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Document 52012DC0749
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Quality of petrol and diesel fuel used for road transport in the European Union: Ninth annual report (Reporting year 2010)
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Quality of petrol and diesel fuel used for road transport in the European Union: Ninth annual report (Reporting year 2010)
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Quality of petrol and diesel fuel used for road transport in the European Union: Ninth annual report (Reporting year 2010)
/* COM/2012/0749 final */
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Quality of petrol and diesel fuel used for road transport in the European Union: Ninth annual report (Reporting year 2010) /* COM/2012/0749 final */
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Quality of petrol and diesel fuel used for
road transport in the European Union:
Ninth annual report
(Reporting year 2010) Executive Summary Directive 98/70/EC[1] sets
minimum technical specifications on health and environmental grounds for fuels
to be used for vehicles equipped with positive-ignition and
compression-ignition engines. Fuel quality is
environmentally important because it affects engine pollution emissions and
thus air quality. It also affects the ease and cost with which desired pollution
and greenhouse gas emission limits can be achieved by manufacturers. Non-respect of the fuel specification can
lead to increased emissions (for example excess oxygenates can increase NOx
emissions) and might damage engine and exhaust after-treatment systems (for
example excess sulphur damaging catalysts) leading to greater air pollution. In
order to ensure compliance with the fuel quality standards mandatory under this
Directive, Member States are required to introduce fuel quality monitoring
systems. Article 8 of Directive 98/70/EC requires
the Commission to publish an annual report on fuel quality in the Member
States. This ninth Commission Report summarises Member States’ submissions on
the quality of petrol and diesel, as well as the volumes sold, for 2010. All Member States submitted a full report for 2010. Some
Member States reported later than the required deadline of 30 June. The timeliness of the submission of reports
was slightly worse than in 2009, 17 Member States submitted their 2010 report
before the annual deadline, of the remaining 10 reports 5 were received 3
months or more after the reporting deadline. Fuel quality monitoring data in 2010 showed
that the specifications for petrol and diesel laid down in Directive 98/70/EC were
in general met and few exceedances were identified. For petrol the main
parameters where exceedances were identified were research/motor octane number
(RON/MON)[2],
summer vapour pressure[3],
distillation/evaporation at 100/150°C[4]
and the maximum sulphur content. For diesel the main parameters where
exceedances were identified were sulphur content, distillation 95% point and
cetane number. As exceedances are relatively rare, and
most Member States take action to remove non-compliant fuel from sale, the
Commission is not aware of any negative repercussions on vehicle emissions or
engine functioning. However, the Commission urges Member States to continue to
take action to ensure full compliance so that such problems do not arise in the
future. Low sulphur content helps reduce air
pollution and the introduction of new engine technology.
A new specification for automotive road fuels came into force on 1 January 2009
which limits the sulphur content of all automotive road fuels in the EU to 10
ppm (sulphur-free fuels). This represents the second year of reporting since this
requirement came into force and the average sulphur continued below this level
in 2010, as shown in Table 1: Table 1: Annual trend in average sulphur
content in petrol and diesel fuels EU || Average sulphur content, ppm* Fuel/Year || 2002 || 2003* || 2004* || 2005* || 2006** || 2007*** || 2008*** || 2009*** || 2010 Petrol || 51 || 37 || 38 || 19 || 18 || 18 || 14 || 6 || 6 Diesel || 169 || 125 || 113 || 25 || 22 || 23 || 18 || 8 || 7.5 *Excludes France, which did not report in
2003 – 2005.
