A cornerstone of environmental sustainability lies in addressing greenhouse gas emissions of CO2 due to the combustion of fossil fuels in trucks and automobiles, with the transportation industry continuously innovating to meet increasingly stringent fuel economy and emissions targets and to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the keyways OEMs have sought to achieve reductions of these emissions is by developing more efficient internal combustion engines. Through the introduction of gasoline direct injection (GDI) fuel systems, original equipment manufacturers are able to produce vehicles that more efficiently deliver fuel directly into the engine, reducing the amount burned, helping with improved fuel economy, and achieving reduced carbon emissions as a result.
However, one unintended consequence of GDI technology is a tendency for formation of particulate matter (PM), which can lead to increased tailpipe emissions. In rare occasions, another potential issue is that small liquid droplets or particles can form in the combustion process and cause pre-ignition that can lead to major engine failure.
To help address these issues, a particular class of chemistries called gasoline deposit control additives are added to fuel. Gasoline deposit control additives play a critical role in enabling efficient GDI fuel system technologies by helping to prevent deposits from accumulating in areas such as fuel injectors or intake valves. This is key because engine cleanliness plays a significant role in managing exhaust emissions and fuel economy.
Given the recent focus on potential health effects around PM exposure, numerous industry leaders in the auto, oil, and other industries have conducted scientific research to better understand the tendency of fuels to form particulates in GDI engines and study the degree to which gasoline additives may or may not impact PM emissions.
In a recently published manuscript, A Review of Recent Research Related to High Gasoline Additive Treat Rates, the Fuel Additives Task Group of the American Chemistry Council’s Petroleum Additives Panel conducted a focused review of recent research on GDI fuel systems to glean insight on the benefits and performance improvements that gasoline deposit control additives provide as well as their impact, if any, on emissions and certain engine failures.
The FATG concluded that the breadth of reviewed research supported that gasoline deposit control additives play a significant role in engine cleanliness and performance, helping to maintain optimum fuel delivery to minimize PM emissions and improve fuel economy. The manuscript concludes that its review of the literature supports that “properly formulated deposit control additives will not cause significant increases in PM emissions or resulting [engine-failure] events.”
The FATG manuscript provides additional details and data from the research review and is available to download at this link.