From September this year, the UK government will allow the introduction of E10 petrol at filling stations. ‘E10’ is a reference to the percentage of ethanol mixed into the petrol. Currently, the UK's normal ‘baseline’ petrol is E5. It contains 5% ethanol, so E10 contains twice the amount.
The government claims that CO2 production will be cut by as much as 750,000 tonnes annually as a result of this change, but there could be some negative effects, too. Here Martynn Randall explains what they could be...
What is ethanol? Ethanol is ethyl alcohol, a plant-based biofuel made from biomass such as corn or sugar cane. Being plant-based, it’s a renewable form of fuel, not a fossil fuel.
Ethanol absorbs water. If your vehicle is less than 20 years old and is driven regularly (at least once a week), you're unlikely to notice any differences when using E10 petrol. But if your vehicle is left unused for a couple of weeks or more, the water content in the fuel will rise, which could cause corrosion in the fuel system and poor starting and performance.
Ethanol is a solvent. Ethanol will slowly eat through rubber, plastic and fibreglass. This will affect rubber seals and hoses in the fuel systems of older vehicles in particular, causing the material to perish and eventually leak. One solution is to replace them with special ethanol-proof components (fuel hose, seals, etc.). Ethanol is particularly bad news for solder, so older vehicles with carburettors and brass floats will be especially vulnerable.
Ethanol is 34% less energy-dense than petrol. So to get the same power output from your engine, that accelerator pedal is going to have to be pressed harder! Obviously, this will have an effect on your vehicle's fuel consumption.
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