Amid social media chatter about the impact of 20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol on vehicles, the Oil Ministry on Tuesday stated that concerns over a drastic drop in fuel efficiency are misplaced, adding that the fuel in fact offers improved acceleration.
Doping petrol with 20 per cent ethanol extracted from sugarcane or maize is a national programme aimed at cutting emissions and raising income of farmers, which is being sought to be ”derailed” by some by fomenting fear and confusion, it said. In a statement, the ministry listed out the benefits from using E20 (20 per cent ethanol, 80 per cent petrol) and said using such a fuel does not impact the validity of insurance of vehicles in India.
"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 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,” it said. Over the last few days, there has been a growing chatter on social media about the impact of using E20 on vehicles with some posts saying it leads to at least 7 per cent drop in fuel efficiency. ”The critiques suggesting that E20 causes a ’drastic’ reduction in fuel efficiency are misplaced,” the ministry said. It however did not state the percentage drop in fuel efficiency. On August 4, the ministry had in a post on X said: ”Ethanol, being lower in energy density than petrol, results in a marginal decrease in mileage, estimated at 1-2 per cent for four-wheelers designed for E10 and calibrated for E20, and around 3–6 per cent in others.”
Social media posts have pointed out that the calorific value of ethanol is 29.7 as compared to 46.4 of petrol and so the energy produced per litre is 65 per cent of petrol. E10 is petrol mixed with 10 per cent ethanol. ”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 ministry said on Tuesday.
Social media posts also cite June 2021 Niti Aayog report to state that E20/E27 in E10 cars degrades rubber/plastic, corrodes metal, harms fuel systems, cuts mileage and may led to need for part upgrades. ”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. It said a study on life cycle emissions of ethanol done by NITI Aayog has said that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in case of use of sugarcane and maize based ethanol are less by 65 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively than those of petrol. ”In addition to pollution reduction, there have been transformative benefits in terms of benefits to the rural economy, elimination of sugarcane arrears and improving the viability of maize cultivation in the country,” it said.
The statement said during the last 11 years ethanol blending in petrol by public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) has resulted in savings/conservation of more than Rs 1.44 lakh crore of foreign exchange, crude oil substitution of about 245 lakh tonnes and CO2 emission reduction of 736 lakh tonnes, the equivalent of planting 30 crore trees. At 20 per cent blending, it is expected that payment to the farmers in this year alone will be Rs 40,000 crore and forex savings will be around Rs 43,000 crore, it 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,” the ministry said.
"The use of E-20 gives better acceleration, better ride quality and most importantly, lowered carbon emissions by approximately 30 per cent as compared to E10 fuel”. Ethanol has a higher-octane number of 108.5 compared to petrol’s 84.4. ”Vehicles tuned for E20 deliver better acceleration which is a very important factor in city driving conditions. Additionally, ethanol’s higher heat of vaporization reduces intake manifold temperatures, increasing air-fuel mixture density and boosting volumetric efficiency,” it said. Previously petrol was being sold in India with Research Octane Number (RON) of 88. Today, regular petrol in India has a 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. On some concerns that ethanol-blended petrol should be cheaper than non -blended fuel and that this cost advantage has not been passed on to the customers, the ministry said when the 2020-21 report of NITI Aayog was prepared, ethanol was cheaper than petrol.
"Over time, procurement prices of ethanol have increased and now the weighted average price of ethanol is higher than the cost of refined petrol.” Currently, the average procurement cost of ethanol is Rs 71.32 per litre, inclusive of transportation and GST, and the price of maize-based ethanol is Rs 71.86. ”In the meanwhile, automobile manufacturers continue to engage with vehicle owners to provide them any support that may be warranted to ensure 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 authorized service stations are available to respond to such requests,” the statement added.
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