A study undertaken by the Iranian National Standards Organization on gasoline quality between November 2019 and January 2020 indicates the fuel contains acceptable levels of sulfur and other chemicals, head of INSO said.
“Not only have sulfur levels declines compared to summer, aromatic compounds, benzene, octane and olefin also are at acceptable levels,” Nayereh Pirouzbakht was quoted as saying by IRNA.
As part of the study, samples of gasoline compliant with Euro-4 emission standards were collected at random from 132 gas stations and the results revealed that sulfur and aromatic hydrocarbon levels were admissible, she said.
Last summer the Department of Environment found out that the quantity of the hazardous elements in gasoline (aromatic compounds and benzene) was 40% and 1.4% respectively -- above levels set by the European Union (35% and 1%). Nonetheless, that has decreased to 11.5% and 0.48% respectively, she noted.
Referring to other elements like sulfur (32%), octane (91.5%) and olefine (4%), the INSO chief said the indices comply with defined standards.
DoE is in charge of checking the quality of gasoline and INSO gets involved if and when necessary, she added.
“Production and distribution of gasoline compliant with Euro-5 standards should top the Oil Ministry agenda.”
INSO, which is also responsible for monitoring gas stations, inspected 80,000 sites of which 2,000 were malfunctioning and needed repairs.
There are frequent reports about pumps with meters which are not accurate or nozzles that do not function properly, but the Oil Ministry has always rejected the claims.
Low-Quality Diesel
Iran has improved distribution of cleaner gasoline in recent years, but wide-scale supplies of low-quality diesel and slack environmental rules are obstructing efforts to curb air pollution in big cities.
Lack of regulations [supply side] for standard diesel is one of the main reasons behind the worsening air pollution in metropolises.
“INSO and the DoE are planning to make emission standards mandatory for diesel, a polluting fuel that unlike gasoline does not meet European emission standards in Iran”.
According to the senior official, there are more than 2,700 compressed natural gas stations with more than 100,000 storage tanks.
INSO checked 24,000 tanks, of which 1,680 were faulty.
Demand for auto fuel system conversions to CNG hybrids has shot up since November 2019, when the government rationed and tripled the price of fuel.
Not surprisingly, the number of illegal conversion centers has soared in major cities. The National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company recently issued a warning about the potential danger of converting gasoline cars to CNG at uncertified conversion centers.
The company reiterated the importance of using the authorized process of fuel system conversion by visiting the website Irngv.ir and called it the only safe way vehicle owners should resort to.
"Do not undermine safety for some meager discount offered by the illegal centers," the NIOPDC warned.
