Flex Fuel Technology

India’s first ‘flex fuel’ car, developed as part of a pilot project is set for an unveiling.

Key Points:

About

Flex Fuel Technology

A flex-fuel or flexible fuel vehicle is one which can run on more than one type of fuel or even a mixture of fuels rather than conventional petrol or diesel.

These vehicles have an internal combustion engine and are capable of operating on gasoline and any blend of gasoline and ethanol up to 83%.

Flex fuel vehicles (FFV) are capable of running on 100 per cent petrol or 100 per cent bio-ethanol or a combination of both.

However, the most commonly used flex-fuels use 85% ethanol and 15% petrol but this ratio can be adjusted to feature more petrol.

The adoption of flexible engines is part of a broader strategy to cut down on the country’s dependence on imported crude in the medium-to-long run.

Advantages of Flex-Fuel

Cleaner Fuel:

As flex-fuel features a blend of ethanol and petrol, it a cleaner burning fuel than pure petrol or diesel

Flexible Usage:

Flex-fuel engines are designed to be used with any blend of ethanol and petrol.

Sustainable Source:

Ethanol and methanol are more sustainable fuels that are sourced from food crops like corn and sugar cane.

Disadvantages:

Inadequate Infrastructure:

- The greatest barrier to flex-fuel adoption is the infrastructure investment required to make the switch.

Increased Engine Wear:

- While the engines will be designed to adjust to the blend of fuel used, the ethanol component in the flex-fuel will cause greater wear and stress on the engines.

Lower Mileage:

While ethanol burns cleaner, it also contains less energy than pure petrol. Thus, a flex-fuel car will use more fuel as compared to a conventional petrol car.