The actual trend of fuel quality in the European Union is strongly connected with the outcome of the European Auto/Oil programme and consequently with the finally formulated proposal for an EU-directive on the quality of petrol and diesel. Nevertheless in some countries or areas still more stringent specifications are already or will be fixed supported by tax incentive systems.
The defined target of all these technical and legislative discussions and actions is the improvement of air quality in Europe. Lead-free gasolines with lower benzene and Sulfur content and reduced volatility will directly improve the emission of cars and additionally enable the development of catalysts with further improved conversion capacity for new car models. The most remarkable change for the public will be the disappearance of leaded gasoline in the year 2000 in the countries of the European Union.
Examples show the complex consequences of the modification of the requirements for automotive fuels. The question of diesel fuel lubricity was created by the reduction of Sulfur to 0.05%. The discussion about oxygenated components in gasoline led to a minimum limit by the legislation for reformulated gasoline and a maximum limit by the car industry (ACEA) and the EU fuels directive.
The history of the internal combustion engines is more than 100 years old; and that same period of time covers the development of its fuel. The reasons for the changes in fuel quality are various: It can be crude oil prices, improvements in refining technologies, protection of health and environment, or meeting the technical demands of the engines.
The automotive industry and the oil industry are strongly connected to each other. The products of one industry are dependent on the products of the other. One cannot survive without the products of the other. The bill for both products is paid by us all, the customers who want to be mobile. Also, expensive developments and limitations have a strong effect on national economies. However, the influence of trafic on the world where we all live is huge. Not only human health, but also that of plants and animals is affected by emissions and trafic noise.
The discussion about new limits for automotive fuels in Europe today is, at first glance, influenced only by environmental considerations. Toxic substances in vapour and in exhaust emissions are measured and evaluated for reasons of human health.
Concern for the sickness of the forests in greater areas of Europe resulted in many international movements which are striving for a healthier world.
The topic of global warming connected with greenhouse emissions led to a world-wide concern for energy saving. After the ecological improvement of fuels, technical adaptations also must follow. These are possibly not obvious to people in everyday
