  |
|
| BENZENE
IN AIR AND IT'S EFFECT ON HUMAN HEALTH |
GASOLINE BENZENE REDUCTION PROGRAM IN INDIA :
| Period |
Benzene Content |
Area Covered |
|
Before 1996 April, 1996 April , 2000 November, 2000 |
No specification 5% 3% 1% |
Entire country Entire Country Metropolitan Cities National Capital Territory (NCT) and Mumbai |
Source: Air quality Status and trends, CPCB Report NAAQMS/14/2000-2001
Table 17: Specifications for Petrol in India and Europe
| PARAMETERS |
SPECIFICATIONS | ||||
|
India 20001 |
Mukhapadhyay Committee 20052 |
Europe 20003 |
Europe 20053 |
USA RFG-34 | |
|
Sulphur (per cent by weight) |
0.1-0.5 |
0.03 |
0.015 |
0.005 |
0.002 |
|
Aromatics (per cent by Volume) |
No limit |
45 |
42 |
35 |
25 |
|
Olefins (per cent by Volume) |
No limit |
18 |
18 |
14-16 |
6 |
|
Benzene (per cent by Volume) |
3-5 |
1(in six metros) 3 (rest of the country) | 1 |
1 |
0.8 |
Sources
1. A P Ram 2001, Advisor (refineries), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Presentation on Fuel Quality trends in India, paper presented in Workshop on Automotive Technologies and Fuel Quality for Environmental Protection, Indian Oil Corporation (R&D Centre), Indian Institute of Petroleum Management, Gurgaon, January 15-17, 2001.
2. Anon 2001, Recommendations of Various Committees for Fuel Quality for year 2005, Central Pollution Control Board, January 31, 2001, mimeo.
3. D Visser 2001, shall Global Solutions, The Netherlands, Clean Fuel Specifications Development and impact on Refineries in Europe, paper presented in Workshop on Automotive Technologies and Fuel Quality for Environmental Protection, Indian Oil Corporation (R&D Centre), Indian Institute of Petroleum Management, Gurgaon, January 15-17, 2001.
4. Anon 2000, The California Reformulated Gasoline Regulations, Title 13, California Code of Regulations, Sections 2250-2273 (as last amended June 16, 2000), California Air resources Board, www.arb.ca.gov. as on January 29, 2001.
Progressive Phase out of Benzene content in gasoline in Different Countries :
Many countries are progressively bringing down benzene content in gasoline towards 1 vol.% max.
Country |
Year |
Banzene, Vol % max |
| USA |
1995 |
1.0 |
|
EU |
1985 2000 |
5.0 1.0 |
| Austria |
1990 |
3.0 |
|
Italy |
1993 1997 1999 |
3.0 1.4 1.0 |
| Finland |
1993 1994 |
3.0 (95%) Encourages 1.0 do |
In India it is desirable to target a maximum benzene concentration of 1.0 vol % keeping in view the high ambient temperatures. In addition there is need to control the aromatic content of gasoline and install vapour recovery system during storage, loading and unloading operations in different stages of product handling from refineries to vehicle tanks.
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