76-8 RBM
QEI 400 Fuel Additive: Emissions and
Fuel Economy Effects on a Light Duty
Gasoline Powered Vehicle
December 1975
Technology Assessment and Evaluation Branch
Emission Control Technology Division
Office of Mobile Source Air Pollution Control
Environmental Protection Agency
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Background
The QEI company of Washington, D.C. first contacted the Emission
Control Technology Division (ECTD) in January 1975 concerning a fuel
additive (blending agent) called QEI 400 which they had developed for
use in gasoline powered vehicles. Test data were submitted on several
fleet vehicles run with and without the additive indicating significant
fuel economy improvements with the additive. On the basis of these
data, EPA agreed to evaluate the effect on exhaust emissions and fuel
economy of the QEI gasoline additive. Due to a lack of available EPA
test vehicles and the heavy summer work load at the EPA laboratory, the
test program was not started until September 1975; the program was
completed in November.
The Environmental Protection Agency receives information about many
devices and additives for which emission reduction or fuel economy
improvement claims are made. In some cases, both claims are made for a
single device or additive. In most cases, these products are being
recommended or promoted for retrofit to existing vehicles although some
represent advanced systems for meeting future standards.
The EPA is interested in evaluating the validity of the claims for
all such devices or additives because of the obvious benefits to the
Nation of identifying products that live up to their claims. For that
reason the EPA invites proponents of such products to provide to the EP/.
complete technical data on the product's principle of operation, together
with test data on the product made by independent laboratories. In
those cases in which review by EPA technical staff suggests that the
data submitted show promise of confirming the claims made for the pro-
duct, confirmatory tests are scheduled at the EPA Emissions Laboratory
at Ann Arbor, Michigan. The results of all such confirmatory test
projects are set forth in a series of Technology Assessment and Evalua-
tion Reports, of which this report is one.
The conclusions drawn from the EPA confirmatory tests are neces-
sarily of limited applicability. A complete evaluation of the effective-
ness of a product in achieving its claimed performance improvements on
the many different types of vehicles that are in actual use requires a
much larger sample of test vehicles than is economically feasible in the
confirmatory test projects conducted by EPA. I/ For promising products
it is necessary that more extensive test programs be carried out.
_!/ See Federal Register 38 FR 11334, 3/27/74, a description of the
test protocols proposed for definitive evaluations of the effective-
ness of retrofit devices.
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The conclusions from the EPA confirmatory test can be considered to
be quantitatively valid only for the specific type of vehicle used in
the EPA confirmatory test program. Although it is reasonable to extrapolate
the results from the EPA confirmatory test to other types of vehicles in
a directional or qualitative manner, i.e., to suggest that similar
results are likely to be achieved on other types of vehicles, reliably
quantify results on other types of vehicles.
In summary, a device or additive that lives up to its claims in the
EPA confirmatory test must be further tested according to protocols
described in footnote I/, to quantify its beneficial effects on a broad
range of vehicles. A product which when tested by EPA does not meet the
claimed results would not appear to be a worthwhile candidate for such
further testing from the standpoint of the likelihood of ultimately
validating the claims made. However, a definitive quantitative evaluation
of its effectiveness on a broad range of vehicle types would equally
require further tests in accordance with footnote \j.
Description of Additive
According to the manufacturer, the QEI gasoline additive (QEI 400)
is a 100% petroleum based product containing deicers, solvents, com-
bustion catalysts and detergents; it is designed to clean many parts of
the engine, including fuel systems and combustion chambers, and to
improve combustion of the fuel. It is mixed in the ratio of .7 ounce
(20 ml) per gallon of gasoline (1:200). A more specific analysis of the
additive was not made available to EPA.
Test Procedure
Exhaust emissions tests were conducted according to the 1975
Federal Test Procedure described in the Federal Register of November 15,
1972. Additional tests included the EPA Highway Cycle. The vehicle used
in the test program was a 1971 Ford Galaxie with a 351 CID (5753 cc)
engine and automatic transmission (a complete vehicle description is
given on the following page). All tests were conducted using an inertia
weight of 4500 pounds (2041 kg) with a road load setting of 12.7 horsepower
(9.47 kW) at 50 miles per hour (80.5 km/hr).
