Tests find ethanol safe on older cars
In an interesting essay, ally Henrique Oliveira sketched the history of the difficulties encountered by the Brazilian government in promoting its ethanol program. When everything was in place for a smooth production of the fuel, public acceptance had to follow. And this is where the program got a slow start. Car owners wanted to be certain that their vehicle was not going to be damaged by using the biofuel.
Much of the same doubts can be found in other developing countries, where car fleets are a bit older than in the West. In Thailand, though, extensive testing on older cars has now showed that the mandated E10 blend is safe to use in all of the most popular cars.
The Thai Energy Ministry tested [*cache] several makes of cars manufactured more than 10 years ago. The tests were run by the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency and the state-owned energy giant PTT. Cars used for testing included the 1.3-litre Toyota Corolla with a 2E engine, the 1.5-litre Honda Civic with a CVC engine and the 1.5-litre Mitsubishi Lancer with a 4G-15 engine. These three Japanese car brands account for 60% of the total number of cars made over 10 years ago and currently on the roads in the Kingdom.
The tested cars had mileage of between 150,000 and 200,000 kilometres and were tested over 100,000 kilometres between December 2005 and September 2006 at varying speeds of 50, 90 and 120 km/h.
No problems were detected with the engines as a result of the tests, said Mr Pornchai, adding that the fuel tanks remained in normal condition, with no residue in the tank, and metal, rubber and plastic parts all survived intact:
ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: corrosion :: E10 :: Thailand ::
At present, 566,469 cars with carburetor engines run on the streets of Thailand, estimated to drop to 508,932 next year and 196,288 in 2011.
European cars made more than 10 years ago also showed no engine problems with ethanol.
According to Mr Pornchai, the full study would be completed by December. After that, car companies will be asked to encourage motorists to use ethanol by reassuring them of its safety.
If motorists do encounter problems when using ethanol, the Energy Ministry will work with auto manufacturers and PTT to help pinpoint and solve the problems.
The Energy Ministry has a goal to phase out the use of all types of petrol and shift entirely to ethanol by 2012.
Ethanol is currently produced at 500,000 litres per day, but only 300,000 litres is used per day. Ethanol production will be raised to one million litres per day next year, while demand is expected to reach 800,000 litres per day.
Much of the same doubts can be found in other developing countries, where car fleets are a bit older than in the West. In Thailand, though, extensive testing on older cars has now showed that the mandated E10 blend is safe to use in all of the most popular cars.
The Thai Energy Ministry tested [*cache] several makes of cars manufactured more than 10 years ago. The tests were run by the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency and the state-owned energy giant PTT. Cars used for testing included the 1.3-litre Toyota Corolla with a 2E engine, the 1.5-litre Honda Civic with a CVC engine and the 1.5-litre Mitsubishi Lancer with a 4G-15 engine. These three Japanese car brands account for 60% of the total number of cars made over 10 years ago and currently on the roads in the Kingdom.
The tested cars had mileage of between 150,000 and 200,000 kilometres and were tested over 100,000 kilometres between December 2005 and September 2006 at varying speeds of 50, 90 and 120 km/h.
No problems were detected with the engines as a result of the tests, said Mr Pornchai, adding that the fuel tanks remained in normal condition, with no residue in the tank, and metal, rubber and plastic parts all survived intact:
ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: corrosion :: E10 :: Thailand ::
At present, 566,469 cars with carburetor engines run on the streets of Thailand, estimated to drop to 508,932 next year and 196,288 in 2011.
European cars made more than 10 years ago also showed no engine problems with ethanol.
According to Mr Pornchai, the full study would be completed by December. After that, car companies will be asked to encourage motorists to use ethanol by reassuring them of its safety.
If motorists do encounter problems when using ethanol, the Energy Ministry will work with auto manufacturers and PTT to help pinpoint and solve the problems.
The Energy Ministry has a goal to phase out the use of all types of petrol and shift entirely to ethanol by 2012.
Ethanol is currently produced at 500,000 litres per day, but only 300,000 litres is used per day. Ethanol production will be raised to one million litres per day next year, while demand is expected to reach 800,000 litres per day.
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