Alternative fuels, or as people call them, “alcohol” gasolines, were seen as very promising just a few years ago. Even premium networks introduced these products, in particular WOG. And the “pioneers” in this segment were the BRSM-NAFTA gas station network.
The reason was simple — motorists always want to save money. The difference reached four or more hryvnias per liter — a serious argument! But over the years, this type of alternative fuel “didn't take off” — mainly due to a shortage of raw materials and low demand, many networks refused to promote this product. Nevertheless, at the moment, interest in this type of gasoline has increased again — the reason is the rapid rise in prices for “traditional” gasoline and the general impoverishment of the population.
Now the price difference between “alcohol” and regular gasoline can reach up to 8 hryvnias per liter. Therefore, the question arose again: how is the quality of such fuel? Traders produce it themselves, so there are certain concerns. This became the reason to “take up canisters” at the capital's Institute of Consumer Expertise.
At the moment, experts managed to find such fuel only in four networks – BRSM-Nafta, Avias, Motto, and the regional network BVS. The results were not rosy – half of the samples turned out to be not “alcohol” fuel, but some kind of mixture.
How much alcohol?
Many motorists are distrustful of biofuels, saying that alcohol is “just water.” This common stereotype is not entirely true. It's not food-grade alcohol that our bodies “consume” with pleasure that is added to gasoline, but unrefined, with a large amount of fusel oils, dehydrated and denatured with gasoline. “This is a special technical alcohol. If the fuel is made according to all standards and meets DSTU standards, you can fill any car with this fuel and not worry that it might break down,” says Yuriy Chornobryvets, director of the Institute of Consumer Expertise.
Laboratory tests began with the main thing — determining the volume fraction of alcohols, the value of which determines the main properties of alcohol fuel. It should be noted that alcohol fuel is divided into two categories — gasoline with a bioethanol content of at least 30% is classified as alternative fuel; if bioethanol is less than 30%, it is not alternative, but is classified as alcohol grades E5, E7, E10 (according to the Technical Regulations), and these gasoline grades should not be confused with alternative fuels – they are produced according to different regulatory documents!
According to the results of laboratory tests, only the sample purchased at the BRSM-Nafta gas station turned out to be alternative, with an ethanol content of 30.7 percent. Less than 30 percent was found in the Motto sample, and in the samples from Avias and BVS gas stations there was almost no ethanol at all! What these mixtures are made of was shown by further study of the composition.
Octane check
Usually, alternative fuels have a considerable margin in this parameter. This time, this indicator was not high for everyone, although no violations were found.
This indicator characterizes the fuel's resistance to detonation — premature combustion of gasoline in the combustion chamber. Detonation is harmful to the engine not only due to increased fuel consumption and reduced power, but also due to premature engine wear from excessive loads. The octane number was measured by the research method. The highest safety margin was found in A-95E Premium+ fuel from the BRSM-Nafta network — 98 units! But Avias, Motto, and BVS only managed to meet the standard — 95.7, 96, and 95 units, respectively.
“When fuel burns, excess energy is released; when gasoline is burned, energy is converted into thermal energy. Engine efficiency drops. When ethanol is burned, the temperature is lower and engine efficiency increases. Even fuel consumption is reduced. This is how modern engines work. If we drive European and American engines, we will see that the technology itself already obliges us to use such fuel,” commented Yevhen Lukashevych, founder of the Private Enterprise “Ukrainian Technology Company.”
Benzene and aromatics
As is known, benzene and aromatic hydrocarbons are substances that can harm the fuel system and lead to its premature wear. In addition, without evaporating completely, benzene washes away the oil film in the engine, which leads to increased wear of engine cylinders. And of course, they harm the environment.
