The introduction of ethanol-blended petrol and Meghalaya’s famously wet weather are to mostly blame for water in fuel tanks, the Petroleum Dealers Association of Meghalaya (PDAM) said today.
PDAM was responding to news reports that petrol had been mixed with water at petrol pumps in Nongspung, West Khasi Hills and Laitkor, East Khasi Hills.
Fears and suspicions of adulterated fuel are common in Meghalaya, though the evidence is thin.
Today, PDAM president Kennedy Khyriem said that February 2022 saw the central government introduce ethanol-blended petrol. “Ten percent of ethanol is added to petrol,” Khyriem said.
Ethanol is a bio-fuel derived from maize and other plant materials and is thus renewable. Not only does this make it less harmful to the environment, in theory, the blended petrol programme also aims at reducing India’s reliance on importing fuel oil, thus saving foreign exchange; currently the vast majority of India’s petrol and diesel is bought from abroad at a cost of half a billion US dollars. It is also hoped that the use of domestic flora to produce the ethanol will help the domestic agriculture sector.
“If used, it (blended petrol) produces less carbon dioxide and is cheaper,” Khyriem said.
However, there are disadvantages. Ethanol, Khyriem said, absorbs moisture, giving it a higher tendency to corrode metal.
Petrol dealers often get complaints from vehicle owners that when they fill petrol from a particular pump there is water in the fuel.
Khyriem pointed out that Meghalaya receives heavy rainfall and if vehicles, especially two-wheelers are parked in open spaces with no protection from the elements, rain can enter the fuel tank.
“Even if a small amount of water enters the petrol tank, of any two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you fill petrol, this small amount of water turns into a significant quantity and, therefore, there is need to clean it from time to time,” he said.
Petrol pumps conduct regular checks of their underground fuel storage tanks with what is called a “water dip”, irrespective of whether the pump sells blended petrol or not. In cases where water is present, even in trace amounts, the automation system at the petrol pump will immediately raise an alarm for corrective action.
Khyriem urged the owners to take care of their vehicles, especially during the wet seasons. He also said that the central government plans to increase the proportion of ethanol in blended fuel from 10 percent to 20 percent by 2025.
