Claims of 500 ppm chloride and presence of moisture in E20 fuel not validated: PSU OMCs
A dedicated task force having members of the three OMCs and the Centre for High Technology (CHT) checked ethanol samples from 80 distilleries across India in the last 10 days
The public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) have refuted claims of elevated chloride levels and moisture in E20 fuel, stating that rigorous testing across the supply chain has found no evidence of fuel contamination. Over 100 randomly selected petrol samples across refineries have consistently reported chloride content at or below 1 ppm, far below the reported hundreds of ppm.
Similarly, ethanol and E20 samples from 80 distilleries and 80 retail outlets tested by a dedicated task force showed chloride content below 3 ppm. Over 160 samples have been analyzed under an intensified monitoring programme, with levels remaining within the range of 0-3 ppm. Water ingress testing at 90,000 retail outlets has also revealed no instances of water ingress in underground storage tanks.
The government has established stringent chloride specifications for ethanol used in petrol blending and instituted a high-frequency monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance. Mobile fuel quality testing laboratories have been deployed across locations, with test results independently validated through fuel laboratories. The OMCs have emphasized that these findings reaffirm fuel quality remains consistently within prescribed limits, and there is no evidence of fuel contamination as claimed.
Written by urgent.news from Hindu BusinessLine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- OMCs began rigorous testing for E20 fuel contamination at pumps from Mid-July: Oil Minister thehindubusinessline.com
