PetroVietnam Oil North Company, a member of state-owned PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil), will introduce the new fuel known as Gasohol E5 at two gas stations in Hanoi between September 15 and 20.
The bio-fuel imported from China will also be implemented for trial usage in 50 taxis (both four-seat and seven-seat vehicles) belonging to member companies of the Hanoi Taxi Association.
“Our preparations are completed and after the launching, the fuel will be sold regularly in the market,” says Vu Thanh Ha, general director of PetroVietnam Biogas Join-stock Company (PVB) under PV Oil, which imports and supplies the fuel.
Made from 5 percent of ethanol of 99.6 percent and 95 percent of A92 fuel, Gasohol E5 is expected to be priced at VND16,500 (US$1) per liter, cheaper than A92 and A95 fuels costing VND17,000 and VND17,500 respectively.
It also makes engines run more smoothly, increases engine power, decreases toxic gas emissions and helps users save money, Ha said.
Experiments have shown the octane number (indication of fuel’s potential for exploding) and the benzene concentration (toxic liquid from petroleum) of Gasohol E5 are safe, says Le Kim Dien, a representative of the National Key Laboratory for Petrochemical and Refinery Technologies under the Hanoi-based Institute of Industrial Chemistry.
Ha said PVB initially imports the fuel from China for trial usage and later will produce it at an $80-million factory in Tam Nong District of the northern Phu Tho Province. The technology for making the bio-fuel is imported from the US
Covering an area of 50 hectares, the factory is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year and will have a production capacity of 100,000 cubic meters of ethanol fuel per year.
The first locally-produced ethanol fuel will be available in the second quarter of 2010, according to Ha.
PVB also plans to plant around 35,000 hectares of cassavas and sugar cane – the raw materials for producing the bio-fuel - in six northern provinces of Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai, Son La, Tuyen Quang and Hoa Binh.
The cultivation project will create jobs and stable incomes for more than20,000 agricultural workers, Ha said.
Bui Van Anh, the director of the central Da Nang University who has many years of experience researching alternative fuels, said with ethanol fuel usage, consumers should replace some rubber components of the engine with materials that can endure ethanol’s chemical properties.
“Producers need to conduct careful research on the effects of the fuel on engine deterioration and inform consumers in the case of significant amounts of alcohol in the fuel,” he said.
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INFORMATION ABOUT ETHANOL FUEL
Ethanol fuel is partly made from ethanol (ethyl alcohol), the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is widely used in cars in Brazil.
It can be mass-produced by fermentation of sugar or by hydration of ethylene from petroleum and other sources.
Since it can be easily produced and is processed from common crops like sugar cane and corn, ethanol fuel is an increasingly common alternative to other types of fuel in some parts of the world.
US and Brazil account for 88 percent of the world’s total ethanol fuel production billion gallons last year. |
Reported by Kap Thanh Long |
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