ERG Evaluates the Carbon Footprint of Oxygenated Gasoline

ERG’s Clean Transportation and Life Cycle Services groups teamed up to conduct a study for the Latin American Clean Fuels Association on the carbon footprint of gasoline blended with oxygen in Colombia, France, and Japan. This study highlights the potential for reducing carbon emissions from today’s vehicle fleet. Gasoline-containing oxygenated additives can decarbonize conventional internal combustion vehicles, mainly if the additives are sourced from biobased feedstocks. The study compared the life cycle greenhouse gas footprint for gasoline oxygenated with ethanol or ethanol-derived ethyl tertiary-butyl ether (ETBE) to unoxygenated gasoline. The study was based on ERG's analysis of the greenhouse gas emissions that occur when producing individual gasoline components, including reformate, a carbon-intensive gasoline blend stock. The results found that displacing ethanol with ETBE to achieve a fixed oxygen level reduced greenhouse gas emissions relative to ethanol-only blends, owing to the greater volume of reformate displaced. The study was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Fuels (https://www.mdpi.com/2673-3994/5/2/8). 

For additional information on the study, please contact John Koupal of ERG’s Clean Transportation Group (john.koupal@erg.com).