Despite having some of the world’s toughest standards on fuel sulfur content, Canada’s diesel and gasoline fuels suffer from “poor quality,” according to a new study sponsored by Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada (AIAMC).

The study, by Pembina Institute, contends that Canadian fuel quality “has a direct negative impact on tailpipe emissions and overall fuel consumption.”

California Air Resources Board on Jan. 14 released its latest greenhouse-gas (GHG) and energy analyses for ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD), gasoline, compressed natural gas and Brasilian cane-based ethanol.

The analyses will become part of CARB’s upcoming “low-carbon fuel standard,” going to a CARB board vote in March. The rule is likely to set precedents in many other U.S. states and world-wide.

An industry/government panel organizing a test program comparing California Air Resources Board “CARB diesel” versus U.S. EPA ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) on nitrogen oxides (NOx) combustion emissions just agreed on specifications for a comparatively low-quality EPA ULSD test fuel.

Australia’s Spitfire Oil this month announced it has produced the first coal-to-liquids (CTL) oil from a test reactor, in a run-up to a proposed CTL project in Western Australia (WA).

The lab test result “brings one step closer the possibility of converting Spitfire's current resource of 500 million tonnes of lignite at Salmon Gums into at least 200 million barrels of oil,” the company said.

Spitfire “expects to produce up to 20,000 barrels of oil per day from WA's first low carbon footprint coal-to-liquids business, once the process technology is scaled to commercial levels.

All India Motors Transport Congress (AIMTC) has just called off an eight-day strike by truckers that had paralyzed food and fuel deliveries across India.

Diesel is by far the biggest-volume commercial fuel in India, easily exceeding gasoline sales.

A just-published study in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association finds that tougher controls on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) rather than nitrogen oxides (NOx) would be more effective for cutting ozone air pollution.

The study, by U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab principal scientist Doug Lawson and independent research consultants Charles L. Blanchard and Shelley Tanenbaum, examined the “weekend ozone effect” in 23 U.S. states.

Refinery catalyst developer Albemarle and coker technology developer OptiFuel announced a collaboration on a new technology that could boost coker liquid yields 3-5%.

“The proprietary technology can be easily implemented and is functional within any coker configuration with only minor modifications,” the companies said in a joint press statement.

Ethanol production could “basically replace gasoline” in the next 20 years, according to the CEO of big U.S.-based ethanol maker, POET.

“If you look at the projected increase in corn yields over the next 20 years, we can produce 50 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol,” POET CEO Broin told the Sioux Falls, S.D., Argus Leader.

“If you add cellulosic ethanol, [then] we can produce 85 billion gallons on top of that, basically replacing gasoline,” Broin averred.

Ford Motor and Navistar International announced Jan. 13 that they have settled lawsuits over quality, contract-compliance and price issues with Navistar “Powerstroke” diesel engines for Ford pickup trucks.

“As a result of the agreement, the companies will end their current diesel engine supply agreement effective Dec. 31, 2009,” the companies said in a joint press statement.

National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) sees California Air Resources Board’s upcoming “low carbon fuel standard” (LCFS) rule as unworkable both technically and economically.

In a letter to CARB, NPRA points out that full life-cycle environmental analyses of biofuels and other alternative fuels have yet to be completed. Yet CARB is counting upon refiners to adopt such fuels in order to comply with the regulations.

Installing fuel temperature-compensation devices at retail fuel stations won’t save consumers any money, according to a study sponsored by National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA), Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA), and NATSO, representing the nation's truck stops and travel plazas.

Eleven Northeastern states have agreed to form a partnership aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by developing a comprehensive low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) for both transport fuels and heating fuels.

The initiative follows of the lead of California’s LCFS, due to be finalized in March.

U.S. EPA announced in a letter to diesel heavy-duty engine manufacturers that it wants to gather new data on possible dioxin emissions from future EPA-2010 compliant diesel trucks equipped with urea-Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalysts for nitrogen dioxides control.

The issue: copper-zeolite SCR catalysts, which potentially could promote the formation of deadly dioxin emissions, EPA said.

ExxonMobil announced Jan. 8 that it now favors a carbon tax rather than CO2 cap-and-trade regulatory schemes for future energy/CO2 policies.

In a speech to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson said that global energy demand is expected to be 35% higher in 2030 than it was in 2005 “despite the current economic slowdown, efficiency improvements and growth in alternative energy sources” such as wind and solar.