The latest E20 fuel has been the talk of the town since the implementation of the more stringent BS6 Phase 2 emission regulations in India. This new fuel is said to reduce tailpipe emissions up to a significant margin.
In accordance with the latest emission regulations, all automobile manufacturers in India also updated their products with the new BS6 Phase 2-compatible powertrains. This includes compatibility with newer E20 fuels as well.
Speaking about the E20 fuel, it contains 20 per cent ethanol. This means, in 1 litre of fuel you fill in your vehicle, the fuel contains 200ml of ethanol, which unlike petrol or diesel is made from sugarcane. This reduces the dependence on imported crude oil and helps local farmers.
In fact, the newer E20 fuel has already been rolled out to thousands of fuel stations across the country. Furthermore, studies indicate that the E20 fuel can lower tailpipe emissions by up to 50 per cent for two-wheelers and up to 30 per cent for four-wheelers.
Also, thanks to the E10 fuel, the government has saved more than Rs 53,000 crores in foreign exchange outgo and a reduction of 318 lakh tonnes of CO2. As such, the E20 fuel with twice as much ethanol content compared to E10 fuel can yield the government more profit.
That being said, the E20 fuel is not without its disadvantages. While the BS6 Phase 2 compliant vehicles have been designed to run on the E20 fuel, older vehicles are not. As such, older vehicles running on E20 become less efficient.
In fact, some experts claim that the fuel efficiency of an older vehicle can drop up to 7 per cent while running on the E20 fuel. After crunching numbers, while this may not be bothersome, the E20 fuel can cause higher wear and tear in the engine.
Like all things, the newer E20 fuel comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. Though the E20 fuel can harm older cars in the long term due to increased wear and tear, it can reduce tailpipe emissions by a significant margin.
