As environmental regulations tighten, outdoor power equipment (OPE) manufacturers face mounting challenges in meeting fuel emission limits. Traditional materials like HDPE often fall short of compliance, risking fines and recalls. Envalior’s Akulon® ® Fuel Lock provides a sustainable, cost-effective solution that exceeds emission standards while optimizing production efficiency.
Sustainability is a top priority for OPE manufacturers as they strive to comply with strict emission limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resource Board (CARB). While electric and battery-powered equipment are growing in popularity, gasoline-powered machinery remains critical for agricultural, turf care, ATVs, and golf cart applications.
One significant hurdle is addressing evaporative fuel emissions that permeate through plastic gas tanks. High-density polyethylene (HDPE), the most common material used for these tanks, emits hydrocarbon levels of 25 to 30 g/m²/day—far exceeding permissible limits. Although fluorinating HDPE can improve compliance, the process is environmentally hazardous, costly, and adds additional production steps, including shipping to secondary locations for treatment and quality testing.
Envalior’s Akulon® Fuel Lock offers a reliable alternative to HDPE, delivering evaporative emissions barriers more than six times stronger than regulatory requirements. This mono-layer material eliminates the need for fluorination or secondary treatments, cutting costs and streamlining production. Its outstanding mechanical strength, UV stability, and impact resistance at temperatures as low as -40°C make it ideal for outdoor power equipment fuel tanks.
Unlike fluorinated HDPE, which can degrade over time due to fuel sloshing and wear, Akulon® Fuel Lock maintains its barrier strength throughout the tank's lifetime, exceeding emission regulations by more than 80%.
Its superior processability allows manufacturers to mold walls as thin as 2mm without compromising performance. This not only reduces material usage and tank weight but also increases fuel capacity—addressing both environmental and consumer needs.
Replacing HDPE with Akulon® Fuel Lock is seamless, requiring no re-tooling for injection, blow, or roto-molding processes. The material's inherent barrier strength eliminates the need for multiple quality testing cycles, as performance remains consistent across batches. Additionally, its rapid recrystallization rate reduces production cycle times, helping manufacturers optimize operational efficiency.
With over 25 million Fuel Lock tanks already in use, the material has proven its reliability in meeting industry demands. Envalior’s commitment to innovation and sustainability ensures our solutions proactively address changing emission limits.
At Envalior, we understand that transitioning to new materials can be challenging. That’s why we offer extensive testing and hands-on support to ensure our solutions exceed performance requirements. By collaborating with the EPA, CARB, and leading OEMs, we continuously evolve our materials portfolio to meet the industry's most pressing challenges.
Ready to revolutionize your fuel tank production? Download our Akulon® for Plastic Gas Tanks white paper or visit plasticsfinder.envalior.com for more information.
Application Development Engineer
Bert Keestra studied chemical engineering at the Technical University Eindhoven (TU/e) in the Netherlands. After he completed a PhD in polymer technology at the same university, he started working at Envalior in the corporate research department of materials science. In 2010 he transferred to the business unit Engineering Materials as product development specialist and later as application development engineer, focusing on composite pressure vessels.
23 May 2025
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