EPA-AA-TEB-92-01
Emissions and Fuel Economy Effects
of the
Fuelon Power Gasoline Fuel Additive
September 1993
NOTICE
Technical Reports do not necessarily represent final EPA decisions
or positions. They are intended to present technical analysis of
issues using data which are currently available. The purpose in
the release of such reports is to facilitate the exchange of
technical information and to inform the public of technical
development which may form the basis for a final EPA decision,
position or regulatory action.
Test and Evaluation Branch
Emission Control Technology Division
Office of Mobile Sources
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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1.0 ABSTRACT
This report describes the Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) testing of the "Fuelon Power" gasoline fuel
additive as part of its evaluation under Section 511 of the
Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act (MVICSA). This
evaluation was conducted at the request of the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) to verify the claims for substantial exhaust
emission reductions and for large — greater than 15 percent —
fuel economy benefits.
Fuelon Power is an aftermarket gasoline fuel additive that
is added to the vehicle tank by the operator when refueling the
vehicle. The product consists of a proprietary blend of
hydrocarbons products which are claimed to substantially reduce
vehicle exhaust emissions and improve fuel economy.
The additive is claimed to substantially reduce exhaust
emissions, improve fuel economy, raise the octane of gasoline,
improve vehicle performance, reduce engine maintenance, and
extend engine life. Only the.emission and fuel economy claims
for the additive were evaluated in this test program.
Two typical vehicles were tested at EPA's Motor Vehicle
Emission Laboratory. The basic test sequence included 1,000
miles of mileage accumulation, duplicate Federal Test
Procedures (FTP) and duplicate Highway Fuel Economy Tests
(HFET). This test sequence was conducted both without and with
the Fuelon Power additive.
The overall conclusion from these tests is that the Fuelon
Power gasoline fuel additive did not significantly reduce
vehicle emissions or improve fuel economy for either the FTP or
HFET. The additive clearly did not reduce vehicle exhaust
emissions nor produce the large — greater than 15 percent --
fuel economy benefits claimed by the manufacturer. Therefore,
users of the Fuelon Power gasoline additive are unlikely to
realize either an emissions or fuel economy benefit in actual
driving. Vehicle operation and performance were unchanged by
the additive.
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2.0 BACKGROUND
Under Section 511.of. MVICSA, EPA is required to evaluate
aftermarket retrofit devices and aftermarket fuel additives
which are claimed to improve fuel economy for the effect of the
device on both emissions and fuel economy. The results of
these evaluations are published in the Federal Register. l
EPA receives information about many products which appear
to offer a potential for reduction in emissions and/or an
improvement in the fuel economy in conventional engines and
vehicles. EPA's Emission Control Technology Division is
interested in evaluating all such systems because of the
obvious benefits to the Nation. EPA invites developers of such
systems to submit information on the principle of operation
together with available test data. In those cases where the
system shows promise in the screening tests at an independent
laboratory, confirmatory tests are run at the applicant's
expense at the EPA Motor Vehicle Emission Laboratory in Ann
Arbor, Michigan. Most Section 511 evaluations were conducted
at the request of the applicants.
Under the MVICSA, EPA is also required to evaluate devices
"at the request of the FTC when it has reason to believe that
fuel economy representation made for a retrofit device being
marketed may be inadequate."2 This test program was
initiated at the request of the FTC to determine if the
emission and fuel economy claims for the "Fuelon Power"
gasoline fuel additive were reasonable. The results of such
test projects are set forth in a series of test and evaluation
reports, of which this is one.
The conclusions drawn from the EPA evaluation tests are
necessarily of limited applicability. A complete evaluation of
the effectiveness of a device or additive in achieving
performance improvements on the many different types of
vehicles that are in actual use requires a larger sample of
test vehicles than is economically feasible in the evaluation
The Section 511 evaluation report, of which this testing
is part, is given in "EPA Evaluation of the Fuelon Power
Gasoline Fuel Additive Under Section 511 of the Motor
Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act,
EPA-AA-TEB-511-92-01. This document is available from the
National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia
22161.
40 CFR Part 610, paragraph 610.12(a)
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projects conducted by EPA. The conclusions from the EPA
evaluation tests can be considered to be quantitatively valid
only for the specific test cars used; however, it is reasonable
to extrapolate the results from the EPA test to other types of
vehicles in a directional manner; i.e., to suggest that similar
results are likely to be achieved on other types of vehicles.
3.0 INTRODUCTION
Fuelon Power is an aftermarket gasoline fuel additive that
is added to the vehicle tank by the operator when refueling the
vehicle. The product consists of a proprietary blend of
alcohols, hydrocarbons, and ketones which are claimed to
substantially reduce vehicle exhaust emissions and improve fuel
economy.