**Excludes Malta, which did not report in 2006. ***Excludes Luxembourg, which did not report in 2007, 2008 or fully in 2009. National fuel quality monitoring systems
still differ considerably. However, the Directive's requirements are expected
to promote homogeneity and to improve the quality of reporting. 2. Introduction The specifications for petrol and diesel
sold in the European Union are laid down in the Directive 98/70/EC. The
Directive requires Member States to report summaries of the quality of fuels
sold in their territories. From 2004 onwards, Member States are required to
report their monitoring in accordance with European Standard, EN 14274[5], or with systems having an
equivalent degree of confidence. Article 8 of Directive 98/70/EC, as amended by
Article 1(5) of Directive 2003/17/EC, requires the Commission to publish the
results of Member States’ fuel quality reporting. In compliance with this
request, this ninth Commission Report summarises the quality of petrol and
diesel, as well as the volumes sold, in the EU for the year 2010. Previous
years' reports can be found on the Commission's web pages[6]. 3. National
monitoring systems Commission Decision 2002/159/EC and European Standard EN 14274, have enhanced the usefulness of the information and facilitated analysis of EU fuel trends. The quality of the monitoring systems’ design, compliance with limit values and information provided in submissions is continuing to improve. However, there are still a few key areas for improvement, summarised as follows: Member States are encouraged to continue to improve the timeliness of the submissions. Several Member States do not complete sufficient sampling for all fuels or are not sampling sufficiently at service stations (as opposed to depot/refinery) to meet the requirements of EN 14274[7], see Table 4. Where Member States use their own national monitoring systems, they should be fully described in order to be able to verify whether they comply with the European Standard. This description should show the monitoring system’s equivalency in statistical confidence to EN 14274. Member State reports are assessed according to the appropriate seasonal periods to ensure comparability for EU-wide reporting. Where a Member State has chosen to use a different seasonal period to that specified, appropriate information should be provided in the national annex within the Fuel Quality Monitoring report. 4. 2010 Reporting 4.1 Fuel qualities and volumes In contrast to previous years, the new
sulphur content limit of a maximum of 10 ppm (introduced in 2009) for all
automotive road fuels has precipitated a switch from RON 95 (<50 mg/kg) to
RON 95 (<10 mg/kg) petrol. Concerning the octane number, the majority 67% of
petrol sales in 2010 comprised RON 95. Of the remainder, 27% was
95=<RON<98, RON 98 was around 5% and RON 91 at 1% of the total sales. Figure
1: 2010 EU fuel sales proportions by fuel type (%)* Million litres || || || RON=91 || || || RON = 95 || || || RON 95=<RON<98 || || || RON 98 || || || Diesel Table 2: 2010 Summary by fuel type Fuel grade || Million litres || EU market share Unleaded min. RON=91 || 1,618 || 1% Unleaded min. RON=95 || 80,308 || 67% Unleaded 95≤RON<98 || 32,898 || 27% Unleaded RON≥98 || 6,409 || 5% Total petrol || 121,233 || 100.0% Diesel (<10 ppm S) || 246,841 || 100.0% Total diesel || 246,841 || 100.0% || || Temporal trends in EU fuel sales Figure 2 illustrates the evolution of the
fuel consumption in the EU for the last 10 years and shows a clear increase in
the consumption of diesel compared to petrol. Figure
2: evolution of fuel consumption in the EU Million
litres || Excludes France in 2003 - 2005, as no
submissions were provided; excludes Luxembourg in 2007 to 2009 and Malta in 2006 and 2009 when no reports were provided. EU27 Fuel
Sales by type Table 3 shows fuel consumption per type and
Member State for 2010: Table 3: Fuel
consumption per type and Member State Fuel Type || Petrol Sales (million litres) || Diesel Sales (million litres) Member State || min. RON=91 || min. RON=95 || 95≤ RON <98 || RON ≥98 || Total Petrol || Total Diesel Austria || 150 || - || 2,251 || 64 || 2,465 || 7,437 Belgium || - || 1,251 || - || 363 || 1,614 || 7,733 Bulgaria || - || 847 || - || - || 847 || 2,168 Cyprus || - || 479 || - || 47 || 526 || 428 Czech Rep. || 5 || - || 2,459 || 49 || 2,513 || 4,637 Denmark || 517 || 1,570 || - || 3 || 2,090 || 3,101 Estonia || - || - || 338 || 33 || 371 || 572 Finland || - || 2,075 || 162 || - || 2,237 || 2,790 France || - || 8,677 || - || 2,202 || 10,879 || 39,749 Germany || 943 || - || 24,901 || 740 || 26,584 || 38,356 Greece || - || 4,634 || 220 || 153 || 5,007 || 2,977 Hungary || - || 1,743 || - || 47 || 1,790 || 3,274 Ireland || - || 1,974 || - || - || 1,974 || 2,672 Italy || - || 11,678 || - || - || 11,678 || 30,238 Latvia || - || - || 347 || 29 || 376 || 801 Lithuania || - || 385 || - || 9 || 394 || 1,190 Luxembourg || 1 || 373 || - || 92 || 466 || 1,894 Malta || - || - || 91 || 10 || 101 || 120 Netherlands || - || 5,496 || - || 75 || 5,571 || 7,634 Poland || - || 5,138 || - || 513 || 5,651 || 13,896 Portugal || - || - || 1,703 || 187 || 1,890 || 5,898 Romania || - || - || 1,274 || 793 || 2,067 || 4,997 Slovakia || - || 781 || - || 19 || 800 || 1,281 Slovenia || - || - || 660 || 79 || 739 || 1,419 Spain || - || 6,908 || - || 766 || 7,674 || 31,540 Sweden || - || 4,394 || - || 138 || 4,532 || 5,164 UK || - || 19,444 || 953 || - || 20,397 || 24,875 Table 3 shows the volume
of fuel sales per Member State by fuel type. Some general trends can be noted: ·
Diesel dominates the market in all but two of
the Member States. ·
Belgium demonstrates the
heaviest dependence on diesel which dominates fuel sales having 82.7% share of
the market – the highest proportion of all the Member States. ·
The greatest volume of fuel sales in 2010 took
place in Germany, with 17.6 % of total EU fuel sales and a petrol/diesel share
of 21.9% petrol and 15.5% diesel. The next biggest market was the France with a 13.8% share of EU petrol and diesel fuel sales of 9.0% and 16.1% respectively while UK fuel sales totalled 12.3% of all fuel sales with a breakdown of 16.8% (petrol) and 10.1%
(diesel). Similar to the period from 2001 to 2009, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom had the greatest volume of fuel sales in 2010. Since 2001 there has been increased
homogeneity in the types of grades of fuel reported to be available across the
EU. Petrol distinction between grades has mainly resulted from different octane
levels (RON category). In 2010, only six Member States reported three petrol
grades available, with the remainder reporting two petrol grades (no Member State has reported the availability of only one petrol fuel grade). Before 2009, two diesel grades were
available for use in automotive road vehicles: low sulphur and sulphur free (i.e.
concentrations of. less than10 ppm sulphur). As expected, and confirmed by the 2010
data, all Member States have transitioned to 100% sulphur free diesel fuels in
accordance with the mandatory sulphur content limit, hence, the number of
grades of diesel has recede to one. 5. Sampling and reporting There are detailed requirements in EN 14274
on the number and location of samples to be taken and reported in Member States'
fuel quality reports. EN 14274 lists a number of factors to be taken into
account when assessing the sampling regime: such as the number of refineries
supplying the market, the number of fuel grades available and the number of
different imported fuel grades and sources. The standard specifies a minimum
number of samples per fuel grade in each of the winter and summer periods. In
previous years, there was some uncertainty in Member States about the sampling
requirements – however sample quantities and the division of reporting between
summer and winter periods have improved in recent years. Table 4 provides a breakdown of individual
Member States sampling and reporting in 2010. The total minimum samples required
is calculated where the Member State has used a statistical model as outlined
in EN 14274, given that the minimum sample requirement is known for each model[8]. The table also provides a breakdown of the total samples taken and
the sampling carried out at service stations. Not all Member States provided
this breakdown in 2010 (Sweden, the UK, Spain, Germany and Latvia). EN 14274 specifies that the minimum sampling requirement should be taken from fuel
dispensing sites – which are defined as a “site, retail or commercial where
fuel is dispensed into road vehicles for propulsion.” Therefore any sampling
taken at distribution terminals or refineries should be taken in addition to
those from service stations in order to meet minimum sampling requirements. Where Member States have reported using a "national
monitoring system"[9] – an assessment has been made of the equivalent minimum sample
requirements on the basis of the size of the country, and other details
provided. Where the location of samples is known – it is possible to determine
whether sample quantities demonstrate compliance with EN 14274. Seven Member States (either using a system
based on EN 14274 or a national monitoring system) failed to fully comply with
the requirements of the standard. This was due to the locations where samples were
taken and also the number of samples collected; however, those problems do not
compromise the effectiveness and creditability of the results reported to the
