Portable Fuel Container Spillage Control Project

Monitoring and Laboratory DivisionJune 28, 1999

California Environmental Protection Agency

Air Resources Board

Portable Fuel Container Spillage Control Workshop

Changes in the Proposed Regulations Proposed Test Methods for Spill-Proof Systems Draft Refueling Spillage Test Data Permeation and Barrier Feasibility Test Data Estimated Effectiveness of Spill-Proof Systems Population/Activity/Emissions Inventory Estimated Price Increases for Spill-Proof Systems Regulatory Process More Information

Proposed Portable Fuel Container Spillage Control Regulations

Proposed Regulations apply to both portable fuel containers and spouts

Section 2472. Performance Standards for Spill-Proof Systems and Spill-Proof Spouts

Section 2472 (a)&(b). Three flow rate standards based on container size (e.g., 1/2 gallon/minute for containers 1.25 gallons)

Section 2472. Permeation Standard of 0.4 grams/gallon/day

Proposed Portable Fuel Container Spillage Control Regulations (continued)

Section 2473. Exemptions, rapid refueling devices for off-road motorcycle competitions & portable fuel tanks for outboards

Section 2475. Flow rate labeling requirement Section 2477. Test Methods for determining

compliance with Performance Standards

Section 2477. Test Methods

Test Method 510 - Automatic Shut-Off Test Procedure

Test Method 511 - Automatic Closure Test Procedure

Test Method 512 - Flow Rate Test Procedure Test Method 513 - Permeation Test Procedure

Test Method 510 - Automatic Shut-Off

Fill container with water and invert for 5 minutes to check for leaks

Dispense contents into a 1/2 gallon test fixture Fill test fixture to at least 1 inch from the top of

the opening (± 1/8”) without overflowing Repeat the process 3 times

Test Method 511 - Automatic Closure

Apply Test Method 510 protocol except fill the test fixture to approximately 50% of capacity

Hold the inverted container over the test fixture for 30 seconds to check for leaks and proper function of automatic closure

Pressurize container to 10 psig with the spout installed, leave undisturbed for 24-hours and record any pressure loss

Maximum allowable 24-hour pressure loss is 1 psig

Test Method 512 - Flow Rate Test Procedure

Fill container to its nominal capacity with water and invert for 5 minutes to check for leaks

Determine the amount of time to dispense all but approximately 1 pint of the liquid

Determine the mass of liquid dispensed by pre and post weighing the container

Calculate a flow rate in gallons/minute using the density of water at 25°C

Test each container 3 times to determine the average flow rate

Test Method 513 - Determination of Permeation Rates

Precondition containers with gasoline for a minimum of 4 weeks

Empty and re-fill containers with CERT fuel, seal, leak test, then expose to a 24-hour variable temperature profile

Weigh containers every 24-hours to determine the permeation rate gravimetrically

Must verify weight loss is linear (steady state) Average of 5 consecutive 24-hour diurnal cycles used to

determine the final rate

Refueling Spillage Test Procedure

Randomly selected ARB employees using conventional containers and spouts fill a 2400 ml fuel tank

Each participant performs several trials with randomly selected containers

Mass of the fuel dispensed is determined by pre and post weighing the containers

Refueling Emissions Test Bench

Refueling Emissions Test Bench

Draft Refueling Spillage Test Data

Out of 56 events, 25 included refueling spillage (45%)

Average per spillage event (less displaced vapor) =16.4 grams

Total fuel dispensed - 51.1 gallons Testing will continue through July 2nd, final results

will be posted on our web site

Permeation and Barrier Feasibility Tests Average permeation rates determined from testing untreated HDPE containers Treated containers also tested to determine the effectiveness of barrier surface

treatments Containers ranged in size from 1.25 gallons to 6.6 gallons and included

products from 5 different manufacturers Containers were tested with Phase II California Reformulated Certification

(CERT) fuel Select containers were also tested with a blend of Carbob and fuel grade

ethanol (5.7% mass) Barrier surface treatments included Sulfonation & 2 levels of Fluorination

(levels 3 & 5)

Permeation and Barrier Feasibility Tests

Permeation and Barrier Surface Treatment Feasibility Test Data

Average Permeation Rates for Untreated Containers

1.25 gallons - 1.52 g/gal/day 2.06 gallons - 1.88 g/gal/day 2.5 gallons - 1.46 g/gal/day 5 gallons - 1.43 g/gal/day 6.6* gallons - 1.09 g/gal/day Average Permeation Rate - 1.57

grams/gallon/day

Average Permeation Rates for Treated Containers

ContainerType

Test #1(g/gal/day)