The additive is claimed to substantially reduce exhaust
emissions, improve fuel economy, raise the octane of gasoline,
improve vehicle performance, reduce engine maintenance, and
extend engine life. Only the emission and fuel economy claims
for the additive were evaluated in this test program.
4.0 PURPOSE OF THE TEST PROGRAM
The purpose of the EPA test program was to conduct a
controlled technical evaluation of the device to determine if
the Fuelon Power gasoline fuel additive met its advertised
claims. Exhaust emissions, fuel economy, installation, and
safety were to be specifically evaluated. The other claims —
extended engine life, increased octane, and reduced engine
maintenance — were not evaluated.
5.0 TEST PLAN
A test plan was developed by EPA (Appendix A).
The EPA test program consisted of the checkout of the test
vehicles, mileage accumulation without the additive3,
duplicate baseline tests on each vehicle, additive
installation, mileage accumulation with the additive, and
duplicate additive tests on each vehicle. The purpose of the
vehicle checkout was to ensure each vehicle was representative
of a properly-tuned vehicle and would provide a reasonable
reference test condition. Installation was to be done per the
instructions supplied with the product.
Mileage accumulation consisted of 1,000 miles of driving
over a prescribed route of city and highway mileage. The
same 150-mile route was used for all mileage accumulation.
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The vehicles were to be tested using the FTP and HFET.
The FTP is the official EPA test procedure for determining the
exhaust emissions of a vehicle. The results of both of these
tests are also used to determine the fuel economy of a
vehicle. The FTP is described in the Federal Register (40 CFR
Part 86; July 1, 1990) and the HFET is described in the Federal
Register (40 CFR Part 600; July 1, 1990). The vehicles were
not tested for evaporative emissions.
Claims for the Fuelon Power aftermarket gasoline fuel
additive not specifically addressed were extended engine life,
increased octane, and reduced engine maintenance. The reason
for not using specific procedures to evaluate these claims is
that several of these are in large part subjective and
procedures for their evaluation are neither well defined nor
routinely used by EPA to evaluate devices. Others require
extensive vehicle mileage or engine (out of vehicle) operation.
Two typical vehicles were tested at EPA's Motor Vehicle
Emission Laboratory. The basic test sequence included 1,000
miles of mileage accumulation, duplicate Federal Test
Procedures (FTP) and duplicate Highway Fuel Economy Tests
(HFET). This test sequence was conducted both without and with
the Fuelon Power additive. A more detailed description of
these vehicles is given in Appendix B.
5.1 CONDUCT OF TESTING
The testing (including mileage accumulation) was conducted
by EPA. All tests were performed by the EPA at its Motor
Vehicle Emission Laboratory in Ann Arbor. In general, the
testing proceeded as planned. However, since the fuel economy
pattern for the three test segments of the FTP did not follow
the expected pattern on one vehicle, additional baseline tests
were conducted on it to verify the results.
Test Results - Installation
The instructions were generally clear. However, there are
problems encountered in pouring the correct amount of measured
additive into a vehicle fuel tank.
The additive label instructions — "Tilt bottle until
FUELON enters the measuring chamber and lines up with the right
gallon mark. If you add 10 gallons of gasoline, line FUELON up
at the 10. For 20 gallons, line FUELON up at the 20, etc.
Remove gas cap, insert funnel. Pour FUELON into tank. Replace
bottle cap tightly." — are simple and clear but cannot be
properly followed due to problems with the design of the
measurement chamber of the bottle. When attempting to pour out
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the measured amount, additional additive spills over into the
measuring chamber. If the user stops pouring before spillover,
the chamber still holds additive near the 5 gallon mark. This
problem occurs until the bottle is approximately half full.
Test Results - Fuel Economy and Emissions
The test results for each vehicle are summarized below.
Emission levels are given in grams/mile while fuel economy is
given in miles per gallon. The individual test results for
each vehicle are given in Appendix C.