However, without aromatic hydrocarbons it is impossible to produce high-quality gasoline, since aromatics are secondary oil refining processes that provide a high-octane component. The negative side is the negative impact on the environment, so the content of these components is limited in regulatory documents. In alternative gasolines, due to the 30% bioethanol content, the content of aromatic hydrocarbons can be reduced, since alcohol has a high octane number. “The first advantage of alternative fuel is energy security. The second is people's health. Adding ethanol to gasoline improves fuel quality in terms of exhaust products, reducing emissions of dioxins and carcinogens. Third, bioethanol production produces feed, which is food security. Fourth, there are prospects for increasing raw material production: corn, wheat, beets,” says Yevhen Lukashevych.
Alcohol gasolines are produced according to technical specifications, so the manufacturer himself determines the limit quantities of these substances, for example, benzene. Therefore, they were evaluated by actual content, with an eye to DSTU for improved “ninety-five,” which does not allow benzene content above 1%. The practical absence of this harmful substance (0.23%) was found in the BRSM-Nafta sample. An excellent result! But for colleagues, not everything is so rosy. Avias has a benzene content of 1.2%, which exceeds DSTU requirements, and BVS has as much as 2.6%. Such an amount can already cause serious harm to the engine.
Corrosion won't pass
One of the most important operational indicators of alcohol fuel is corrosion activity. The fact is that alcohol is a strong solvent and corrodes rubber and plastic parts of the fuel system. To avoid this, a special additive must be introduced into the biofuel composition, increasing the pH acid parameter value. In general, this indicator should be from 6 to 9 units. All participants passed this test, and the highest value (7.4 units) was found in the A-95E Premium+ fuel sample from the BRSM-Nafta network. Such indicators indicate that in terms of its anti-corrosion properties, alcohol gasoline is practically no different from regular gasoline and is harmless to rubber-technical engine parts.
Volume fraction of ethers
After the laboratory determined that two samples (Avias and BVS) are not “alcohol” fuels, the level of ether content, oxygen-containing additives, was checked. The analysis showed that the fuel from these two networks consists of 15 and 20.6 percent of this component, respectively. Adding such an amount of oxygen-containing components leads to a deterioration in the calorific value of the fuel, which will ultimately lead to slower vehicle dynamics and higher fuel consumption.
Results and world experience
The results showed that you can and should refuel with “alcohol” or “alternative” gasoline without risk to your own car. It is important to carefully approach the choice of sellers of such fuel. After all, they produce it themselves, and you can only understand what it consists of through laboratory testing. If a reliable seller is found, you don't have to worry about fuel quality, fuel consumption, or the condition of the car.
“Alcohol gasoline, as is known, has certain detergent properties. With the first frosts, I seemed to have no such problem: no double starts, everything is fine. Always reliable easy start even in frosty weather, easy normal engine operation. At the service center, they looked at the spark plugs and the condition of the filters — everything is much better than when using regular gasoline,” says auto expert, deputy editor of the magazine “Za Rulyom” Yaroslav Maskovka, who has been refueling with “alcohol gasoline” for 3 years.
If alternative fuel has so many advantages, why hasn't it become a sales leader in Ukraine yet? Experts name several reasons: not all drivers know about it, and it is not available in all retail chains. In addition, bioethanol in our country has become a scarecrow and is shrouded in myths. And while debates continue on the Ukrainian market about whether it is harmful or useful, the world has long moved forward. In Brazil, 50% of cars run on pure bioethanol, the rest have 27%. All of Europe is already adding 10% alcohol to gasoline and intends to increase the content to 14% by 2030. China stopped subsidies for electric car production and bought 6 million tons of corn from Ukraine for its own bioethanol production. For these purposes, the PRC built the world's largest bioethanol plant. The country is third after the USA and Brazil in terms of bioethanol production and consumption volumes.
“Only in Ukraine is this story intensively blocked by fakes and various nonsense that bioethanol is bad. 85% of European gasoline is gasoline with added bioethanol. The Brazilians, back in 1976, when all engines were carbureted, introduced a mandatory addition of 11%. As a result, from 1976 to 2000, they saved more than $90 billion on oil imports alone. For Ukraine, this is a goldmine,” says Taras Nikolaenko, executive director of the Ukrainian Bioethanol Producers Association.
Dmytro Sysoiev.
