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Reid vapor pressure (RVP), as determined by the ASTM test method D323, is widely used in the petroleum industry as a measure of the volatility of petroleum crude oil, gasoline and other volatile petroleum products. It is a quick and simple method of determining the vapor pressure at 37.8 °C (100 °F) of crude oil and petroleum products having an initial boiling point above 0 °C (32 °F).

Importance and uses

Vapor pressure is an important physical property of volatile liquids. It is of critical importance for automotive and aviation gasolines since it affect the starting and warm-up of spark-ignited internal combustion engines as well as the tendency to cause "vapor lock" in the fuel pumps with high operational temperatures and/or high altitudes.

Air pollution regulatory authorities mandate maximum gasoline vapor pressures in many areas so as to limit the evaporative emissions of smog-forming hydrocarbons from gasoline.

Vapor pressure is also important as an indirect measure of the evaporation tendency of volatile petroleum solvents.

The difference between RVP and TVP

True vapor pressure is referred to in the petroleum industry as TVP. Both the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) and the true vapor pressure (TVP) are absolute pressures as distinguished from gauge pressures (see Pressure).

Because of the presence air (and its of water vapor content) in the vapor space within the test method's sample container, as well as some small amount of sample vaporization during the warming of the sample to 37.8 °C (100 °F), the RVP differs from the TVP of the sample.