Technical Committee Automotive Fuels
Determination of the Content of Poly Aromatics in Diesel Fuel — Summier Grade 2005 —
With the implementation of the 22' Federal Emission Control Ordinance, changed limit values
for particulate matter have become effective on January 1st, 2005. According to current
knowledge, the compliance with these thresholds will not be possible throughout Germany.
As a short-term measure for reducing the exposure to particulate matter, the Federal Ministry
for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety has considered to recommend
to the EU Commission that especially the content of poly aromatic hydrocarbons should be
reconciled to the demand of the World Wide Fuel Charter for category 4 diesel fuel. This
would mean a limit value of max. 2 % m/m of poly aromatics vis-à-vis a limit of 11 % m/m as
currently specified by DIN EN 590.
Against this background, DGMK has been asked to provide data on the content of poly aromatics
in diesel fuels. This report lists the groups of aromatic hydrocarbons for 16 samples of
diesel fuel of the current summer grade of 2005 as an addition to data already available for
the product quality of 2000/2001 and 2003.
The results of the diesel fuels investigated in 2005 show that the average content of poly
aromatics in diesel fuel has not changed significantly when compared with the values for
2003; in comparison with the data for 2000/2001, the average is reduced by about 30 %.