Vehicles on ethanol to get separate identification mark
The government is likely to advance the target for 20 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol to 2023 or 2025 compared to the earlier timeline of 2030
NEW DELHI: Like the CNG and hydrogen vehicles, those running on fuel with ethanol blending of 20 per cent of more will sport a different identification mark. The maximum ethanol blending in petrol to be used in vehicles has not crossed even touched 10 per cent so far and the overall blending is around 5.6 per cent.
The government is likely to advance the target for 20 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol to 2023 or 2025 compared to the earlier timeline of 2030.
The identification mark of the vehicles running on ethanol has been published in the draft automotive industry standards (AIS), which deals with the safety and procedural requirements for the type approval of pure ethanol, flex-fuel and ethanol-gasoline blend vehicles. Sources said the AIS is being finalised to pave the way for manufacturing engines that can use these fuels.
The draft document published by the road transport and highways ministry says vehicles using E10, E12 and E15, which indicate the percentage of ethanol blending, may not require separate labelling. But vehicles running on fuel with 20 per cent, 85 per cent, 95 per cent blending of ethanol and the ones running on 100 per cent pure ethanol would get the identification mark such as E20, E85, E95 and E100.
The pure ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol or drinking alcohol is a volatile, flammable, colourless liquid and has a strong characteristic odour. Fuel ethanol needs to be handled in the same manner as gasoline and personal exposure should be minimized. Officials said like gasoline, fuel ethanol is flammable and may contain additives that can be harmful even with casual contact.
In its recently held AGM, the outgoing president of Indian Sugar Mills Association Vivek Pittie had said in the last two years, 5 per cent ethanol blending of ethanol has been achieved across the country. In some states, the blending was up to 9.5 per cent with petrol. “It is with the cooperation of the oil marketing companies (OMCs), that we believe that in 2020-21, we should be blending about 8 per cent ethanol with petrol and that by 2021-22, we should achieve the target of 10 per cent fixed by the government in its National Biofuel Policy for 2021-22,” he had said.