The test vehicle was first tuned to the manufacturer's specifi-
cations; the idle fuel-air mixture was set using the lean idle speed
roll-off method. No adjustments were made to the vehicle after the
program began; all specifications remained at the initial settings
throughout the program (they were checked before each test series).
Exhaust emissions and EPA Highway Cycle tests were ^conducted at the conditions
and mileage intervals shown below. Mileage was accumulated on the Motor
Vehicle Manufacturers Association (MVMA) driving schedule described in
the Federal Register. As a reference, the point at which the additive
was first used is termed zero miles.
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TEST VEHICLE DESCRIPTION
Chassis model year/make - 1971 Ford Galaxie
Emission control system -
Engine
type 4 stroke Otto cycle, OHV, V-8
bore x stroke 4.00 x 3.50 in/102 x 89mm
displacement 351 cu in./5753cc
compression ratio 9.0/1
maximum power @ rpm 240 hp 179 kW at 4600 rpm
fuel metering 2 barrel carburetor
fuel requirement 91 RON
Drive Train
transmission type automatic (3 forward gears)
final drive ratio 2.75:1
Chassis
tvPe body/frame, front engine, rear wheel drive
tire size . H 78 x 15
curb weight 4130 lbs/1873 kg
inertia weight 4500 lb/2041 kg
passenger capacity six
Emission Control System
basic type engine modifications, PCV
Engine Specifications (at Idle in Drive)
speed 600 rpm
dwell angle 27
CO concentration 0.2% (stayed constant throughout program)
spark timing 6°BTDC
manifold vacuum 15.5" Hg
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Test Program Miles With Additive in Fuel
1. Baseline tests (without additive) -680 to -593
2. Accumulate mileage on MVMA cycle
(without additive)
3. More baseline tests (without
additive) -111 to -30
4. Accumulate mileage on MVMA cycle
(with additive)
5. Tests (with additive) 904 to 994
6. Accumulate mileage on MVMA cycle
(with additive)
7. Tests (with additive). 1791 to 1846
Part of the mileage accumulated between each test series was due
to driving the vehicle to and from the test track (about 50 miles each
way) and to vehicle preparation before testing.
The reason for running steps No. 2 and 3 in the program was that
the vehicle had not been involved in a test program for several months
and had not been driven under any normal operating conditions for that
time. Therefore, it was felt necessary to drive the vehicle on the MVMA
cycle before establishing a baseline. The MVMA cycle consists of specified
accelerations, cruise conditions, decelerations, and idle conditions.
The fuel used for all testing, with and without the additive, was
Indolene Clear gasoline, which the vehicle had been run on since new.
The test vehicle used in the program was chosen by EPA because it
is representative of a large number of vehicles sold in this country in
terms of power-to-weight ratio and vehicle size. Vehicles in the 4500
Ib. inertia weight class have accounted for about 24% of all new car
sales for the last 10 years and this is the weight class in which vehicles
are purchased more frequently than any other class (see Figure 1 showing
the distribution for model years 1974-1976 as an example). Vehicles
with V-8 engines account for over 75% of all vehicles in the U.S.
Representatives from QEI indicated to EPA that they anticipate the best
results from their product will occur in a vehicle that has a low power-
to-weight ratio (such as some smaller cars), in a vehicle that is heavily
loaded and whose engine, therefore, must work harder, or in an older vehicle
that has many miles accumulated on it and whose engine has a large
quantity of deposits in it. Older vehicles with high mileage would
account for the majority of these types of vehicles. Assuming an 80,000
mile cutoff point, about 20% of the vehicles in use would be considered
high mileage with a large quantity of deposits. Although this is a
substantial amount of the vehicle population, EPA felt that it is more
useful to the public and to the Nation to test the effectiveness of
a device or additive on a vehicle that is more representative of
the vehicle population. If the additive were found to be effective on
the test vehicle, the test program could later be expanded to include
other vehicles.
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25
U)
re, this engine should not be any different from
one in a vehicle whi :h has seen more service.
