More E10 information and resources

I liked your editorial on E10. E30 may not be that far off and in Brazil I think they even have E60. But E-fuels are not new. Remember Cleveland Discol? (You can see an old video at https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=4uEqqlqqf4Q). The idea of using food grain crops to capture solar energy so as to avoid burning ‘sequestrated’ carbon in fossil fuels might seem wasteful, but it is not clear how much it will affect agriculture or drive up grain prices.

Ethanol is hygroscopic because it is hydrophilic, i.e., it loves water. (Exposed to the outside environment it is rarely if ever found in concentrations approaching 100%.) It still attracts water molecules when mixed with petroleum. But water and petroleum are immiscible so when the aqueous content in your E-fuel-filled tank rises above a certain level, phase separation occurs – which means a layer of water (but still containing some ethanol) settles out at the bottom and in float bowls, etc. It is this watery layer that then tends to enhance corrosion – at least that’s my schoolboy understanding. (I seem to remember studying partially miscible solvent mixtures in chemistry, something to do, as I recall, with how much of fluid A was dissolved in fluid B and vice versa.) And, as you say, several materials used in fuel systems (certain gaskets and seals, O-rings, fibreglass, etc.) are adversely affected by ethanol.

The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs has been on the case. The agreement which they reached with the Government states that all major filling stations that stock two grades of petrol and supply at least one million litres of fuel in total each year will need to ensure one product is the Super E5 ‘protection grade’.

In February the Federation stated that “almost all towns across the UK will have a filling station that supplies the ‘Super’ grade and currently one major retailer, a national supermarket group” (which one?) “has committed to offer the product.”

There are exceptions for parts of the Highlands and north and west coast of Scotland where filling stations up there are covered by an exemption process and allowed to continue to market the 95-octane E5 grade.

I am hearing reports from VMCC members that some supermarket outlets are not stocking Super E5. How do we know if they are a million litre per annum station? Should there not be a requirement to display this information? Simple maths would suggest that any station that has more than 100 customers a day is likely to be over this threshold. And, if you come across stations that are refusing to stock E5 Super, to whom do you write? Do you report them to your local Trading Standards office? What is the status of the ‘protection grade’ agreement? Is it being flouted deliberately perhaps so that later the industry can say there is no demand for this grade of fuel? (Sorry, need to avoid conspiracy theorising!)

So where can you get E5 ‘protection grade’? Asda says it will not be selling E5 protection grade despite the one million litres per year rule. E10 will be the standard grade of petrol at BP’s retail sites across the UK and will be labelled as such, but E5 will remain available at BP sites that carry two grades of petrol. (There is an interactive map to BP stations at https://www.bp.com/ en_gb/united-kingdom/home/ products-and-services/our-sites/ find-your-nearest-bp).

Around 200 of Esso’s 1200 branded service stations in the UK will no longer sell E5 petrol. The remaining 1000 sites will continue to sell E5 as Synergy Supreme+ 99 premium petrol. Esso stations can be found via www.esso.co.uk/engb/find-station

Sainsbury’s says that most of its 300+ sites will continue to sell

E5. You can search for your nearest Sainsbury’s at https://stores. sainsburys.co.uk

Shell V-Power is the company’s ‘protection grade’ fuel, meaning it will remain as E5. It will be available to the majority of Shell’s 1000 UK forecourts – see www.shell.co.uk/ motorist/shell-station-locator

Tesco will continue to offer E5 petrol at the majority of its 600 garages locatable via www.tesco. com/store-locator

At Texaco garages, E10 petrol will be called Texaco 95 Octane Premium Unleaded. The company has said in its guidance to customers that E5 will continue to be available at many forecourts as Texaco Supreme Unleaded. Petrol will be clearly labelled as either E10 or E5 to avoid confusion. Texaco stations can be located via https://texaco.co.uk/ pages/store-locator.aspx

Are these commitments going to be honoured on the ground and out in the sticks? Why has Asda gone against the ‘protection grade’ agreement? Surely most of its stations are well over the one million litres a year threshold?

If your readers come across major filling stations that do not stock Super E5 they need to report it. Might you run an Efuels watch column to report on problems and solutions?

Roger Bibbings, convenor – VMCC Regulatory Advisory Group