Sulphur content in gasohol

[SanookTeufel]

Here in the west, sulphur content is tightly controlled... You almost never smell it coming out of the tailpipe of the car in front of you.

Has anyone noticed if different brands (like Shell) have higher quality gasoline (and less sulphur) than the other brands in Thailand?

I know they use more additives, but it wouldn't make sense to use more additive while not also reducing sulphur content.

[johng]

6 minutes ago, SanookTeufel said:

You almost never smell it coming out of the tailpipe

I thought the sulphur smell was to do with catalytic converters ?

[Jitar]

Europe and North America lead vehicle fuel and emissions standards.  Thailand and many other countries lag more than 10 years behind.  Thailand is still trying to meet Euro IV while Europe is Euro VI.  There is also no real enforcement of the relatively low standards that are in place. 

 

Low sulphur is not about fuel quality, rather it is part of having the right fuel standard for the emission control systems on vehicles in that country.  Shell did promote low sulphur diesel in Thailand before others changed in 2012.  Now that all fuel is down to 50ppm sulphur, there is not much advantage in going to ulta low sulphur fuel unless the vehicle is set up for it (Euro V or VI).  

[SanookTeufel]

On 11/6/2019 at 12:57 AM, johng said:

I thought the sulphur smell was to do with catalytic converters ?

Sulphur is normally in fuel (both petrol and diesel) it costs a lot of money to remove it from the fuel.

If you don't remove it from the fuel it interferes with the catalytic converters and it pollutes more.

Sometime when I buy cheap gas in US I can smell it but in Thailand it's much more powerful of a smell.

 

[SanookTeufel]

3 hours ago, Jitar said:

Europe and North America lead vehicle fuel and emissions standards.  Thailand and many other countries lag more than 10 years behind.  Thailand is still trying to meet Euro IV while Europe is Euro VI.  There is also no real enforcement of the relatively low standards that are in place. 

 

Low sulphur is not about fuel quality, rather it is part of having the right fuel standard for the emission control systems on vehicles in that country.  Shell did promote low sulphur diesel in Thailand before others changed in 2012.  Now that all fuel is down to 50ppm sulphur, there is not much advantage in going to ulta low sulphur fuel unless the vehicle is set up for it (Euro V or VI).  

50ppm seems high, no?

I guess it's subjective... I'm pretty sure in the US it's 10ppm, I guess that's why I never remember smelling it here (unless you buy cheap garbage gasoline) which I've done once in my old car.

Could you clarify how the emission control systems vary by country? The anatomy of the catalytic converters and such shouldn't change based on region...

[ExpatOilWorker]

Thailand use Euro IV fuel stand which is max 10 ppm sulfur. 

From around 2023 the plan is to adapt Euro V fuel standard.

[SanookTeufel]

31 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Thailand use Euro IV fuel stand which is max 10 ppm sulfur. 

From around 2023 the plan is to adapt Euro V fuel standard.

Interesting, I tried researching more about this-most of the search results were super vague but one website has a great breakdown of what this means Euro Emissions Standards

 

[KhunBENQ]

23 minutes ago, SanookTeufel said:

Interesting, I tried researching more about this-most of the search results were super vague but one website has a great breakdown of what this means Euro Emissions Standards

 

It's a first for me that the Euro emission standards contain specifications for the fuel.

Maybe someone can enlighten me.

[Jitar]

The emissions standards are aligned with a fuel specification.  E.G. to comply with Euro IV, low sulphur fuel (50ppm) is required.  Euro V and VI generally require ultra low sulphur fuel (10ppm).