![]() ![]() ![]() In addition, the plastic, which is blow-molded around the other components in a process that TI calls “ship in a bottle,” is a six-layer design developed to greatly reduce leakage. The key to the reduced emissions is that TI’s tank-launched on the 2005 Ford GT-relocates all the fuel-delivery components, which were the source of the most significant leaks, from the exterior of the tank to the interior. ![]() But TI Automotive, which supplies fluid systems and delivery hardware (everything from fuel tanks and lines to HVAC components and brake lines) to nearly every automaker around the globe, came up with the first weight-saving plastic tank to earn PZEV status. To achieve CARB’s squeaky-clean Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle (PZEV) rating, a tank must emit just 20 milligrams a day, a 79-percent reduction.įor this reason, starting in the early 2000s, most PZEV-capable vehicles have employed steel rather than plastic fuel tanks for their superior permeation resistance. The EPA’s current Tier II Bin 5 passenger-car standard allows for a maximum leakage of 95 milligrams per day. From there, it is periodically purged to the engine, where it is burned along with fuel from the injectors.īut even in closed-off systems, there’s a tiny amount of fuel that escapes through the tank and its associated plumbing, and this-called “permeation”-is regulated. The corking of the tank was-and still is today-accomplished by temporarily storing excess vapor in a charcoal canister. Prior to 1971, when the EPA mandated sealed fuel systems, vapors emanating from the tank made up a significant portion of a car’s overall hydrocarbon emissions. In today’s world of ever-stricter emissions regulations-which also have ramifications for the fuel tank-that couldn’t be further from the truth. We wouldn’t be surprised if the average driver thinks of a vehicle’s fuel tank as roughly the technological equivalent of a bucket. ![]()
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