Ethanol and the auto industry

EssEnce5, a fuel accepted and guaranteed by all

EssEnce5 is not a problem for drivers, since their cars do not need any alteration or adjustment. Here are some facts about essEnce5:

• it complies with fuel standards for conventional cars (Swiss standard SN EN 228)
• it has already been tried and tested in Sweden (5% v/v) and the US (10% v/v) 
  
• auto manufacturers give an unconditional guarantee on its use in cars.

Vapour pressure

Adding 5% ethanol to petrol increases vapour pressure by some 7 kPa, which exceeds the limits for petrol set by the standard (it increases the evaporation rate). Measurements carried out across Europe show that volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions hardly increase at normal European temperatures. Moreover, for several years now cars have been fitted with canisters that filter and trap any VOCs that might escape from petrol tanks when vehicles are parked in the summer sun. In the light of these factors, the European Commission proposed a new standard for petrol early in 2007, which will allow essEnce5 to comply with the regulations.

Ethanol85 and essEnce10

The development of flexible fuel or flex-fuel vehicles (FFV), designed to operate on E85 (85% ethanol and 15% petrol) was pioneered in Sweden early this decade. Today, these vehicles are being marketed by several European carmakers, mostly in Germany, France and Switzerland. These flex-fuel cars differ little from the basic models, but can run on both E85 and petrol. This is a considerable advantage until this new fuel becomes more widely available at the pump.
As for conventional cars, they can run perfectly well with 10% bioethanol blends without any alteration. Early in 2007, therefore, the European Commission proposed to allow a blend of 10% ethanol in all types of petrol.
Quant aux voitures traditionnelles, elles sont parfaitement à même de circuler avec 10% de bioéthanol sans nécessiter de modification. La Commission européenne a donc proposé, début 2007, d’autoriser le mélange de 10% d’éthanol dans tous les types d'essence.