Summary of EPA Test Results
FTP
HC CO
Chevrolet Cavalier
Baseline .10
Fuelon Power .14
additive
NOx MPG
1.57
1.90
.35
.41
23.5
23.9
.01
.01
HFET
HC CO
.16
.24
NOx
.09
.12
MPG
36.1
36.3
Dodge Caravan
Baseline
Fuelon Power
additive
,36
39
3.46
4.07
.73
.83
21.1
21.0
.07
.07
1.52
1.60
.10
.31
29.7
30.3
These data were analyzed for statistical significance
using Student's t - test" technique to determine if the
differences observed were real or due solely to chance. This
analysis showed that, except for an increase in CO emissions
for one vehicle for the FTP test, the HC, CO and NOx differences
Student's t - test is a standard statistical method that
provides a powerful technique for analyzing experimental
data involving quantitative measurements especially for
small numbers of tests (i.e. 30 tests or less on each
vehicle). The method allows confidence levels to be
attached to the estimates of the effects of the
independent variable (i.e., additive effect). To minimize
test costs for the screening tests conducted by applicants
at independent laboratories, only hot start LA-4 (bags 1
and 2 of the FTP) are required and the data are screened
at an 80 percent confidence level. For confirmatory tests
conducted at EPA, FTP and HFET tests are used plus the
data are screened at a 95 percent confidence levels.
Note: At a 50 percent confidence level, there is an equal
probability that the device does or does not have an
effect.
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were not statistically significant at the 95% confidence level
for either the FTP or HFET tests. This analysis also showed
that the fuel economy differences were not statistically
significant at the 95% confidence level for either the FTP or
HFET tests for either vehicle.
The overall conclusion from these tests is that the Fuelon
Power gasoline fuel additive did not significantly reduce
vehicle emissions or improve fuel economy for either the FTP or
HFET. The additive clearly did not reduce vehicle exhaust
emissions nor produce the large — greater than 15 percent --
fuel economy benefits claimed by the manufacturer. Therefore,
users of the Fuelon Power gasoline additive are unlikely to
realize either an emissions or fuel economy benefit in actual
driving. Vehicle operation and performance were unchanged by
the additive.
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Appendix A
Test Plan for EPA Testing of the
Fuelon Power Gasoline Fuel Additive
Test Plan
The following is the test plan which will be used by the
EPA in collecting data on the fuel economy and emission effects
of the Fuelon Power fuel additive of Fuel Plus Technology Inc.
Corporation (a retrofit device under Section 511 of the Motor
Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act). This testing is
being conducted at the request of the FTC.
1. Representative vehicles will be identified and
obtained by the EPA. Representativeness will be based
upon the applicability of Fuelon Power as detailed in the
manufacturer's literature; i.e., 1990 year or older,
domestic, gasoline fueled and for engine size and
manufacturer; i.e., small, medium, large engines from
different manufacturers.
2. Vehicles will each be checked and adjusted to ensure
that they are operating in accordance with vehicle
manufacturer's specifications.
3. The test fuel will be commercial unleaded summer-grade
gasoline from EPA storage facilities. This fuel is
routinely used by EPA and its specifications are known.
4. All mileage accumulation will be with this same
commercial unleaded summer-grade gasoline.
5. Baseline mileage accumulation. Each vehicle will
accumulate 1,000 miles on an established road route using
commercial unleaded summer-grade fuel. The vehicle will
then be baseline tested.
6. Baseline tests. Duplicate, valid Federal Test
Procedure (FTP) and Highway Fuel Economy Test (HFET)
procedures will be performed on each test vehicle after
baseline mileage accumulation. Basic vehicle driveability
will be noted.
7. The Fuelon Power fuel additive will then be added to
the fuel supply in accordance with the written
installation instructions provided with the additive.
8. The addition of additives will be performed by EPA
personnel. The vehicles may be checked, as necessary, for
correct operation prior to initiation of these additive
tests.
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9. Additive Mileage Accumulation. Each vehicle will
undergo mileage accumulation on the same road route
sufficient to bring the total mileage with the additive to
1,000 miles (additive added to commercial unleaded
summer-grade fuel). For each vehicle, the mileage
accumulation procedure will be the same as that used prior
to baseline testing.
10. Additive Tests. After mileage accumulation, the
testing sequence performed for the baseline test will be
repeated with the Fuelon Power additive used.
11. Data Analysis. Test results will be analyzed to
determine if there is a statistically significant
difference between the data sets (vehicles without and
with Fuelon Power).
12. Additional testing may be undertaken by EPA to
further investigate items noted during the course of the
test program.
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Fuelon Power Fuel Additive Detailed In-House Test Plan
I. Introduction
Comparative exhaust emission and fuel economy data are to
be obtained on late model vehicles both without and with
the Fuelon Power fuel additive. All mileage accumulation
will be done using commercial unleaded summer-grade
gasoline from EPA storage facilities as needed with fuel
added as required.
II. Test Vehicles
Two vehicles will be tested.
Ill. Required Testing
A. Vehicle Prep
Prior to start of testing, each vehicle is to be
tuned to manufacturer's specifications and parts
replaced as required to ensure proper operation of
the vehicle for 3,000 miles.
