What are the air quality benefits of using reformulated gasoline (RFG) that contains oxygenates?
RFG has been helping improve the air for millions of Americans since 1995. The use of RFG compared to conventional gasoline has resulted in annual reductions of smog-forming pollutants (volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides) and toxics (such as benzene). With the second phase (PDF) (2 pp, 128K, EPA420-F-99-042, November 1999) of RFG program, which began January 2000, EPA estimates that smog-forming pollutants are being reduced annually by at least 105 thousand tons, and toxics by at least 24 thousand tons. Refiners are required to reduce the emissions of volatile organic compounds, toxics, and nitrogen oxides by 27, 22, and 7 percent, respectively, compared to the conventional gasoline they produced in 1990.
