Odorless gasoline

2001/04/24 Carton Virto, Eider - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Ingeniaritza
• Osasuna
• Ingurumena

Despite the tastes, many people find the smell of gasoline annoying, but every time you touch fill the car tank there is no other option than to smell. One gram of gas fuel is emitted into the air for every liter entering the tank. But in addition to smell, gasoline components can cause other damage. Hydrocarbons increase smoga and many aromatic compounds are suspected to be carcinogenic and may cause leukemia.

For example, cases of people who have felt discomfort from smelling the methyl-t-butyl eter supplement (MTBE) are known and some animal experiments have shown tumors. MTBE gives a lot of smell of gasoline, but something else.

However, the amount of gas that can be emitted together with gasoline is not defined. The rules are local but there are no general recommendations. In countries like Germany and the United States, some gas stations have gas absorption systems. Vacuum pumps serve to absorb excess gas, but the most powerful pump cannot withstand more than three-quarters of the steam.

The most powerful system has been developed at the GKSS Research Centre of the German government. The system absorbs 1.5 times more air than liquid gasoline that spills at the time and only 5% of the steam leaves the tank. The recovering steam builds up at the top of the tank and, when the pressure is too high, exits through a
quick layer of silicon. Silicon adsorbs hydrocarbons and only emits clean air into the atmosphere. Gasolines are not lost in the process, due to physical-chemical balances that cause hydrocarbons to fall back into tanner.The system is
already in operation at 9 service stations in Germany.