Vapor recovery is the process of recovering the vapors of gasoline or other fuels, so that they do not escape into the atmosphere. This is often done (or required by law) at filling stations, in order to reduce pollution. The negative pressure created in the (underground) tank by the withdrawal is usually used to pull in the vapors. They are drawn-in through holes in the side of the nozzle and travel through special hoses which have a return path. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a proposal under the Clean Air Act that would waive requirements for systems used at gas station pumps to capture potentially harmful gasoline vapors while refueling cars. The proposal is part of the Obama Administrationâ€™s initiative to review outdated and redundant rules and ensure that regulations are beneficial without being unnecessarily burdensome to American businesses. Beginning in 2013, states that meet the new criteria would have the option to do away with vapor recovery systems at the pump since an estimated 70 percent of all vehicles will be equipped by then with on-board systems that capture these vapors. The result of the proposal would be the continued protection of air quality and public health while potentially saving affected gas stations more than $3,000 annually.

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Since 1994, gas stations in certain areas have been required to use gasoline vapor recovery systems. The systems capture fumes that escape from gasoline tanks during refueling. However, as required by the Clean Air Act, automobile manufacturers began installing onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) technologies in 1998, making gas stationsâ€™ systems redundant. Since 2006, all new automobiles and light trucks (pickups, vans, and SUVs) are equipped with ORVR.

ORVR works as follows: The gas tank and fill pipe are designed so that when refueling the vehicle, fuel vapors in the gas

tank travel to an activated carbon packed canister, which adsorbs the vapor. When the engine is in operation, it draws the gasoline vapors into the engine intake manifold to be used as fuel.

Vapor emissions from refueling, if allowed to escape, can contribute significantly to ground-level ozone, sometimes called smog, as well as to other types of harmful air pollution.

The Clean Air Act allows EPA to establish criteria for waiving federal requirements for vapor recovery systems on gasoline pumps when ORVR systems are widely available in the vehicle fleet. EPA is proposing to establish June 30, 2013, as the date by which a sufficient portion of the vehicle fleet will be equipped with such technology. By that date, EPA projects that more than 70 percent of vehicles on the road will have ORVR technology.



For further information: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/795F471DFE4B993A852578CA00645D6C

Photo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/Vapor_Recovery_Device.JPG