TARGETING SULFUR IN FUELS FOR 2006

FUEL MANUFACTURERS ARE FACing tough new environmental restrictions in the coming years. In addition to mandating reduced tailpipe emissions in 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency is requiring an order of magnitude reduction in sulfur content of transportation fuels by 2006. Less sulfur will not only reduce emissions of SO 2 , it will also improve the performance of pollution control equipment on vehicles designed to reduce the release of nitrogen oxides and particulate soot. At last month's American Chemical Society national meeting in New %rk City, desulfurization was—not surprisingly—the buzzword at some sessions of the Division of Fuel Chemistry. New catalysts and new processes to reduce sulfur levels in transportation fuels were heralded by attendees of the "Catalysts & Processes for Environmentally Cleaner Gasoline & Diesel Fuels" symposium, cosponsored by the Petroleum Chemistry Division. The new EPA rules call for 30 ppm by weight (ppmw) sulfur in gasoline and 15 ppmw in highway diesel, down ...