HPCL becomes first OMC to pilot E27 fuel and ethanol-blended diesel in India
Going ahead, India’s next milestone in the ethanol blending program is achieving 27% ethanol blending beyond E20 fuel.
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), one of the leading oil manufacturing companies (OMC) has launched pilot study on vehicles using E27 fuel and ethanol-blended diesel fuel.
Under the aegis of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, HPCL becomes the first OMC in India to initiate such a research program, in line with the ‘Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India by 2025,’ which aims to promote the adoption of ethanol blending in petrol.
The roadmap, designed to usher in a greener and more sustainable future, outlines a phased rollout plan for achieving 20 percent ethanol blended gasoline (E20) by April 2023 and ensuring its widespread availability by April 2025. It further emphasises the introduction of E20 material-compliant and E10 engine-tuned vehicles starting from April 2023, followed by the production of E20-tuned engine vehicles from April 2025.
HPCL says it has taken up dedicated efforts at its R&D Centre in Devanagunthi, Bengaluru for conducting comprehensive research on biofuels. The R&D team is evaluating the effects and performance of different blends of ethanol-petrol, ranging from 10% to 27%, as well as various blends of ethanol-diesel, on different categories of test vehicles at the Engine Research laboratory.
Preliminary studies conducted on vehicles fuelled with E27 have shown remarkable reductions in emissions like CO and THC when compared to traditional gasoline. As part of the pilot launch, HPCL will also be evaluating ethanol-diesel trials on passenger cars, aiming for a targeted mileage accumulation of 20,000km initially.
The pilot study of E27 fuel will focus on assessing its performance and emissions in engines and vehicles through extended mileage accumulation. Mileage accumulation of up to 10,000km for two-wheelers and 20,000 km for passenger cars using E27 fuel is planned for this phase. Ethanol trials, in accordance with IS 1460:2017 fuel specifications, will also be conducted in conjunction with biodiesel-diesel.
Going ahead, India’s next milestone in the ethanol blending program is achieving 27% ethanol blending beyond E20 fuel. With the success of the ongoing trials and the achievement of E27 fuel, India will join Brazil on the global platform in the ethanol blending program.
HPCL successfully launched E20 fuel on February 6th, 2023, at 23 retail outlets (ROs) across the country. The current number of E20 ROs is 350, spread across 21 states in the country. It has already reduced approximately 3,000 MT of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to date. It is projected that by 2025, the use of E20 fuel will contribute to the reduction of more than 200 lakh MT of GHG emissions.
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