EPA will reduce sulfur in gasoline
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today plans to finalize a landmark rule to reduce the amount of sulfur in gasoline by two-thirds starting in 2017, a regulation that will improve public health, boost vehicle performance and help cars and trucks meet more stringent emissions standards.
The new “Tier 3” rules will allow for the development of lower-cost technologies to improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in new vehicles. It also estimates an 80 percent reduction in particulate, smog-causing gases and other emissions for cars and trucks from today’s fleet average and a 60 percent reduction for heavy duty vehicles, according to data the EPA will release today.
The program is projected to cost less than a penny per gallon of gasoline, and about $72 per vehicle, or about half of what the EPA initially estimated. The annual cost of the overall program in 2030 is projected to be approximately $1.5 billion; the EPA estimates in 2030 the annual health benefits of the Tier 3 standards will be between $6.7 billion and $19 billion
The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s lobbying arm, said in October the new standards could require $10 billion in capital costs, with annual costs of $2.4 billion, adding the equivalent of between 6 cents and 9 cents per gallon to the cost of making gasoline.
The EPA unveiled the proposed rule last March, receiving the backing of automakers that need cleaner fuel in order to meet emissions reductions. The industry will spend about $200 billion to double the efficiency of the fleet by 2025 to 54.5 miles per gallon.
The catalytic converter is the primary emissions control device on a vehicle. Once heated up, current devices have virtually eliminated smog-forming emissions coming out of the engine. Engineers are working to eliminate trace amounts of emissions during cold starts — the first 60 seconds after ignition — before the converter has heated up.
In 2000, EPA required the amount of sulfur allowed in gasoline to be lowered from an average of 300 ppm to 30 ppm. Over time, sulfur disables the auto technology that removes emissions. The European Union, Japan, South Korea and California require fuel with sulfur levels at 10 ppm. The EPA rules will require 10 ppm across the country by 2017. The rules will require all gasoline to have not more than 10 ppm of sulfur on an annual average level.
By 2030, EPA estimates that the proposed cleaner gasoline rules will annually prevent up to 2,000 premature deaths; 30,000 cases of respiratory ailments in children; 2,200 hospital admissions and asthma-related emergency room visits; and 1.4 million lost school days, work days and days when outdoor activities would be restricted due to high air pollution. Total health-related benefits in 2030 will be between $8 billion and $23 billion annually, the EPA estimates.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing Detroit’s Big Three automakers, Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG and other automakers, praised the EPA proposal last year.
“Our cleaner cars will need even cleaner fuels like those already sold across Europe and Asia, so we are pleased EPA is proposing lower sulfur fuels,” said Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the group.
“Cleaner fuels don’t disable our new technologies, and cleaner fuels provide Day One benefits to the 250 million cars on our roads as well as every other engine using gasoline, like boats and lawnmowers. This is a big step forward that will help the U.S. catch up to the cleaner fuels available in other industrialized nations.”
The new “Tier 3” rules will allow for the development of lower-cost technologies to improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in new vehicles. It also estimates an 80 percent reduction in particulate, smog-causing gases and other emissions for cars and trucks from today’s fleet average and a 60 percent reduction for heavy duty vehicles, according to data the EPA will release today.
The program is projected to cost less than a penny per gallon of gasoline, and about $72 per vehicle, or about half of what the EPA initially estimated. The annual cost of the overall program in 2030 is projected to be approximately $1.5 billion; the EPA estimates in 2030 the annual health benefits of the Tier 3 standards will be between $6.7 billion and $19 billion
The American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s lobbying arm, said in October the new standards could require $10 billion in capital costs, with annual costs of $2.4 billion, adding the equivalent of between 6 cents and 9 cents per gallon to the cost of making gasoline.
The EPA unveiled the proposed rule last March, receiving the backing of automakers that need cleaner fuel in order to meet emissions reductions. The industry will spend about $200 billion to double the efficiency of the fleet by 2025 to 54.5 miles per gallon.
The catalytic converter is the primary emissions control device on a vehicle. Once heated up, current devices have virtually eliminated smog-forming emissions coming out of the engine. Engineers are working to eliminate trace amounts of emissions during cold starts — the first 60 seconds after ignition — before the converter has heated up.
In 2000, EPA required the amount of sulfur allowed in gasoline to be lowered from an average of 300 ppm to 30 ppm. Over time, sulfur disables the auto technology that removes emissions. The European Union, Japan, South Korea and California require fuel with sulfur levels at 10 ppm. The EPA rules will require 10 ppm across the country by 2017. The rules will require all gasoline to have not more than 10 ppm of sulfur on an annual average level.
By 2030, EPA estimates that the proposed cleaner gasoline rules will annually prevent up to 2,000 premature deaths; 30,000 cases of respiratory ailments in children; 2,200 hospital admissions and asthma-related emergency room visits; and 1.4 million lost school days, work days and days when outdoor activities would be restricted due to high air pollution. Total health-related benefits in 2030 will be between $8 billion and $23 billion annually, the EPA estimates.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing Detroit’s Big Three automakers, Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG and other automakers, praised the EPA proposal last year.
“Our cleaner cars will need even cleaner fuels like those already sold across Europe and Asia, so we are pleased EPA is proposing lower sulfur fuels,” said Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the group.
“Cleaner fuels don’t disable our new technologies, and cleaner fuels provide Day One benefits to the 250 million cars on our roads as well as every other engine using gasoline, like boats and lawnmowers. This is a big step forward that will help the U.S. catch up to the cleaner fuels available in other industrialized nations.”
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