A Balanced Approach to Octane Replacement Policy Development Meeting on Clean Fuels and Vehicles for the Middle East and North Africa 24 May 2006 Cairo, Egypt Lee Chook Khean Communications Director http://www.acfa.org.sg
Octane Rating o Octane Number represents how much the fuel can be compressed before it spontaneously ignites. o RON (Research Octane Number) is determined in a single cylinder variable compression ratio engine that operates at 600 rpm with a 65.6 ºC inlet air temperature at standard barometric pressure. o MON (Motor Octane Number) is determined at engine speed of 900 rpm and 148.9 ºC inlet air temperature. o Anti Knock Index (AKI) = (RON+MON)/2 also referred to as Road Octane Number (RdON) or Pump Octane Number (PON)
Octane is Desirable because. o Avoids engine knocking o Increases fuelair mix compression ratio, engine power & efficiency o Optimal RON reduces CO2 emissions Optimum Octane Level depends on vehicle s engine compression ratio
Middle East Octane Standards Country RON MON AKI Bahrain 91/95 /84 Iran 87/95 /87 Iraq 91 Jordan 88/91/96/98 Kuwait 91/95/98 81/85/87 Lebanon 95 Oman 90/95 Qatar 90/97 Saudi Arabia 95 Syria 76/90 U.A.E 95/98 85/87 Yemen 83 Egypt 80/90/95
ROW ROW Octane Standards Octane Standards 82.5/85 91/95 WWFC 80/84 91/95 Thailand 88/91/95 Indonesia 91/95/96 Australia 95 Taiwan 91/94 South Korea 89/96 Japan 84/88 88/93 India 85/88/90 90/93/95 China 87/89/94 USA 81/91 91/95 EU AKI MON RON Country
Global Fuel Quality Status Indonesia Cambodia Vietnam Philippines Malaysia Singapore Thailand China Japan South Korea Taiwan North America Western Europe Lead Removal Volatility Controls & Oxygenate Introduction Initial Benzene & Sulfur Reduction Olefin & Aromatic Content Limits Sulfur Elimination & Additional Composition Controls Introduction of Renewable Fuels (Biofuels) Objective: Control Emissions of Traditional Air Pollutants Objective: CO 2 Reduction Source: International Fuel Quality Center
Gasoline Quality Effect on Emissions
o Lead Phaseout Octane is Lost when.. o Reduction/Elimination of other metallic compounds o Sulfur Reduction o Benzene and Aromatics Reduction CO, HC, NOx, PM, CO2, SOx, Bz, VOCs, Toxic, etc o Olefins Reduction Tighter exhaust emission standards due to Health & Environment concerns has resulted in stricter fuel quality standards
Relative Cost of Octane Improvement Options Cost per Octane Barrel Lead MMT Refinery Processing (Range) MTBE Aromatic Comp. Blending (Range) Source: Hart Downstream Energy Services
Octane Replacement Options MMT o Lowest cost lead alternative, octane response less than lead. Not a total octane replacement. o Only a small percentage of the MMT derived manganese from the fuel is emitted from the tailpipe the majority remains within the engine, catalyst and exhaust system o Most major automakers state in their Owner s guide that they recommend against using MMT, advising further that any damage caused by MMT may not be covered by the warranty Source: World Wide Fuel Charter, August 2005
Octane Replacement Options Refinery Processing o Reforming Increase severity (higher octane product), revamp capacity to allow higher severity operations. Moderate cost, may require capital, increased benzene/aromatics, loss of volume, overall net producer of hydrogen o Reforming Add new reforming capacity. As above, but higher cost. o Isomerization moderate cost, requires capital, lower octane addition than reforming, volatility impact, reduced benzene, requires small amount of hydrogen, capital requirement o Alkylation high cost, capital requirement, requires high purity of IC4 feedstock, favorable benzene/aromatics dilution, high MON octane contribution to gasoline pool
Octane Replacement Options High Octane Blend Purchases o MTBE High octane, low volatility, no sulfur, benzene or aromatics, widely traded on international market. Moderate to high cost o Ethanol High octane, no sulfur, benzene or aromatics Limited availability, high volatility, higher cost. o Other ethers (ETBE, TAME) High octane, low volatility, no sulphur, benzene or aromatics Moderate to high cost, limited availability
Octane Replacement Options High Octane Blend Purchases o Toluene high octane, low volatility, no sulfur or benzene, widely traded on international market. Moderate to high cost (variable), 100 percent aromatic o Other refinery components (reformate, alkylate, isomerate) High octane, low volatility (except isomerate), no sulphur, no benzene (alkylate and isomerate), low or no aromatics (alkylate and isomerate), Relatively high cost, limited availability, high benzene and aromatics for reformate.
Oxygenates Octane Numbers RON MON AKI MTBE 118 101 110 ETBE 118 102 110 TAME 109 99 104 Ethanol 130 96 113 Methanol 133 105 119 Alkylate 95 93 94
Octane Replacement Options Effect on Emissions & Supply Component Option RON MON AKI (R+M/2) Blending RVP (kpa) Hydrocarbon Emission Tailpipe Evaporative Hydrocarbon Reactivity (Ozone/smog) Air Toxics Emission Benzene Emission CO Emission PM Expand Supply (per barrel of crude oil) Reformate 92 to 98 82 to 88 87 to 93 14 No Toluene 121 107 114 11 No Ethanol 130 96 113 130 2 to 10 vol % 1 MTBE 118 101 110 55 8 to 15 vol % 2 ETBE 118 102 110 28 8 to 17 vol % 3 Emissions Increase Emissions Decrease Emissions Unchanged Notes: 1 Depends on RVP control for petrol used in winter versus summer time; provides 2 to 3 octane numbers benefit (R + M/2). 2 Based on blending at 1.5 to 2.7 wt. % oxygen in petrol; provides 2 to 4 octane numbers benefit (R + M/2). 3 Based on blending at 1.5 to 2.7 wt. % oxygen in petrol; provides 2 to 5 octane numbers benefit (R + M/2); includes use of renewable ethanol ethanol portion is 42% of total ETBE volume blended into petrol.
Net Emission Reductions in RFG (%) 20 15 10 5 Oxygenates Impact on Emissions Ethanol MTBE ETBE 0 VOCs NOx Toxics CO Source: Hart Downstream Energy Services, 2003
Oxygenates Impact on RVP
Oxygenates Impact on Ozone
Alternative HiOctane components have much less favourable properties than MTBE
Ethers Excellent Technical Properties o Have high octane rating and low volatility, enabling substitution of other octane components such as aromatics o Significantly better than ethanol o Preferred by carmakers and refiners Motor Octane Number Research Octane Number Reid Vapour Pressure (kpa) Boiling point ( C) Water tolerance MTBE ETBE TAME 101 102 99 118 118 109 55 28 10 55 72 86 Excellent Excellent Excellent Ethanol 96 130 124 78 Very poor Gasoline 8288 9298 70100 26230
Conclusions o Octane will remain primary determiner of price and value. o Fuel quality improvements will continuously impact gasoline octane composition. o New octane sources and capacity will be required as pressure to reduce lead, sulfur, aromatics & benzene and olefins continues on a global basis. o Primary candidates of future octane sources include oxygenates, alkylate, isooctane/ene and light aromatics. o Octane Sources dependant on regional/national refinery structure & policy pressures e.g. biofuels o Industry players such as the automakers have indicated that they prefer ethers over ethanol and metallic additives
Thank You