When you think of E20 Petrol, what comes to mind ? All the “conspiracy theories”, the “rumours” of “contamination” and “adulteration” right ? Well, if you still think It’s as amazing and revolutionary as they claim it to be, let this be an eye opener for you. Albeit vehicle manufacturers and the government claim that ethanol-blended fuel is completely safe to use, folks around you, and sometimes even yourself might have a different story to tell. These concerns and issues are no longer just words echoed around the deaf ears of politicians who refuse to acknowledge these shortcomings.
SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) has now flagged and raised serious quality and contamination issues with E20 fuel. They have explicitly stated that the deteriorating fuel quality is causing a rise in component failures in vehicles. So yes, not everyone, but those who were facing genuine issues, and narrowed them down to ethanol blended fuel, were not wrong after all. As a matter of fact, every single person facing these issues now has a formal and recognized backing of the findings of the SIAM by their side.
But What Are The Actual Findings ?
High chloride and moisture contamination has been specifically flagged by the SIAM when it comes to E20 fuel. Introducing mandatory chloride limits in the fuel specifications, strengthening quality checks at petrol pumps, and tightening fuel quality standards is something that the SIAM has urged the government to do.
A letter was sent to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas stating that the industry body’s fellow members have observed a “huge increase” for the replacement of fuel injectors, fuel pumps, EGR valves, exhaust components, and various other parts that (something to notice) come under direct contact with fuel or engine emissions.
High chloride contamination in the fuel led to the corrosion, and wear and tear of said parts, as found in the SIAM field investigation. Contamination of up to 500 MG/KG were observed from samples collected from the vehicle fuel tanks, and samples collected from the retail outlets recorded contamination levels of up to 350 MG/KG. Another interesting thing that common folks such as ourselves should notice is the fact that the body concluded that chloride contamination in fuel has increased significantly after the nationwide rollout of E20 petrol.
Chloride contamination is a serious issue and it can result in both immediate and long-term damage to vehicles, is something that has been clearly mentioned in the letter to the government to discusses these findings. Depending on the level of chloride contamination, it is deemed harmful to the to engine and exhaust system components. Rightly so, SIAM also stated that such recurring contamination incidents will reduce public confidence in ethanol-blended fuels, which to be very frank, has already begun to happen.
A proposal from SIAM states that the government set a mandatory chloride limit in BIS fuel specifications. It also recommended a total chloride limit of 1 MG/KG for commercial E20 and E85 fuels and less than 3 MG/KG for anhydrous ethanol used for blending. Another thing that is very very concerning and hilarious at the same time is the fact that SIAM has reportedly been raising this issue with BIS for more than two years, but the proposal has not yet been implemented.
Contamination Through Moisture ? Really ?
Yes, Really! Every 5th grader by now knows that ethanol is hygroscopic in nature, and excessive moisture can cause phase separation. Mechanical issues and even drivers being stranded, is something that is bound to happen when such fuel is pumped into our vehicles. Direct oil marketing companies (OMCs) to identify the root cause of the moisture and chloride contamination, solve all the issues, and implement stricter quality checks at petrol pumps across the country as mentioned before, is something the the SIAM has urged the government to do.
SIAM has also flagged excessive moisture levels in E20 fuel sold at petrol pumps across India, this is apart from the high levels of chloride contamination. Moisture levels exceeding 10,000 MG/KG, which is more than three times the permissible limit of 3,000 MG/KG, were recorded from the samples collected.
Was There A Response ?
SIAM’s scientifically and mechanically backed findings only strengthened the doubts everyone had and rightly so. The government has finally been prompted to take some sort of action. It has called for a series of meetings with OMCs and automobile manufacturers. The Centre has asked OMCs to strengthen on-ground fuel quality monitoring at retail outlets to address the quality and contamination issues. What will come of this response, and will it be enough or make up for the damage that has already been caused ? That’s for you to decide.
