HOUSTON -- CITGO Petroleum Corp. is spearheading adoption of a new industrywide specification applied to ethanol designated for blending with gasoline.
The new limit would place the maximum level of sulfates in ethanol at 4 parts per million (PPM). The proposed standard was approved last December by the Gasoline Subcommittee of ASTM International, formerly the American Society for Testing & Materials. The measure now passes to the DO2 Subcommittee on Petroleum Products & Lubricants for final approval, which could come as early as this June.
"We have been involved in developing this type of standard since 1985, when automakers began making a wholesale switch from carburetors to fuel injectors," said David Harvey, Houston-based CITGO's manager of fuels quality technology and technical services. "This new specification limit is intended to help alleviate premature pump filter clogging at gasoline stations and prevent fuel injector problems in some automobiles."
The demand for high-quality fuels has resulted in the use of many different additives introduced to the gasoline at refineries and product terminals. Additives injected into gasoline within the distribution system are designed to help the product meet ASTM gasoline specifications, provide retail brand differentiation and meet the individual requirements of multiple customers.
A consensus agreement has been reached between auto manufacturers, major oil companies and ethanol producers to include a maximum sulfate limit in the ASTM standard covering ethanol for automotive spark ignition engines.
The Renewable Fuels Association, representing ethanol producers and charged with promoting new markets for ethanol, has endorsed the new specification and is encouraging their membership to support the new standard.
"The cooperation between automakers, gasoline marketers and ethanol producers in supporting this specification demonstrates that all facets of the gasoline industry understand the need for such a specification to protect their mutual customers," Harvey added. "With new federal legislation requiring increased use of ethanol as a component of automotive fuel, it is important to ensure that gasoline blend components conform to stricter standards, thereby providing the motoring public with a continued reliable energy source."
CITGO is owned by PDV America Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
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