a fuel additive which is a surface-active agent. The additive reduces the vapor pressure of gasoline while also reducing the surface tension of the fuel droplets at the interface with air. The results from studies on the additive’s effect on the saturated vapor pressure, surface tension, and gasoline evaporation losses are given.