HPCL launches pilot study on E27, ethanol blended diesel fuel

The move aligns with the roadmap for ethanol blending in India by 2025, which aims to promote the adoption of ethanol blending in gasoline.

“The roadmap, designed to usher in a greener and more sustainable future, outlines a phased rollout plan for achieving 20% Ethanol Blended Gasoline (E20) by April 2023 and ensuring its widespread availability by April 2025. It further emphasizes 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,” the ministry said.

According to the ministry, preliminary studies conducted on vehicles fueled with E27 have shown significant reductions in emissions such as carbon dioxide among others, compared to traditional gasoline. As part of the pilot, HPCL will also evaluate ethanol-diesel trials on passenger cars, targeting a mileage accumulation of 20,000 km initially.

The pilot study of E27 fuel aims to assess its performance and emissions in engines and vehicles through extended mileage accumulation. This phase includes mileage accumulation of up to 10,000 km for two-wheelers and 20,000 km for passenger cars using E27 fuel. Ethanol trials, compliant with IS 1460:2017 fuel specifications, will also be conducted in conjunction with biodiesel-diesel.

India’s next milestone in the ethanol blending program is achieving 27% blending beyond E20 fuel.

HPCL successfully launched E20 fuel in February this year across 23 retail outlets across the country. Currently, there are 350 E20 such outlets spread across 21 states in India. The company has achieved a reduction of approximately 3000 MT of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to date. It is projected that by 2025, the use of E20 fuel will contribute to a reduction of more than 200 lakh MT of emissions.

Updated: 09 Jun 2023, 04:59 PM IST