Does E5 gasoline damage the engine?

Does E5 gasoline damage the engine? (Photo: IT)

Fear of machine damage

A series of readers have reported to Dan Viet and complained on their personal pages about problems with using E5 gasoline that need to be explained.

According to reader Ta Duc Anh, after testing E5 gasoline for Suzuki Viva, the car kept jerking like gasoline mixed with water.

Nguyen That also reported that when driving in the rain, he could smell a burning smell. Sharing the same opinion, Le Hoang Tu said that after using E5 gasoline, if he pulled the throttle at high speed, the Cub 50 would not be smooth and would smell more burning than RON 95 and RON 92 gasoline.

Reader Manh Quyen also said that when switching to E5, the car would immediately die after starting, it took about 10 times of dying before it could run again, but the car was not fast, the engine was sluggish as if it had water.

However, many people like Vu Quy Thang or Le Hung have the opposite opinion: "I have been using E5 gasoline for 2 years now and have no problems. I also transport goods for hire so I use it regularly," Thang said.

According to a reader, E5 gasoline has 5% Ethanol, for alcohol, the degree must be 90, then it will have a fragrant smell, below this degree it will have a foul smell. Meanwhile, Ethanol is soluble in water, so who can be sure that the gas stations do not add water.

Should organize inspection for vehicle engines

Many readers are also worried about whether using E5 gasoline is more likely to cause fire or explosion. Whether the engine is damaged or not can only be determined by inspection, so the authorities need to organize inspections of some types of vehicle engines to see which types are not suitable for E5 gasoline and give warnings to users.

At a recent online discussion organized by Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper, answering similar questions from readers, Associate Professor, Dr. Huynh Quyen - Deputy Head of Science and Technology Department of Ho Chi Minh City National University, said that most engines using A92 gasoline can use E5 fuel. Therefore, manual transmission vehicles, scooters and motorbikes that can use A92 can also use E5.

Regarding concerns about water seeping into the engine when using E5 gasoline, Associate Professor Dr. Huynh Quyen said that concerns about the water absorption capacity of E5 and E10 biofuels are completely justified because ethanol itself has the ability to absorb water from the environment. However, the current blending and storage of E5 biofuel must comply with the regulations in the QCVN standards for biofuels. This reduces the water absorption capacity of E5.

“According to our most recent studies at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, the water absorption process of the two fuels E5 and E10 during storage in Ho Chi Minh City's climate conditions does occur. However, with a storage time of 90 days, these two fuels completely meet the technical standards prescribed for use as a replacement for A92. There is no phenomenon of water separation or phase separation due to the water content in the fuel,” Dr. Quyen emphasized.

Answering the question about which unit will inspect, control, and take samples of gasoline to evaluate the quality of E5 gasoline? Mr. Pham Dang Tin - Head of Inspection Department of the Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality of Ho Chi Minh City said: Each imported shipment of the sources is inspected for quality. If it meets the requirements, the enterprise is allowed to import and put into circulation.

However, concerns about gasoline quality that some gas stations may take advantage of the State's policy to mix impurities into E5 gasoline for profit, or under-measure for customers... have also been reported by many readers.

However, regarding this issue, many experts believe that this concern is well-founded and that this is also a difficult problem for authorities to control at present.

Reader Nguyen Van Minh said that the appearance of Japanese gas stations has created competition, forcing many gas stations of major domestic gas companies to change their service style. “Now, when filling up at some gas stations, I see that before filling up, the staff will put the meter needle to 0 and point it at the customer before filling up, unlike before, when they just filled up in the next way to find a way to “pickpocket” customers. However, those are only gas stations of some major brands, but small retail gas stations will certainly be very difficult to change and difficult to control,” said Nguyen Van Minh.

Speaking to reporters, Associate Professor, Dr. Ngo Tri Long - former Director of the Institute for Price Market Research (Ministry of Finance) said: "Whether or not using E5 gasoline affects the engine remains to be verified. In fact, although other countries have used Ethanol gasoline, the quality of their mineral gasoline and Ethanol gasoline is very good, while our mineral gasoline still has smuggled gasoline that can be mixed in while it is not known whether the quality of the Ethanol gasoline we produce ourselves is guaranteed or not...", Mr. Long said.

Phi Long