Evaluation of Gasoline Evaporative Emissions from Fuel-Cap Removal after a Real-World Driving Event

Abstract

This study evaluated gasoline evaporative emissions from fuel-cap removal during the refueling process (or “puff loss”) for one gasoline vehicle in the Japanese market. Specifically, the puff loss emissions were measured after a real-world driving event in urban Tokyo, Japan for different seasons and gasoline types. The experimental results indicated higher puff loss emissions during summer than in winter and spring despite using low vapor pressure gasoline during summer. These higher puff loss emissions accounted maximally for more than 4 g of the emissions from the tested vehicle. The irregular emission trends could be attributed to the complex relationships between physical parameters such as fuel-tank filling, ambient temperature, ambient pressure, and gasoline vapor pressure. Furthermore, an estimation model was developed based on the theory of thermodynamics to determine puff loss emissions under arbitrary environmental conditions. The estimation model included no fitting parameter and was in good agreement with the measured puff loss emissions. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to elucidate the effects of three physical parameters, i.e., fuel tank-filling, ambient pressure, and gasoline type, on puff loss emissions. The results indicated that fuel tank-filling was the most important parameter affecting the quantity of puff loss emissions. Further, the proposed puff loss estimation model is likely to aid the evaluation of future volatile organic compound emission inventories.