Sometimes back someone in this forum shared a link to
bdafrica.com about plans by the government to introduce ethanol as a mandatory blend to petrol. and allusion was made that this is going to make it cheaper. Ive been racking my brain trying to decide if this was a superb idea or just something they copy pasted with little regard to facts on the ground.
FACT 1:
current production of ethanol is exhaustively sold to other markets. (industrial spirit, beverage spirits both locally and regionally). Demand at the moment is higher than supply.
FACT 2
Ethanol as currently sold costs about 60 Ksh before tax. (last time i asked a barrel was coming to about 55). To blend ethanol with gasoline, it needs to be 99 percent pure. The ethanol sold is 94.6, it needs to go through molecular sieves to remove the water that remains cause it cant be removed by simple distillation. Now add the following to the cost: transport, shipping & handling, TAXES, the volume decrease in removing the 4 percent water and processing costs.
FACT 3:
Ethanol has a higher octane , (burns slower) and thus will decrease overall kick of the E15 resultant fuel. which means youll need more by up to a factor of 5 percent.
FACT 4:
Mumias, by far the largest sugar factory is planning to put a 25 million liter plant, we need 250 million to enforce an E5 (5 percent ethanol). Assuming its even profitable, what happens to mumias' other core business.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST.
As long as there is a price difference in ethanol blended fuel and ordinary fuel, and as long as both exist in kenya side by side. it will be a matter of time before it dies a natural death. (its like the whole project for subsidized maize flour they tried in slum areas of nairobi).
A Skunk's Recommendation:
1: City council to ban any petrol vehicles in CBD, just cap it and say only public transportation vehicles allowed in the city are those that run on ethanol.
2: Whole of government to run on ethanol. (then they can even retain their +1800cc guzzlers.
3: any other skunk suggestion...