Effect of branched C₈ olefins addition to mexican gasoline on motor vehicles exhaust emissions

Two groups of gasoline blends were prepared using a base-gasoline, containing 7.6% MTBE and added with either lower olefins (C₅-C₆) or butene's dimer (made up of 70% branched C₈-olefins). In each gasoline group, the olefin concentration was varied 5, 10, and 15 vol%. The dimer was produced in our pilot plant facilities from a mixture of n-butenes. An FTP-75 test procedure, performed on a 98 model year vehicle, was used to assess the effect of olefins type (C₅-C₆ or C₈) and their concentration in a gasoline blend on exhaust emissions; namely: CO, total hydrocarbons. NOx, and toxic compounds, such as aldehydes and ketones. Average CO emissions dropped 20-27%, when using 5-15 vol% C₈ olefins-gasoline, in comparison with those using C₅-C₆ olefins-gasolines. Total hydrocarbons emissions, on the other hand, remained practically unaffected either by the type of olefins or their concentrations (5- 15 vol%). NOx emission factors decreased 10-14% when using the C₈ olefins-gasolines, relative to those containing lower olefins. Main toxic pollutants were formaldehyde, propanone, and acetaldehyde. In average, acetaldehyde emissions decreased 23-53% in the dimer-gasoline group, but formaldehyde emissions increased 5-39%, depending on the olefins content and in comparison with the lower olefins-gasolines.