Commission. The Commission is currently working with the
Member States to clarify the reasons for those deviations and trying to
guarantee that this situation will be improved in the future. Table 4 details the minimum sample number
required to be taken from service stations for Member States to have
demonstrated compliance with the Directive. Table 4: Summary of Member State sampling and reporting in relation to the
requirements of Directive 98/70/EC and of European Standard EN 14274 MS || FQMS Model (1) || Size (2) || Separate S&W? (3) || Samples per grade per period (4) || Total samples required (5) || Samples Taken (6) || Samples Taken at Service Stations (7) Pet. || Dsl. || Pet. || Dsl. || Pet. || Dsl. Austria || AT || C || S || ü || 50 || 102 || 100 || 203 || 100 || 203 || 100 Belgium || BE || N || S || ü || 100 || 400 || 200 || 2133 || 4985 || 2133 || 4958 Bulgaria || BG || B || S || ü || 100 || 200 || 200 || 427 || 468 || 418 || 456 Cyprus || CY || C || S || ü || 50 || 100 || 100 || 293 || 167 || 149 || 167 Czech Republic || CZ || C || S || ü || 50 || 101 || 100 || 747 || 877 || 747 || 877 Denmark || DK || N || S || ü || 50 || 201 || 100 || 42 || 22 || 42 || 22 Estonia || EE || C || S || ü || 50 || 103 || 100 || 350 || 200 || 350 || 200 Finland || FI || A || S || ü || 50 || 103 || 100 || 185 || 162 || 140 || 117 France || FR || B || L || ü || 200 || 416 || 400 || 827 || 395 || 827 || 395 Germany || DE || N || L || ü || 200 || 405 || 400 || 417 || 305 || - || - Greece || EL || A || S || ü || 50 || 105 || 100 || 250 || 120 || 29 || 17 Hungary || HU || C || S || ü || 50 || 101 || 100 || 120 || 120 || 120 || 120 Ireland || IE || C || S || ü || 50 || 100 || 100 || 144 || 126 || 92 || 92 Italy || IT || A || L || ü || 100 || 200 || 200 || 200 || 200 || 100 || 100 Latvia || LV || N || S || ü || 100 || 400 || 200 || 438 || 674 || - || - Lithuania || LT || C || S || ü || 50 || 101 || 100 || 101 || 100 || 97 || 95 Luxembourg || LU || C || S || ü || 50 || 104 || 100 || 47 || 75 || 43 || 71 Malta || MT || N || S || ü || 100 || 209 || 200 || 49 || 43 || 39 || 30 Netherlands || NL || A || S || ü || 50 || 100 || 100 || 100 || 100 || 100 || 100 Poland || PL || B || L || ü || 200 || 408 || 400 || 291 || 229 || 291 || 229 Portugal || PT || N || S || ü || 100 || 209 || 200 || 236 || 118 || 200 || 100 Romania || RO || B || S || ü || 100 || 400 || 200 || 360 || 210 || 360 || 210 Slovakia || SK || C || S || ü || 50 || 101 || 100 || 168 || 137 || 168 || 137 Slovenia || SI || C || S || ü || 50 || 103 || 100 || 149 || 181 || 145 || 115 Spain || ES || N || L || ü || 200 || 409 || 400 || 520 || 264 || - || - Sweden || SE || N || S || ü || 100 || 203 || 200 || 553 || 620 || - || - UK || UK || N || L || ü || 200 || 404 || 400 || 2195 || 2428 || - || - 6. Compliance with Directive 98/70/EC in 2010 6.1 Petrol In 2010, most Member States provided full
information about petrol sample compliance. In order to determine compliance,
it is necessary to know which test method has been used to test for some
parameters (because reproducibility and tolerance levels differ according to
test method). Provision has been made for Member States to give this
information within the reporting template – although this is not a mandatory part
of the reporting it is vital to determine compliance levels. In 2010 11,531
samples were collected for petrol and 13,391 for diesel. The parameters found to be out of
specification most frequently within the Union in 2010 were: ·
Summer vapour pressure was exceeded 215 times in
2010 or 1.85% of the total samples. However it is becoming apparent that many
exceedences are the result of transitional fuels when suppliers swap the summer
specification fuel for winter specification fuels and vice versa. ·
RON/ MON samples found to be out of
specification in 2010 totalled 59 samples or 0.5 % of the total samples. ·
The sulphur content maximum of 10ppm was
exceeded in 34 samples or 0. 29 % of the total samples, with the highest sample
value being 45.9 mg/kg. However the average sulphur content for all Member
States remains below the mandatory limit of 10ppm at 5.8 ppm. The Netherlands has not provided full details
of samples found to be out of compliance with the tolerance limits and Germany was unable to provide the details of some non-compliance for RON 91 petrol. 6.2 Diesel In 2010, only two Member State did not provide details of samples found to be out of specification for diesel (Latvia and the Netherlands – where at least one fuel sample tested in each Member State exceeded tolerance limits). Of the five parameters tested for diesel in 2010, the
following were found to be out of specification: ·
In spite of the average EU sulphur content
remaining below the mandatory 10ppm limit – at 6.5 ppm,- there were 169 samples
