Motorists on Monday began filling up their fuel tanks with ethanol-blended petrol following distribution of the commodity at selected points in the city by Green Fuel (GF).
The blend, which comprises 10% ethanol from Chisumbanje ethanol plant and 90% petroleum, is selling at $1,36/litre, making it the cheapest blend on the market.
GF said the retail price represents a cost saving of up to eight cents per litre.
In a statement, GF said its blend presents the motoring public with flexible fuelling arrangements. “Consumers can alternate between our blend and petroleum without any resulting effects on their engine performance,” GF said.
GF spokesperson Lillian Muungani said the response from the market had been positive.
“A lot of the dealers are reading into the opportunity to maximise returns through higher trade volumes spurred by lower costs,” Muungani. “What has also been a point of motivation towards our product has been the lower price on our blend and the desire by most motorists to use clean locally environmentally friendly fuel.”
Zimbabwe has had experience with blend from old generation ethanol in the early ’80s. This policy was suspended when local production levels dwindled and could not meet the volumes required to enforce a minimum blending policy in the format recently announced by the Ministry of Energy and Power Development.
GF is producing new-generation anhydrous ethanol using the latest technology from Brazil — this type of ethanol is dry; it contains no water and blends easily with petroleum. New-generation anhydrous ethanol ensures cooler engine performance while taking out any residual water from tanks.
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Anhydrous ethanol has a high octane rating. Octane is basically how much power a fuel has. The octane number of a fuel is a measure of its ability to prevent an engine knock. The higher the octane rating in fuel, the safer your car is from engine knocks.