Test Results
Exhaust emissions and fuel economy data are summarized in Tables 1
and 2 below:
Table 1
''5 FTP Composite Mass Emissions
grams per mile
(grams per kilometre)
Baseline - mean of last
3 tests
Additive - mean of last
3 tests
% change
HC
2.58
(1.60)
2.87
(1.78)
+11%
CO
11.0
(6.8)
13.7
(8.5)
+25%
NOx
3.54
(2.19
3.37
(2.09)
-5%
Fuel Economy
(Fuel Consumption)
14.20 miles/gal
(16.56 litres/lOOKn)
14.63 miles/gal
(16.08 litres/lOOKm)
+3% (in miles per gal)
-3% (in litres/lOOKm)
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Table 2
EPA Highway Cycle
grams per mile
(grams per kilometre)
Baseline - mean of last
3 tests
Additive - mean of List
3 tests
% Change
HC.
.99
(.61).
1.06
(.66)
+7%
CO
3.35
(2.08)
3.54
(2.19)
+6%
Fuel Economy
NOx (Fuel Consumption)
4.18 20.00
(2.59) (11.76 litres/lOOKm)
4.33 20.56
(2.68) (11.44 litres/lOOKm)
+4% +3% (in miles/gal)
-3% (in litres/lOOKm)
A statistical "t" test was performed on the tests comparing the
second baseline group of tests with the last additive group to determine
if there was a significant difference between the two groups. At the
90%' confidence level the only significant difference between the two
groups was in carbon monoxide emissions, in which there was an increase
with the additive. No significant difference was found in any of the
other emissions or in fuel economy, in either the FTP or Highway Cycle
tests. The second group of baseline tests were used in this comparison
because it was at this point that the vehicle was considered to be in a
stabilized running condition. The vehicle had not recently been involved
in a test program nor had it recently been driven on the MVMA cycle
prior to this test program, and thus had required a few hundred miles of
driving to stabilize its condition.
The first group of additive tests was not included in the comparison
because they were at lower mileage, lower than the point at which the
manufacturer says the additive has had its full effect, which would be
about 1000-1500 miles for the test vehicle (4-5 tankfuls). These tests
were conducted to discover if a trend was developing.
No difference in driveability was noticed due to the additive and
no visible smoke was emitted.
Conclusions
In tests conducted according to the '75 FTP and EPA Highway Cycle,
the QEI 400 gasoline additive produced no significant changes in either
exhaust emissions or fuel economy on the EPA test vehicle. The increase
in CO emissions noted with the additive was probably due to vehicle
variability.
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Due to the lack of effectiveness of the additive on the test vehicle,
EPA could not justify extending the test program to include other vehicles,
Tests on other vehicles would have to be run to determine if the QEI
additive has an effect on vehicles that have a low power-to-weight
ratio, are heavily loaded, or are older with high mileage and may have
an excessively large accumulation of engine deposits. The vehicle used
in this program is typical of a large number of vehicles currently in
use, but is not representative of these 3 other types of vehicles -
vehicles which the manufacturer claims will benefit the most from QEI
400.
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APPENDIX
Table 1-A
'75 FTP Composite Results
Mass Emissions, gpm
Fuel Economy, mpg
1. Without Additive
Fuel
Date Test No. Test Type HC CO NOx Economy Odometer
9-23
9-24
9-25
After
10-16
10-17
10-21
2328
2327
2359
Baseline
Baseline
Baseline
Mean
2
2
2
2
.59
.58
.60
.59
15.
12.
12.
13.
3
5
7
5
3.90
3.68
3.45
3.68
12.
13.
13.
13.
99
29
48
25
12
12
12
,701
,733
,776
MVMA Cycle Mileage Accumulation
2587
2488
2638
Baseline
Baseline
Baseline
Mean
2
2
2
2
Additive use begun 10-23 at Odometer
.51
.69
.54
.58
Reading
11.
11.
10.
11.
of
1
6
3
0
13,381
3.46
3.85
3.31
3.54
14.
14.
14.
14.
18
04
37
20
13
13
13
,270
,300
,357
2. With Additive
After
10-31
11-3
11-5
After
11-19
11-20
11-21
First Mileage
2794
2796
2884
Second Mileage
3083
3084
3156
Accumulation
Additive
Additive
Additive
Mean
Accumulation
Additive
Additive
Additive
2
2
2
2
2
3
2
.63
.68
.99
.77
.65
.04
.91
11.
14.
11.
12.
12.
13.
14.
4
0
9
4
3
9
9
3.57
3.48
3.70
3.58
3.23
3.54
3.33
13.