or 1.26 % of the total samples found to be non-compliant with extreme values
of: –
a maximum value of 500 mg/kg in Bulgaria (where the supplier was fined as a result of the non-compliant fuel sample) –
One or more samples in Poland were found to be out of compliance – with a maximum sulphur content value of 455
mg/kg. In Poland, where fuel was found to have extremely high sulphur content,
it was withdrawn from the market. The Polish authorities also notified the
Office of Fiscal Control and Customs Board and the Regional Inspectorate of
Environment Protection of the non-compliant fuel. –
294 mg/kg in Romania (no details of action taken
has been provided) and; –
94.2 mg/kg in Cyprus - where contamination at
the service station was found to be as a result of mixing automotive diesel
with heating diesel. Penal prosecution was instigated against the petrol
station. ·
A total of 38 samples exceeded distillation
limits in 2010. ·
In total, 4 samples tested for cetane number
were found to be out of specification. 6.3 Summary Table 5 summarises the compliance of Member
States with Directive 98/70/EC for 2010 reporting in terms of the results of
the analysis of samples against Tolerance Limits and the reporting format and
content. Amendments to Directive 98/70/EC (Directive 2003/17/EC) included the
insertion of a paragraph stating “Member States shall determine the penalties
applicable to breaches of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this
Directive. The penalties determined must be effective, proportionate and
dissuasive.” Some Member States have provided an
explanation of the remedial actions and penalties imposed by national
authorities where samples are found to be out of specification. In general, of the 11,531 samples tested for
petrol in 2010, 411 were found to be out of specification with tolerance limits
for one or more parameter – which represents a non-compliance rate of 3.6%. Of
the 13,391samples tested for the 5 mandatory parameters for diesel in 2010, 211
were found to be non-compliant with specified limits – representing 1.6% of all
samples reported. The proportion of samples found to be out of
specification is reliant on the number of samples taken – which should be
dependant (within each Member State) on the fuel sales volume, and supply
sources. However, with Member States using national monitoring systems that may
not be equivalent to EN 14274, it is necessary to also consider non-compliance
within the Union weighted by volume and by sample numbers. Figure 3 gives the
rate of non-compliance weighted according to sales volume and sample numbers
and shows an upward trend to 2010. Figure 3: Temporal trends in total limit value non-compliances for petrol
and diesel fuels Non-compliance as a % weighted by fuel sales volume || || Year || || Diesel || || Petrol *Excludes France in 2003 - 2005, as no submissions were provided. Excludes Luxembourg in 2007 to 2009 and Malta in 2006 and 2009 as no reports were provided. Table 5: Summary of Member State compliance with
98/70/EC for 2010 reporting. || MS || Non-compliance with limit values non-compliant samples (NC) / total samples || Incomplete reporting parameters not measured (NM) / total || Late report || || || (1) || (2) || (3) || || || Petrol || Diesel || Petrol || Diesel || || || || NC || Total || NC || Total || NM || Total || NM || Total || (months) || || AT || 6 || 203 || 3 || 100 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || <1 || || BE || 103 || 2133 || 79 || 4985 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || BG || 39 || 427 || 56 || 468 || 3 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || CY || 41 || 293 || 1 || 167 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || <1 || || CZ || >61 || 747 || 29 || 877 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || DK || 0 || 42 || 0 || 22 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || EE || 17 || 350 || 3 || 200 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || FI || 0 || 185 || 1 || 162 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || FR || 56 || 827 || 10 || 395 || 0 || 18 || 1 || 5 || On time || || DE || >7 || 417 || 1 || 305 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || <4 || || EL || 0 || 250 || 0 || 120 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || <1 || || HU || 0 || 120 || 0 || 120 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || IE || 15 || 144 || 1 || 126 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || IT || 2 || 200 || 0 || 200 || 1 || 18 || 0 || 5 || <1 || || LV || 0 || 438 || 0 || 674 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || LT || 0 || 101 || >1 || 100 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || LU || 7 || 47 || 0 || 75 || 1 || 18 || 0 || 