Hydrocarbon Control for Los Angeles by Reducing Gasoline Volatility

Evaporative emissions from automobiles can be reduced by lowering gasoline volatility. A 3 psi reduction in Reid vapor pressure will reduce evaporative losses by about 50%. A test program was conducted to determine if new and used cars presently on the road in the Los Angeles basin could operate satisfactorily on lower volatility gasoline. The results of this program indicated that gasoline with reduced volatility gave acceptable driveability and could be used to provide a significant reduction in hydrocarbon emission.