Mexican Fuel Quality
SwRI analysts have produced the first comprehensive report on the quality of Mexico’s gasoline and diesel fuels — the first performed by an independent organization.
“Auto manufacturers look at fuel as an important component in helping to meet emissions standards. The Mexico Fuel Quality Report can provide information that will help design an engine, fuel system, or related components,” says Gerry Estrada, assistant director of the Petroleum Products Research Department in the SwRI Automotive Products and Emissions Research Division.
“A lot of people assume gasoline is just gasoline. People don’t always look at components or how the fuel is formulated,” he says. “Controlling emissions is a major concern today. What you burn in the engine eventually emerges from the tailpipe.”
In March and April 1999, the Institute collected 181 gasoline samples of regular and premium, the two grades available in Mexico, plus 91 diesel samples from 16 cities — Acapulco, Cancún, Guadalajara, Juarez, León, Mazatlán, Mérida, Mexicali, Mexico City, Monterrey, Querétaro, Tampico, Tijuana, Toluca, Torreón, and Veracruz. SwRI worked with Petroleos Mexicanos, the national oil company of Mexico, to ensure that the refineries and various areas of distribution were represented.
“Some people carry assumptions about the quality of Mexico’s fuel,” Estrada says. “We found that their fuel is not any better or worse than U.S. fuels. The fuel met their specifications for production about 98 to 99 percent of the time. Mexico has established strict sulfur requirements because sulfur is a big pollutant that the country is trying to remove from fuels. Our studies found they were actually maintaining a low level of sulfur throughout the country.”
Interest in Mexico’s fuel quality stemmed from several major automotive manufacturers who produce cars in Mexico for sale in that country, the United States, and South America. Estrada says automobiles manufactured in Mexico contain local fuel when they roll off the assembly line, and manufacturers wanted to ensure that the fuel meets their specifications. Others who may benefit from this report include manufacturers of automotive parts and additives, as well as regulatory agencies on both sides of the border because of the high amount of trade and traffic between Mexico and the United States.
The Mexico Fuel Quality Report is available for $3,750.
For additional information, contact Estrada at (210) 522-3006 or gestrada@swri.org.