MEETING THE STANDARD

TechnipFMC’s Jim Pettinato discusses gasoline-ethanol blend growth considerations following the publication of API’s new standard In May 2019 , the American Petroleum Institute (API) published a new standard for density correction and volume correction factors addressing a broad range of blends of gasoline and fuel ethanol. This standard, titled API MPMS 11.3.4 - Miscellaneous Hydrocarbon Product Properties—Denatured Ethanol and Gasoline Component Blend Densities and Volume Correction Factors, is an important change for the industry. Historically, the use of ethanol as an oxygenate component of retail motor fuels has been a standard practice since the 1980s. Billions of dollars’ worth of fuel consisting of various blends of gasoline and ethanol is delivered each year. Early on there seemed to be a general acknowledgement in the industry that there was higher than expected uncertainty in the measurement of product volumes when gasoline and ethanol are blended. Measurement experts were witness to the uncertainty when using different blend stocks, or when comparing results between varying blending methods. Prior to the work starting to develop this standard, the potential...