'Better acceleration, ride quality, environment-friendly': Govt allays fears over ethanol-blended petrol

New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas clarified on Tuesday that 20 per cent Ethanol Blended Petrol (E20) gives better acceleration, better ride quality and has lowered carbon emissions by approximately 30 per cent as compared to E10 fuel.

The statement, issued to allay fears over mileage and vehicle life, further said that ethanol’s higher octane number (about 108.5 compared to petrol’s 84.4) makes ethanol-blended fuels a valuable alternative for higher-octane requirements that are crucial for modern high-compression engines. Vehicles tuned for E20 deliver better acceleration, which is a very important factor in city driving conditions. Additionally, ethanol’s higher heat of vaporisation reduces intake manifold temperatures, increasing air-fuel mixture density and boosting volumetric efficiency, the statement said.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy that Brazil has been successfully running on E27 for years with zero issues. The same automakers, such as Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, etc., produce vehicles there too, the statement said.

"Concerns related to performance and mileage being raised now were anticipated as early as 2020 by the government, and an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) of the NITI Aayog examined them at length. This was also backed by research studies carried out by Indian Oil Corporation, ARAI and SIAM," the statement said.

Previously, petrol was being sold in India with a Research Octane Number (RON) of 88. Today, regular petrol in India has an RON of 91 to meet the requirements of BS-VI, which aims to reduce harmful emissions. However, this has again been improved further to RON 95 with blending of Ethanol 20, resulting in better anti-knocking properties and performance, the statement said.

The critiques suggesting that E20 causes a "drastic" reduction in fuel efficiency are misplaced, the statement said, noting that vehicle mileage is influenced by a variety of factors beyond just fuel type. These include driving habits, maintenance practices such as oil changes and air filter cleanliness, tyre pressure and alignment, and even air conditioning load, it said.

Extensive discussions have been carried out with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) as well as prominent manufacturers of vehicles. The efficiency drop (if any) in E10 vehicles has been marginal. For some manufacturers, vehicles have been E20 compatible from as far back as 2009. The question of any drop in fuel efficiency in such vehicles does not arise, the statement pointed out.

Ethanol Blending is a national programme. Some seek to derail it by fomenting fear and confusion in the minds of car owners by selectively picking information and creating a false narrative that insurance companies will not cover car damage due to the use of E20 fuels. This fear-mongering is totally baseless and has been clarified by an insurance company whose tweet screenshot was deliberately misinterpreted to create fear and confusion. Usage of E20 fuel has no impact on the validity of insurance of vehicles in India, the statement contended.

The alternative of going back to E20 Petrol would involve losing the hard-fought gains on pollution and the success achieved in energy transition, the statement said. The roadmap of the IMC has been in the public domain since 2021 and laid out a calibrated path to reaching E-20. Since then, there has been a period of over 4 years which has allowed vehicle technology to improve, the supply chain to be calibrated, and an overall ecosystem to be developed, according to the statement.

Moreover, safety standards for E20 are well established through BIS specifications and Automotive Industry Standards. In most parameters, including drivability, startability, metal compatibility, and plastic compatibility, there are no issues. Only in the case of certain older vehicles, some rubber parts and gaskets may require replacement earlier than in the case where non-blended fuel was used. This replacement is inexpensive and can be easily managed during routine servicing. It may need to be done once in the lifetime of the vehicle and is a simple process to be carried out at any authorised workshop, the statement said.

The statement said that some concerns have been voiced that ethanol-blended petrol should be cheaper than non-blended fuel and that this cost advantage has not been passed on to the customers, noting that these are referring to a NITI Aayog report. In 2020-21, when the report was prepared, ethanol was cheaper than Petrol. Over time, the procurement prices of ethanol have increased, and now the weighted average price of ethanol is higher than the cost of refined petrol.

Despite the increase in price of ethanol in comparison to petrol, the oil companies have not gone back on the ethanol blending mandate because the programme delivers on energy security, boosts farmers’ incomes and environmental sustainability.

In the meantime, automobile manufacturers continue to engage with vehicle owners to provide them with any support that may be warranted to ensure the optimum performance of vehicles. For a vehicle owner who believes that his/her vehicle may require further tuning or parts replacement, the entire network of authorised service stations is available to respond to such requests.

There continue to be apprehensions about whether the country will go beyond E20 very rapidly, the statement said, adding that any move beyond E-20 requires careful calibration, for which extensive consultations are underway. This has involved the same vehicle manufacturers who are already in Brazil as well as other manufacturers, entities involved in the supply of feed stocks, R&D agencies, oil companies and ethanol producers.

This process is yet to reach a conclusion.

In the meantime, the current roadmap commits the government to E20 up to October 31, 2026. Decisions beyond this date will involve submission of the report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, evaluation of its recommendations, stakeholder consultations and a considered decision of the government in this regard. That decision is yet to be taken, the statement added.

--IANS

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