EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Radian Corporation@ under a previous contract to the American Petroleum Institute@ compiled and analyzed data obtained as part of a calendar year 1975 gasoline temperature survey conducted by the EF-14 Task Force. Data were collected from fifty-six service stations across the United States during all seasons of the year. The data collected included such items as station throughput. physical characteristics of sites@ meteorological data@ and product temperatures from three primary locations: (1) the underground storage tank@ (2) the service station dispenser@ and (3) the vehicle fuel tank. The analysis provided insight into the complex subject of gasoline temperature variations@ specifically as related to vapor shrinkage/growth during vehicle refueling. The primary purpose of this report is to present additional results related to gasoline temperature adjustment in the petroleum marketing distribution system. Separate analyses involving the temperature data base were performed and the significant results included: When the ambient temperature is between 65??and 85 of@ vapor shrinkage will occur overall some 89% of the time. Mathematical regression models can predict average dispensed gasoline temperatures within an accuracy of ?? 0.5 percent. The overall nationwide volume weighted average gasoline sales temperature is estimated as 6l.6?? In addition to the temperature data base analyses@ a comprehensive study was made of five different techniques for retail gasoline temperature adjustment and compared measurement precision with the corresponding cost to the nation. Temperature adjustment methods varied from a one-time meter adjustment based on estimated dispensed temperature to electronic compensators. The proportional volume uncertainty ranges from ?? 0.0075 (?? 0.75%) for one-time meter adjustment to ?? 0.0006 (?? 0.06%) for the electronic compensator. Additional cost for these methods ranges from $11 million to $1.2 billion. Although it was not included in this study@ a comprehensive analysis should be considered in future work since the current no-temperature compensation practice provides the u.S. consumer as-a-whole with a yearly average gasoline temperature near 60??
API PUBL 1625-1979 history
1979API PUBL 1625-1979 Analysis of Temperature Effects on Gasoline Marketing Operations