How many and how much pollutants are in one gallon of gasoline?

Question

All I can find is that 1 gallon produces 20 pounds of co2 but what about the other chemicals in its exhaust?

Answer 1

I am not qualified to answer that question, other than pose a related question having to do with EPA requirements for pollution control.

In the Dallas area, EPA requires certain additives to our gasoline in summertime to cut down on the nitrous oxides. The combustions products of burning gasoline are primarily carbon dioxide, water vapor and nitrous oxides. It is my understanding the these emissions combined with sunlight produce ozone which in larger concentrations can cause health problems in the weak.

The chemical additives to the gasoline in themselves are quite toxic, but they don't seem to have a large scale effect on our health. Yet?

The city environmental engineer that gave me that limited information seemed to be a practical knowledgeable man.

I asked him if there is a chart or reference that will give the information on composition of our the atmosphere, particularly the toxic and greenhouse gases, AND, the amount produced by man and the amount due to natural causes, eg, volcanoes, ocean storms, decaying matter, other ejecta from earthquakes and other natural events.  He told me that he is not aware of such a chart, and also told me that you will probably never see such a chart, because there are too many jobs on the line that may be lost.

I don't know why he mentioned this, but he said it was a very curious event that the U.S. Federal Government outlawed (severe restrictions) freon R-12, used in automobile air conditioners, the same year that DuPont's patent ran out.  I thought it was a curious event also.

Answer 2

That is probably because it depends on how the gasoline is used. Gasoline, when burned perfectly, produces no pollution. It produces only CO2 and water. The problem is that no engine can burn it perfectly. Since the 1960s new technology and laws requiring that new technology to be used have cleaned up almost all that pollution from gasoline fueled engines.

Answer 3

How about too much, at least it is not as bad as before the days of unleaded!

Answer 4

most states have banned the additive  MTBE ( methyl tertiary butyl ether ) as carcinogenic . they still allow benzene , another carcinogen .