EPA Eyes Higher Octane In Gasoline As Post-2025 GHG Control Strategy

摘要

A top EPA fuels official says the agency is considering requiring higher gasoline octane levels as part of its next round of greenhouse gas (GHG) controls for passenger vehicles, and believes it has statutory authority to impose such a requirement but that it would not be undertaken until after the current rules end in model year 2025. Paul Machiele, director of fuel programs in EPA's Assessment and Standards Division in Ann Arbor, MI, told a May 5 meeting of EPA's Clean Air Act Advisory Committee's Mobile Sources Technical Review Subcommittee that the agency has "broad authority" under the air law to regulate fuels and fuel additives that can likely now extend to octane, a component of fuel used to reduce engine knock, since mandating higher levels can improve efficiency and cut GHGs.