14.
13.
13.
14.
14.
14.
50
00
95
81
79
32
80
14
14
14
15
15
15
,285
,323
, 564
,172
,195
,227
Mean 2.87 13.7 3.37 14.63
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Table 2-A
Test
Number
Baseline 1
2328
2327
2359
Baseline 2
2537
2488
2638
Additive 1
2794
2796
2884
Additive 2
3083
3084
3156
Bag 1 Cold Transient
'75 FTP Individual Bag Results
Mass Emissions, grams per mile
Fuel Economy, miles per gallon
Bag 2 Hot Stabilized
HC
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
3
.32
.14
.28
.01
.04
.15
.26
.32
.45
.33
.06
.43
CO
52
38
36
31
29
27
32
40
33
35
34
42
.28 .
.89
.96
.91
.71
.99
.00
.31
.75
.25
.00
.02
C02
714
690
671
652
651
637
682
641
640
621
645
633
NOx
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
.86
.73
.19
.38
.63
.23
.70
.21
.45
.31
.57
.20
Fuel
Economy
11.
11.
12.
12.
12.
12.
12.
12.
12.
12.
12.
12.
0
7
0
5
6
8
0
4
6
9
5
5
HC
2.49
2.44
2.54
2.46
2.55
2.47
2.49
2.53
2.99
2.57
2.83
2.89
CO
5.48
4.55
6.45
5.28
6.76
5.00
5.83
7.01
5.80
6.24
8.24
7.73
C02
665
653
647
607
617
600
647
611
568
580
596
568
NOx
3.07
2.84
2.73
2.73
3.17
2.58
2.76
2.73
3.07
2.47
2.69
2.69
Fuel
Economy
13.0
13.3
13.3
14.2
14.0
14.4
13.4
14.1
15.1
14.8
14.4
15.1
Bag 3 Hot Transient
HC
2.23
2.42
2.18
2.22
2.71
2.20
2.41
2.49
2.63
2.30
2.67
2.55
CO
6.28
7.63
6.17
6.34
7.28
7.04
6.39
7.62
6.91
6.70
9.69
8.24
C02
577
580
568
546
549
546
564
561
538
521
529
517
NOx
4.76
4.51
4.27
4.16
4.55
4.02
4.27
4.37
4.35
3.86
4.40
3.90
Fuel
Economy
14.9
14.8
15.2
15.8
15.6
15.7
15.2
15.3
15.9
16.5
16.0
16.5
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10
Table 3-A
EPA Highway Cycle
Mass Emissions, gpm
Fuel Economy, mpg
1. Without Additive
Date
Test No. Test Type
HC
CO
Mean
.92
After AMA Cycle Mileage Accumulation
10-16
10-17
10-21
2587
2A88
2638
Baseline
Baseline
Baseline
Mean
.92
1.06
.99
.99
3.27
3.10
3.83
3.13
3.35
Fuel
NOx Economy
Additive Use Begun 10-23 at Odometer Reading of 13,381
2. With Additive
After First Mileage Accumulation
10-31
11-3
11-5
2795
2797
2885
Additive
Additive
Additive
Mean
.97
1.00
1.01
After Second Mileage Accumulation
11-19
11-20
11-21
3086
3085
3156
Additive
Additive
Additive
Mean
1.05
1.07
1.05
1.06
3.09
3.58
3.30
3.32
3.21
3.78
3.64
3.54
Odometer
4.84
4.72
4.48
4.68
4.44
4.02
4.07
4.18
4.26
4.30
4.22
4.26
4.38
4.43
4.18
4.33
19.16
19.38
19.61
19.38
20.13
20.29
19.58
20.00
20.31
20.36
20.19
20.
20.76
20.24
20.68
20.56
12,745
12,766
12,788
13,281
13,312
13,369
14,297
14,334
14,375
29
15,183
15,208
15,238
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MASS EMISSIONS (FTP)
NOX & HC
(gpn)
-800
0 400 800 1200
Mileage from Addition of Additive
1600
2000
CO
(gpm)
09
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FUEL ECONOMY
i
m
2
z
o
?5
m
I
0>
c r<
-800
0 AOO 800
Mileage from Addition c '
1200
1600
2000
H-
Ow
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