The central government has taken an important step to provide relief to the people of the country amid the rise in crude oil prices in the global market and global unrest. Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday, June officially launched E-85 fuel. This new fuel is expected to not only save consumers money compared to petrol, but also make a huge difference in protecting the environment by reducing carbon emissions.
After the success of E-20 fuel already in the market, E-85 is now introduced. E-85 fuel contains 80 to 85 percent ethanol and the remaining 14 to 19 percent gasoline. In Delhi, the new fuel costs Rs 82.12 per litre, which is about Rs 20 less than E-20 petrol. Ethanol is a type of organic alcohol made from organic materials such as corn juice, rice or rice bran and the process of mixing with gasoline is called ethanol blending.
Using this new fuel will have both economic and environmental benefits. Because ethanol contains enough oxygen, it promotes complete combustion of the fuel, greatly reducing emissions of carbon monoxide and other toxic gases. Additionally, the use of this domestically produced biofuel will reduce dependence on imported crude oil. Ethanol is produced from agricultural products and will strengthen the rural economy and directly benefit farmers.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said E-85 fuel will be available at 48 retail outlets of the country’s public sector oil marketing companies. The government plans to increase that number to 500 by December this year and 5,000 by December Ethanol blending has been used successfully in Brazil for nearly a decade, and 80 percent of light vehicles in that country currently run on flex fuel technology. There are no reports of engine failure due to use of E-20 fuel in India.
However, this E-85 fuel cannot be used in all types of vehicles. This fuel can only be used in special vehicles built with flex fuel technology. Filling vehicles built for E-20 fuel with E-85 can reduce engine performance and lead to long-term problems such as fuel system damage and corrosion. Petrol pumps will have separate branding and labeling for these fuels for the convenience of customers and to avoid confusion. Flex fuel vehicles can use both conventional gasoline and high ethanol blends and produce about 61 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional vehicles.
Despite the many positive aspects of this fuel, some challenges currently exist. The biggest limitation of E-85 fuel is that it cannot be used in all vehicles and its mileage is about 15 to 25 percent lower than regular gasoline. Still, the government hopes that this new technology will lay a strong foundation towards environmental protection and sustainable economic development for India, which faces serious problems like air pollution.