What are the benefits of better quality fuel?
Car companies are demanding lower-sulphur, more refined petrol and diesel fuel in Australia... but why?Over many years car companies have called for the oil industry to source better quality automotive fuel for Australian consumers.
According to the automotive industry, advanced engine technology is being held back from large-scale rollout in Australia because it's incompatible with our third-world diesel and unleaded petrol (ULP).
We asked James Hurnall, Technical Director for the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, to answer some pertinent questions and hopefully throw more light on the subject.
carsales: How does Australian fuel quality compare to other markets?
James Hurnall: Australia has some of the lowest quality fuel in the OECD and has an urgent need to harmonise with European-legislated standards. As things are currently, Australia will be several years behind Europe unless we act soon.
CO2 targets need to be considered together with standards for fuel quality and pollutant emissions, as they are all interrelated. This position is shared by many governments, research organisations and the global automotive industry.
CS: Will impending Euro 6 legislation make a difference?
JH: The anticipated environmental and health benefits of adopting Euro 6 pollutant emission legislation for light vehicles will not be realised until such time as petroleum products meeting the required standards are widely available in Australia.
These are European standards EN228 (ie: 95 RON, 10ppm sulphur, 35% v/v max aromatics, etc) for petrol quality and EN590 for diesel as well as other applicable fuel standards, for example biodiesel and ethanol blends.
CS: What are the challenges Australian petrol and diesel present to car-makers and the environment?
JH: Many vehicles with advanced new engine technology will not be compatible with Australia’s fuel quality and some OEMs will restrict certain engine variants for importing into Australia.
A higher sulphur content can lead to operability issues for vehicles, such as rough running and illumination of warning lights.
CS: Are new low-pollution engine technologies like petrol particulate filters compatible with fuel currently available in Australia?
JH: Not all low-emission technologies are compatible with Australia’s fuel quality.
CS: When will Australia's fuel quality improve?
JH: The federal government is in the final stages of setting new quality standards and has settled on the following strategy:
- Retain regular unleaded petrol (91 RON),
- Reduce sulphur in all petrol to 10ppm from July 1, 2027
- Reduce the pool average of aromatic content in petrol from 42 to 35 per cent, effective January 1, 2022
- Review the aromatic content in petrol by 2022 to set a reduced limit by 2027
This will mean that by 2027 Australia may have a similar petrol standard to that introduced in the 2012 version of the European petrol standard (EN 228).
CS: What are some of the benefits we can expect from these new fuel quality standards?
JH: Better quality fuel will result in greater fuel-efficiency and lower levels of pollution, which will in turn provide health benefits to the community.
For example, overseas studies have shown that using 95 RON (as compared to 91 RON) can improve fuel consumption by up to five per cent. This will vary depending on a range of factors including vehicle age, engine type, maintenance and usage.
CS: Will it cost the consumer more?
JH: The government’s ‘Better Fuel for Cleaner Air’ final Regulation Impact Statement (issued in August 2018) estimated the increase in cost at the pump will be minor, up to 0.9 cents per litre in 2027, rising to 1.0cpl in 2030 and then will decline.
What are the benefits of better quality fuel?
The benefits include:
- Increase fuel efficiency of up to 5%
- Low levels of pollution resulting in health benefits to the community
- OEMs can import more models that are currently not compatible with Australian fuel
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