SALT LAKE CITY – Much cleaner fuel with lower sulfur levels is coming to Utah that air regulators say will benefit cars and trucks.
Tier-3 gasoline will have much lower sulfur levels.
“Before Tier-3, we had the second generation Tier-2 gasoline standard that took our sulfur levels in gasoline from 300 parts per million down to 30 parts per million,” said Glade Sowers, a policy analyst with Utah’s Division of Air Quality.
He gave a report to the Utah House Committee on Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology, which stated that 19% of Utah’s fleet runs on higher-sulfur Tier-1 fuel, causing 61% of the state’s air pollution.
Sowers adds Tier-3 will help cars and trucks run better.
“We’re talking about improved catalytic converter performance,” he said. “With regard to heavy-duty diesel engines, we’re talking about diesel particulate filters, and they benefit from an additional technology of selective catalytic reduction.”
The EPA has also extended incentives by 18 months for refineries to produce the cleaner fuel.