Tests #2(g/gal/day)

Test #3(g/gal/day)

Average(g/gal/day)

ControlEfficiency (%)

FluorinatedLevel 5

0.24* 0.43* 0.16 0.28 82.2

FluorinatedLevel 3

0.42 0.93 0.57 0.64 59.0

Sulfonated ** N/A 0.07 0.07 95.5

* 2 sets of Level 5 containers treated incorrectly and were removed from the data set** Sulfonated containers treated incorrectly and were removed from the data set

Average Permeation Rates

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

Untreated FluorinatedLevel 3

FluorinatedLevel 5

Sulfonated

Permeation Rates(g/gal/day)

ProposedStandard

Estimated Effectiveness of Spill-Proof Systems

Reduce diurnal emissions by 75% Eliminate refueling spillage - 100% Eliminate transport and storage losses - 100% Reduce average permeation rates by 75% Collects 45% of displaced vapors

Portable Fuel Container (Gas Cans) Population/Activity/Emissions Inventory

Mobile Source Control DivisionJune 28, 1999

California Environmental Protection Agency

Air Resources Board

Statewide Population and Activity of Gas Cans

Determined through surveys Residential Survey Commercial Survey

Residential Population/Activity Parameters

% of households with gas cans - 46% # of gas cans per household - 0.8 % of gas cans stored empty - 30% Average gas can capacity - 3.0 gallons Average age of gas can - 5.5 years Plastic and metal gas cans ratio - 76:24

Residential Population/Activity Parameters (Continued)

% Plastic cans with closed system - 53% % Plastic cans with open system - 23% % Metal cans with closed system - 13% % Metal cans with open system - 11%

Commercial Population/Activity Parameters

# of gas cans per business - 6.9 Average gas can capacity - 3.4 gallons Average age of gas cans - 1.34 years Plastic and metal gas cans ratio - 72:28

Commercial Population/Activity Parameters (Continued)

% Plastic cans with closed system - 33% % Plastic cans with open system - 39% % Metal cans with closed system - 18% % Metal cans with open system - 10%

Gas Can Population Estimates

Residential gas can population - 9 million Expansion Factor - # of housing units by county

obtained from California State Department of Finance Commercial gas can population - 400,000 Expansion Factor - # of businesses which may have

gas cans from InfoUSA database

Various Emissions Related Processes Associated with Gas Cans

Diurnal Loss - Ambient Temperature Permeation Loss - Pressure and gas can material Spillage - During refueling of equipment Vapor Displacement - During refueling of equipment

Permeation Emission Rates

1.57 grams per gallon per day Obtained through gravimetric

testing of several gas cans

Diurnal Emission Rates (Draft)

Several cans under different conditions were tested using Sealed Housing Evaporative Determination method.

Plastic/closed system - 2.15 g/gal/day Plastic/open system - 21.76 g/day Metal/closed system - 2.15 g/gal/day Metal/open system - 21.76 g/gal/day

Spillage and Vapor Displacement Emission Rate

17.3 g/refueling - obtained from USEPA’s NEVES report

Vapor displacement - 4.52 g/gal Waiting for Data

Estimated Prices of Spill-Proof Systems

Average price increase per Spill-Proof System estimated between $5.50 - $8.00 per container

Estimate compares retail prices of similarly constructed containers

Breaks containers into 3 size categories, 1-1.5 , 2-2.5, 5-6 gallons Pre-Regulation retail estimates of fuel containers are:

1-1.5 gallon - $3.24 2-2.5 gallon - $4.69 5-6 gallon - $9.99

Regulatory Process Workshop June 28, 1999

Consider all comments received by July 9, 1999 Staff Report - August 6, 1999

Start of 45 day public comment period Board Hearing - September 23, 1999

More Information On The Emissions Inventory

www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/spillcon/inventor.htm Archana Agrawal, Manager, Inventory Assessments

Section (626) 450-6136 aagrawal@arb.ca.gov

More Information On The Regulation www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/spillcon/spillcon.htm Workshop presentation will be posted on the web

site Dean Bloudoff (916) 263-2070 dbloudof@arb.ca.gov