"How Much Sulphur is in Fuel?" -Petro Industry News

wemay

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I know there's been some questions regarding this topic from a few members...


0ct 2019
"Sulphur is a naturally occurring component found in crude oil. When total sulphur content is more than 0.5% oil is classed as "sour." When total sulphur content is less than 0.5% it's classed as "sweet." Unless it's removed during the refining process, sulphur is also present in gasoline and diesel. As sulphur can have a negative impact on the effectiveness of emission control systems, fuels with a high sulphur content contribute to air pollution.

This issue was addressed by the Tier 2 Gasoline Sulphur program, which was finalised by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2000 and reduced the legal content of sulphur in gasoline by as much as 90%. This allowed for the introduction of new emission control technologies in vehicles designed to minimise harmful emissions. The breakthrough Tier 2 was a milestone for environmentalists and marked the first time the EPA recognised vehicles and fuels as a collaborative system.

Moving towards cleaner, low-sulphur fuels
In 2009, an update made to the British Standard BS 2869 for gas oil ruled that all on-road vehicles must be powered by gasoline or diesel with a maximum sulphur content of 10ppm. In 2011, the same mandates were imposed on non-road vehicles. In 2017 the EPA followed suit and introduced the Tier 3 Gasoline Sulphur program, which mandated that all US gasoline must have an average sulphur content of 10ppm. The new standards were designed to slash emissions from both tailpipes and evaporation.

With the United Kingdom Petroleum Industry Association revealing that oil and petroleum products account for 38% of energy consumption in the UK, it's critical to address emissions within this sector and continue making it as clean as possible."
 
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This is an excerpt from an EPA announcement on Tier 3 rules. (I think this is by refiner and not individual plant) It may have been changed since, but, I can't find anything showing that's the case.
Given that a 10ppm average must be met, it's very unlikely you'll get a batch with 95ppm. Something in between 10 ad 95 is less unlikely.


10 parts per million (ppm) of sulfur on an annual average basis by January 1, 2017. EPA is also finalizing
standards that maintain the current 80 ppm refinery gate and 95 ppm downstream cap.
 
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