Parts
Air filter
Distributor cap
Fuel filter
Ignition wires
Oil
Oil filter
PCV filter
PCV valve
Rotor
Spark plugs
Tires
check
check
check
check
change use the same
10W30 oil in all test vehicles
change, use OEM
check
check
check
check
check
Adjustments (if adjustable)
Air/fuel mixture
Choke
Curb idle
Fast idle
Ignition timing
Checks
Compression
Record all items adjusted/checked/replaced. Record
manufacturer's specifications and measured values
for all items as appropriate.
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B. Test Schedule
All vehicles will be tested using the same test schedule:
1. Check tire pressure set for road.
2. Drain and pressure check fuel system. Then refuel
with commercial unleaded summer-grade gasoline from EPA
fuel supply.
3. 1,000 miles of mileage accumulation on an established
road route using commercial unleaded summer-grade gasoline
from the EPA storage facilities.
4. Drain and refuel (approximately 3 gallons).
5. Set tire pressure for dyno.
6. Drain and refuel to 40% fill for prep.
7. LA-4 prep.
8. Overnight soak
9. Drain and 40% fill with chilled fuel. Heat build with
no evaps. Then FTP and HFET tests with commercial
unleaded summer-grade gasoline.
10. Repeat steps 6 to 9.
11. Add Fuelon Power to chilled fuel cart in ratio
specified per manufacturer's written instructions.
12. Mileage accumulation to 1,000 miles with Fuelon Power
additive using commercial unleaded summer-grade gasoline
with Fuelon Power EPA fuel cart. For each vehicle, the
mileage accumulation route with the additive will be the
same as that used prior to baseline testing.
13. Drain and refuel (approximately 3 gallons).
14. Duplicate FTP and HFET tests with the Fuelon Power
fuel additive (steps 6 to 9 completed twice).
C. General
The same driver and dynamometer should be used to test a
given vehicle whenever possible. Driveability should be
evaluated on the road and during testing. Written
driveability comments are needed. Mileage accumulation
will be performed by EPA drivers using an established road
route. All fuel will be from EPA supplies.
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Test
Make/Model
Model Year
Vehicle ID
Type
Initial Odometer
Engine
Family
Fuel Metering
Evaporative
Family
Emission
Control
System
Transmission
Tires
Test
Parameters
Inertia Weigh
hp @ 50 mph
Appendix B
Vehicle Description
Chevrolet Cavalier
1990
1G1JC84G2LJ187797
Four-door wagon
10128 miles
2.2L/I-4
L1G2.2V5JFG2
Fuel injected
LAO-IE
EGR
3-way catalyst
Closed-Loop
Automatic
P185/80R13
Dodge Caravan
1990
2B4FK2530LR611818
Mini van
17198 miles
3.0L/V-6
LCR3.0T5B67
Fuel injected
LCRTB
EGR
3-way catalyst
Closed-Loop
Automatic
P195/75R14
3,000 Ibs
7.0
3,875 Ibs
10.2
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Appendix C
Test Results
1990 Chevrolet Cavalier, 2.2 liter, 4 cylinder
FTP HFET
Emissions in Grams/Mile Emissions in Grams/Mile
Test No.
Baseline
91-4705
91-4709
91-4711
91-4848
HC
.12
.10
.10
.08
Fuelon Power
91-4850
91-5234
.15
.12
1990
Emissions
Test No.
Baseline
91-4697
91-4699
HC
.38
.35
Fuelon Power
91-4701
91-4702
.40
.39
CO
1.75
1.59
1.42
1.33
NOx
.32
.32
.39
.34
MPG
24.
23.
23.
23.
4
5
1
2
Test No.
91-4706
91-4708
91-4710
91-4712
91-4849
HC
.01
.01
.01
.01
.01
CO
.18
.13
.16
.17
.17
NOx
.07
.08
.08
.10
.10
MPG
37.
37.
36.
34.
35.
2
1
3
7
2
additive
1.91
1.89
Dodge
.39
.43
Caravan
24.
23.
, 3
1
8
.0
FTP
in Grams/Mile
CO
3.48
3.44
NOx
.68
.78
MPG
21.
21.
2
0
91-4851
91-5235
liter, V-6
.01
.01
.18
.30
.12
.12
HFET
Emissions in Grams/Mi
Test No.
91-4688
91-4700
HC
.07
.07
CO
1.58
1.46
NOx
.27
.26
36.
35.
le
MPG
29.
30.
7
8
2
2
additive
3.93
4.22
.83
.84
21.
21.
1
0
91-4702
91-4704
.07
.08
1.49
1.70
.29
.32
30.
30.
3
3
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