5 || <1 || || MT || 2 || 49 || 3 || 43 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || NL || >2 || 100 || >1 || 100 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || <5 || || PL || 15 || 291 || 3 || 229 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || PT || 29 || 236 || 8 || 118 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || <1 || || RO || >5 || 360 || 11 || 210 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || <1 || || SK || 0 || 168 || 7 || 137 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || SI || 0 || 149 || 0 || 181 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || ES || 6 || 520 || 0 || 264 || 0 || 18 || 0 || 5 || <2 || || SE || 0 || 553 || 0 || 620 || 6 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || UK || 5 || 2195 || 0 || 2428 || 2 || 18 || 0 || 5 || On time || || No. Countries || 18 || 18 || 5 || 1 || 10 || || || # || Column || Explanatory notes (1) Non-compliance with limit values (95% confidence limits) || It is not possible to confirm whether limit values have been respected in all samples, where reporting data is incomplete. Where it has not been possible to establish from submissions the number of samples exceeding the limit value a ‘>’ symbol indicates that the number of samples exceeding limits is a minimum and might be greater. (2) Incomplete reporting || Some parameters may be sampled in smaller quantities, however all parameters should be sampled to accurately assess fuel quality. Member States should make it clear when sample results have been obtained and provide sample results. (3) Late report || Directive 98/70/EC states that Member States should submit monitoring reports by no later than 30 June each year 7. Conclusions
Fuel quality has a strong link to both CO2
and air quality emissions, as well as the ease and cost with which pollutant
and greenhouse gas emission limits can be achieved by vehicle manufacturers. The monitoring of fuel quality in 2010
shows that the specifications for petrol and diesel laid down in Directive
98/70/EC are in general met and very few exceedances were identified. The
progressive adoption of standard EN 14274 by Member States is leading to
greater consistency in the data available for assessment of the various fuel
quality parameters and Member States have been making efforts to improve their
understanding of reporting requirements. As exceedances are relatively rare and most
Member States take action to remove non-compliant fuel from sale, the
Commission is not aware of any negative repercussions on vehicle emissions or
engine functioning due to these exceedances. However, the Commission urges
Member States to continue to take action to ensure full compliance so that such
problems do not arise in the future and to ensure that report are submitted to
the Commission within the requested deadlines. [1] Directive
98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending
Council Directive 93/12/EEC O.J. L 350, 28.12.1998, p. 58. [2] Research Octane Number (RON) is a quantitative
measure of the maximum compression ratio at which petrol can be used in an
engine without some of the mixture self-igniting in the engine. Self-ignition
leads to excess fuel consumption and an increase in Volatile Organic Compound
and Carbon Monoxide emissions. [3] Vapour pressure is a measure of the propensity of the
fuel to evaporate. It is regulated in summer because temperatures at that time
of year can lead to high emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds, which are a
precursor of ground level ozone. Exceedances will result in increased Volatile
Organic Compound emissions. [4] The distillation parameter establishes the proportion
of the fuel that evaporates at 100˚C and 150˚C. It limits the range
of lighter components that can be blended in the petrol. Exceedances could lead
to vapour locks and driveability problems. [5] EN 14274:2003
- Automotive fuels - Assessment of petrol and diesel quality - Fuel Quality
Monitoring System (FQMS). [6] https://circabc.europa.eu/w/browse/5e89b837-2bec-4284-b9fe-c156271268f7 [7] See
section 5 for details. [8] EN 14274 sets minimum sampling numbers for each fuel
(dependant on the statistical model used and sales proportion). The standard specifies
a minimum number of samples to be taken per fuel grade || Samples per grade and per winter and summer period* Model || Small country || Large country EN 14274 Statistical Model A || 50 || 100 EN 14274 Statistical Model B || 100 || 200 EN 14274 Statistical Model C || 50 || - National system || - || - * Annual sampling requirements are
therefore double the table values per grade. [9] "National monitoring systems" are permitted
by the Directive so long as it gives results of an equal confidence to EN
14274.