Nitin Gadkari Does A U-Turn: Admits E20 Petrol Can Reduce Fuel Economy!
India's push for a complete transition to E20 petrol has lately been causing a lot of concerns and confusion among vehicle owners. Many of these revolved around notable drops in mileage and possible damage to the engine. Union Minister of Road, Transport, and Highways Nitin Gadkari has been actively reassuring users that the E20 (20% Ethanol-blended) petrol will not fetch them trouble in any way. Speaking at a recent conclave, he took a U-turn and openly admitted that the use of blended petrol can reduce the mileage of vehicles. The minister, however, continues to stand by his statement that it will not 'damage' the engine.
The Context
The E20 implementation has stirred massive criticism among motorists. The minister had previously dismissed the rising concerns over fuel efficiency drops and performance issues, giving out an open challenge to critics. He said 'You show me one vehicle anywhere in the world which had problems because of E20 petrol."
The New Statement
Gadkari was speaking at Business Today's bt India@100 Summit, when he admitted that the use of Ethanol-blended fuel can reduce the mileage of your vehicle. He explained that this is due to Ethanol's lower calorific value (energy density) compared to unblended petrol.
Going by what the underlying science suggests, a drop of 3-6 per cent can be expected on older cars. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had acknowledged the same in a previous social media post.
The minister also says that it will become more affordable to use blended fuel the future, when the blending percentage increases further, because Ethanol is significantly cheaper than petrol.
He also made it clear that the use of blended fuel will boost rural economy as surplus crops like rice, wheat and corn are used for ethanol production. This will thus lead to more income for farmers, and will make the agri-economy grow in the long run. More importantly, it will decrease India's dependence on oil imports and lead to savings there as well.
He further said that it could be a political conspiracy or the petroleum lobby that's possibly fearmongering the public. "This is not even a discussion. I don't know if I should say this, politically — it appears that the petroleum lobby is manipulating it,” - said the minister.
Even when he acknowledged the mileage drop, Gadkari said that the use of blended fuel doesn't damage the vehicle's engine or powertrain components.
Is E20 Fuel Dangerous To Powertrains?
Theoretically, ethanol-blended petrol can be corrosive to rubber components like fuel hoses. Ethanol will further attract moisture, and the same can be corrosive to vehicle engines which aren't E20 compliant, especially if they are kept unused. Even in compliant vehicles, the blended fuel can corrode rubber parts. These will need to be changed every 20,000-30,000 km. The upside here, is that these replacements will not be expensive, and are usually done during periodic services.
Public Reacts | Open Challenge Accepted
Following the latest remarks from the Union Minister, people have also started sharing their experiences with E20 fuel. Asish Bagchi, owner of Kolkata’s oldest petrol pump told 'The Telegraph' that blended fuel works adequately in BS6 vehicles, but with reduced efficiency.
“The same car, same load, same driver — in India I never got more than 12 km/l in my XUV700. The moment I crossed into China on a road trip to London, the mileage jumped to 15–16 km/l, and the power and smoothness improved drastically,” he said.
He further said that it is much worse if you use E20 petrol on BS2 and BS3 cars. They'll have sluggish performances, demand frequent carburettor tune-ups and will eventually develop corrosion in various metal parts.
In the coming months, we will get to see how the public's feedback and protests will cast an impact on the governmental policy.