For this program, two fuels, namely an E10 and E15, were tested on twenty 2016 and newer modern gasoline fueled vehicles over triplicate Federal Test Procedure (FTP) cycles. The E10 fuel was a California Reformulated Gasoline. The summer-grade E10 fuel was sourced from four (4) different refineries that were selected by CARB. The E10 fuels were blended together in four equal parts to create the final E10 fuel. The E15 fuel was created by splash blending denatured ASTM D4806 fuel grade ethanol with the final E10 fuel. Testing was performed on twenty light-duty gasoline vehicles that included a mixture of technologies, such as gasoline direct injection (GDI), port fuel injection (PFI) as well as PFI+GDI fuel systems that are representative of the current California gasoline fleet. One hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) equipped with a PFI engine was also used. The vehicle test matrix had provisions for five vehicles on each emissions standards category (i.e., SULEV30, ULEV50, ULEV70, and ULEV125).
The primary objective of this program is to better understand the impact of increasing ethanol blending on gaseous and particulate emissions from current gasoline direct injection (GDI) and port fuel injection (PFI) light-duty vehicles in California. For this project, two fuels, namely an E10 and E15, were tested on twenty 2016 and newer modern gasoline fueled vehicles over triplicate FTP cycles. Measurements included regulated emissions, fuel economy, PM mass, particle number, black carbon, and emissions of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene isomers, 1,3-butadiene, ethanol, and carbonyl compounds.