The solution to strategic problems in the oil refining industry as a factor for the sustainable development of automobile transport

Abstract

The oil refining industry in Russia produces poor quality motor fuels that meet neither the standards of developed countries nor the needs of a rapidly growing domestic vehicle fleet. The aim of this work is to substantiate the optimal direction for reforms to modernize the Russian oil industry, which will then enable it to achieve in a timely manner the necessary changes to the quality of motor fuel that will improve both the energy efficiency and environmental safety of motor vehicles. The prospective requirements for fuel quality in Russia were formulated based on analytical investigation. The necessity to change the ratio between reforming and isomerization capacities to improve fuel properties is herein demonstrated. The proposed scheme for highly efficient residueless oil refining will give a motor fuel yield of approximately 85% with inherent high environmental and operational characteristics. The optimal direction for the rapid improvement of the quality of motor fuels through the use of the developed multifunctional fuel additive in trace amounts is proposed.

Increasing the efficiency and environmental safety of vehicle operation through improvement of fuel quality

“…Fractions of the reformate boiling in the range 62-100ºC have very low octane numbers -62-65 [3]. This can be explained by the much lower degree of aromatization of C 6 hydrocarbons and the low mixing octane rating (80) for benzene.…”

“…With decreasing hydrogen content in fuel, the quantity of combustion products decreases considerably due to a decrease in the stoichiometrically required quantity of air and, although the heat of combustion (kJ/mol) decreases, the adiabatic combustion temperature increases [3].…”

“…Up to 40% of hydrocarbon emission from vehicles evaporates from the fuel system of vehicles with a gasoline engine [10][11][12]. The calculations done by the author for the toxicity of the gasoline vapor with the standard Russian composition (total content of aromatics of 60% at C 6 , C 7 , C 8 and C 9 8%, 25%, 35% and 25% of the amount of aromatics) that are listed in Table 4 showed that about 50% of the total toxicity of gasoline vapor is caused by benzene [3]. It should be noted that under normal conditions benzene is chemically stable and does not undergo biodegradation.…”

Environmental tax as an instrument of economic stimulation to improve the quality of motor fuels

“…Considering the direct linear connection between carbon dioxide emissions and the fuel density [6][7][8][9], it is possible to define an additional rate of the environmental tax in accordance with the fuel density.…”

“…The most advanced and efficient system for taxation based on the CO 2 emissions by the used cars, with increased fuel consumption, exists in the UK [3], where car owners pay road tax, calculated according to the vehicle environmental class considering carbon dioxide emissions; since March 2011 they have to pay also for the engine capacity [4]. It should be noted that quality of fuel used in motor transport critically affects the carbon dioxide emissions by vehicles [6][7][8][9], this requires special attention to the problem of tax regulation of fuels quality.…”