Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari is very serious about the use of ethanol and flexible fuel in the country. They continually promote these fuels. Last Tuesday, representatives of the auto industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) were asked to consider making ethanol and blended fuels more acceptable to the public. Gadkari appealed to automakers to make engines compatible with flexible fuels. So that their prices can be reduced by adding ethanol to diesel and gasoline. This will also play an important role in reducing pollution.
The amount of ethanol in gasoline will be increased
Today, almost every company in the country has launched flexible fuel-enabled two-wheelers. If we simply mean flex fuel, it is prepared by mixing methanol or ethanol with gasoline. E20 will be converted to E50 in the coming days. E20 is a gasoline format. Which is cheaper than gasoline. 20% ethanol is mixed with E20 gasoline. Plans are afoot to double this quantity by 2025. Jio-BP is the first company in the country to launch ethanol-blended gasoline in the market.
What is E20 fuel?
Ethyl alcohol or ethanol (C2H5OH) is a biofuel produced naturally by the fermentation of sugar. India has launched an Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) program to blend this biofuel with gasoline to reduce fossil fuel consumption. E20 indicates a mixture of 20% ethanol and 80% gasoline. The number 20 in E20 refers to the proportion of ethanol in the gasoline mixture. In other words, the higher the number, the higher the proportion of ethanol in gasoline will be. In the coming days, its ratio will become 50:50.
Mathematics of the price of a liter of E20 gasoline
The E20 gasoline prepared by Jio-BP contains 80% gasoline and 20% ethanol. The price of petrol in Delhi is around Rs 96 per litre. This means that at the rate of Rs 96, the price of 80% petrol becomes Rs 76.80. Similarly, the price of ethanol can reach Rs 55 per liter. This means that at Rs 55, the price of 20% ethanol becomes Rs 11. This means that one liter of E20 petrol includes normal petrol worth Rs 76.80 and ethanol worth Rs 11. In this way, the price of one liter of E20 gasoline becomes Rs 87.80. This means it is Rs 8.20 cheaper than normal petrol.