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SIAM Withdraws Letter Flagging E20 Fuel Contamination Concerns

SIAM Withdraws Letter Flagging E20 Fuel Contamination Concerns
SIAM withdraws E20 fuel quality letter, says findings need further technical validation · livemint.com

Cars in India can use a special fuel called E20, which mixes ethanol made from plants with petrol.

A group called SIAM, which represents car makers, wrote a letter to the government saying some cars had problems after using this fuel.

They said the fuel sometimes had too much chloride, which is like salt, and too much water mixed in.

These things can damage car parts like fuel pumps, fuel injectors, and valves.

Some broken parts looked rusty or worn out because of the chloride.

SIAM later took back the letter, saying some of the numbers in it were not checked carefully enough.

The government had already made a rule that ethanol in petrol must have very low amounts of chloride and sulphur.

Fuel stations now check for water many times each day.

SIAM says there is no reason to worry, since such issues have been solved before.

The E20 fuel is important to India because it helps reduce dependence on oil from other countries.

Key facts

Organization
Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)
Recipient
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG)
Letter Date
July 28
Main Concerns
High chloride content and excessive moisture in E20 fuel
Affected Components
Fuel pumps, fuel injectors, and Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valves
Chloride/Sulphur Guideline
3 ppm for ethanol blended into petrol
Moisture Threshold
Above 1% causes fuel separation and immediate vehicle paralysis after fuelling
Water Ingress Checks
8-12 times a day at over 87,000 outlets and after each instance of rain

Quotes

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)

Indian auto industry body representing manufacturers

“"Some numbers quoted in the communication need authentication through collection of elaborate data from various regions across the country followed by a comprehensive consultation with our member OEMs."”
livemint.com
“The referred numbers reported in the media need authentication as mentioned above and therefore SIAM is withdrawing its earlier communication.”
deccanchronicle.com

Sources

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