Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 19 July 1968:
Vol. 161. no. 3838, p. 271
DOI: 10.1126/science.161.3838.271
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Benzo[a]pyrene in Gasoline Partially Persists in Automobile Exhaust

Charles R. Begeman 1 and Joseph M. Colucci 1

1 General Motors Research Laboratories, Warren, Michigan 48090

On average 36 percent of the benzo[a]pyrene in an automobile's exhaust gas comes from the benzo[a]pyrene originally in the gasoline. Between 0.1 and 0.2 percent of the benzo[a]pyrene in the gasoline survives the combustion process and is recovered from the exhaust; 5 percent accumulates in the crankcase oil. Some of the benzo[a]pyrene in the gasoline is converted into other polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and other more polar compounds. For our experiments we used commercial gasoline containing benzo[a]pyrene at 1.0 part per million to which was added benzo[a]pyrene-8,9-14C at 1.1 parts per million as a radioactive tracer.

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)