| Fuel quality standards regulate the sulfur content of fuels. Since 1994, Slovenia has introduced standards for light oil (0.6 percent) and for medium and heavy oil (1 percent). In Slovakia, fuel quality standards exist only for sources smaller than 0.2 MW, in which the sulfur content has to be less than one percent for liquid fuels. Larger generation units are dealt with through specific emission limits. The standard for hard coal is 0.78 g S/MJ and 1.1 g S/MJ for lignites. These standards have been enforced since January 1, 1998. In Romania, the standard values for sulfur content adopted are 0.5 percent for light oil, <2 percent for medium oil, 1-3.3 percent for heavy oil, 1-3.5 percent for hard coal and 0.8-2.4 percent for lignites. In Bulgaria, the fuel quality standards for sulfur content are: <1 percent for low-sulfur content oil, a range of 1.1-2 percent for medium-sulfur content oil, and >2 percent for high-sulfur content oil. For solid fuels, standards for hard coal require a sulfur content in the range of 0.8-4.4 percent, while for lignites they are in the range of 0.7-6.5 percent.
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| Differences | Where air quality standards exist with relatively uniform values in the SILAQ countries, large deviations exist for fuel quality standards. For example, Slovenia adopts strict and comparatively stringent values for liquid fuels, while Slovakia has applied relatively stringent standards of one percent upper limits for all liquid fuels since January 1, 1998. At the same time, Romania and Bulgaria have set different standard values for light, medium and heavy fuel oils. As for solid fuels, Romania and Bulgaria have set a range of values for sulfur content standards that are less stringent in the case of Bulgaria, for example, allowing the sulfur content of lignites to vary within the range of 0.7 to 6.5 percent. Slovakia has adopted strict standards expressed in g S/MJ.
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| EU Directive | With regard to fuel standards, the EU Directive 93/12/EEC from March 23, 1993 for the Sulfur Content of Certain Liquid Fuels should be taken as a reference point for comparison. It sets forth the sulfur content of diesel fuel which must be less than 0.05 percent on weight basis, and the gas oil sulfur content which must be <0.2 percent. Fuels with a higher sulfur content cannot be traded within the EU. This has to be taken into account by all CEE countries and to be incorporated into their fuel quality standards.
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