73-22 R-BM
Evaluation of the Turbo Vapor Injector
March 1973
Test and Evaluation Branch
Emission Control Technology Division
Environmental Protection Agency
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Background
TVI Marketing Inc. of Lexingtonj Michigan8, requested that
EPA test their Turbo Vapor Injector device. Results of
testing at Olsen Laboratories showed substantial reductions
in carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions.
The Test and Evaluation Branch scheduled testing of the
device.
Device
The Turbo Vapor Injector is a vacuum vapor induction system
which is attached to the PCV line. Air is drawn through an
alcohol-and-water based solution into the base of the car-
buretor. The device comes with instructions so that it can
be retrofitted to any car including older vehicles without
PCV lines.
Test Program
A 1970 Plymouth Valiant, 225 CID, from the EPA fleet was used
for the program. Seven tests were conducted, two without the
device (baseline), three with the device properly attached,
and then two more with the fluid bottle empty so that only
air was drawn into the PCV line. These last two tests were
conducted at the request of the sales representative who
delivered the device to the EPA laboratory.
Prior to the testing, the Valiant's carburetor was set at
2% CO and 650 rpm at idle, and was not adjusted again through-
out the testing. All testing was performed in accordance
with the 1975 Federal Test Procedure (FTP). Full details
of this procedure are found in the November 15, 1972 Federal
Register, Volume 37, Number 221, Part. II.
All tests were conducted using the standard dynamometer inertia
loading for the Valiant which is 3,000 pounds. Test fuel was
Indolene Clear (lead-free standard test fuel).
Test Results
The test results are presented in the Appendix of this report.
In addition to emission results, fuel economy was determined
using a carbon balance method. Emission and fuel consumption
results are summarized as follows:
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Summary of Results
% Change from Baseline
TVI Device TVI (bottle empty)
HC 4.5 decrease 7.6 decrease
CO 17.1 decrease 13.0 decrease
CC>2 9.7 increase 6.9 increase
NOx 26.4 increase 20.7 increase
Fuel Consumption 5.7 increase 3.5 increase
The Turbo Vapor Injector decreased hydrocarbon and carbon
monoxide emissions with an accompanying increase in oxides
of nitrogen. Fuel consumption rose slightly with the device,
Without any fluid, the changes from baseline demonstrated
the effect of air/fuel ratio enleanment with the addition of
air through the PCV system.
Conclusion
On the EPA test vehicle, the Turbo Vapor Injector reduced
carbon monoxide emissions with an accompanying equivalent
increase in oxides of nitrogen. No reduction in fuel con-
sumption was observed.
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APPENDIX
TVI Test Program - 1975
Baseline
Test No.
16-330
16-333
AVERAGE
TVI Device
Test No.
16-338
16-341
16-344
AVERAGE
TVI Device
Test No.
16-347
16-350
AVERAGE
HC
gpm
2.27
2.19
2.23
HC
gpm
2.23
1.99
2.17
2.13
(Bottle
HC
gpm
2.15
1.97
2.06
CO
gpm
33.55
31.19
32.37
CO
gpm
28.01
25.82
26.59
26.81
Empty)
CO
gpm
29.48 .
26.86
28.17
Federal Test Procedure
co2
gpm
352
406
379
- co2
gpm
417
420
411
416
C02
gpm
397
413
405
.7
.2
.4
.5
.2
.1
.2
.5
.3
.4
NOx
gpm
4.36
5.78
5.07
NOx
gpm
6.30
6.44
6.50
6.41
NOx
gpm
5.79
6.45
6.12
Fuel
Consumption
mpg
20.97:
18.9.
19.9
Fuel
Consumption
mpg
18.6:
18.81
18.93
18.82
Fuel
Consumption
mpg
19.4
19.0'
19.2'
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