Cars to have stainless steel fuel tanks

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Wed 20 Mar 2002 14:20
Cars to have stainless steel fuel tanks - Flat in Fifth
Source Nickel Development Org

"In response to increasingly stringent emission standards in the United States, several European car manufacturers are fitting certain models bound for U.S. markets with stainless steel tanks.

Building the fuel tanks requires about 6,000 to 8,000 tonnes of 304 stainless steel annually.

The tanks will help car manufacturers conform to environmental laws designed to control smog. The state of California, for instance, has introduced legislation that limits hydrocarbon emissions to two grams per day per vehicle. That limit is set to drop further by 2004, while other states and some European countries are expected to follow California's example.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S., vehicles account for about 60% of the country's total emissions of carbon monoxide, 31% of nitrogen oxides, 30% of volatile organic compounds, and eight percent of particulate matter.

One source of these emissions is fuel vapour that permeates the walls of conventional plastic tanks at a rate of about two grams per day. Both carbon steel and stainless steel prevent this leakage, but stainless steel has the added advantage of longevity because of its resistance to corrosion -- and since the California legislation requires car manufactures to guarantee zero emissions for at least 15 years or 240,000 kilometres, longevity is a crucial feature. Stainless steel tanks are 100% recyclable.

For years, plastic has been the material of choice for fuel tanks because it can be blow-molded to fit into almost any space. But new techniques such as parallel-plate hydroforming and hydromechanical sheet forming now allow steel to be manipulated into equally complex shapes.

At the moment, only the vehicles for the U.S. market will have the stainless steel tank, and that's only cars from the European manufacturers.

But as "zero emission" legislation continues to spread beyond Californian borders (and as long as viable alternatives to the internal combustion engine, such as fuel cell technology, remain a distant goal), demand for stainless steel tanks is expected to grow."


Discuss:-
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Wed 20 Mar 2002 20:02
Re: Cars to have stainless steel fuel tanks - Julian Lindley
FIF,

The Americans disappoint again.

The energy used in the manufacturing process for the SS tanks will almost certainly be greater than for blow moulding engineering thermo plastics, and greater manufacturing emissions will result.

The alternative of increasing engine efficiency and winding down engine size would offer huge benefits in several areas, ie emissions reduction of some harmful components, less fossil fuel consumption, smaller cars resulting could equal reduced energy consumed in manufacturing. Unfortunately, US politics are sensitive to maintaining popularity and this is not a vote catching option.

Enter the Dodge Viper V 10. American insularity at its finest.

Regards,

Julian L
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Thu 21 Mar 2002 09:16
Re: Cars to have stainless steel fuel tanks - John S
Julian

Quite!

The words 'Deckchairs, Titanic, the, on, rearranging' come to mind, but not in that order.

Regards

John
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