Introduction:
Africa’s population is growing quickly and is expected to reach 2.4 billion people by 2050. By 2100, more than one third of the world’s population (around 4.1 billion people) will live in Africa. Meanwhile, many African countries have a strong economic growth rate, which means that more people will own a car. Africa’s transition to sustainable transport is therefore crucial to reduce global transport emissions. Fuel quality as well as solid regulation are key to mitigate transport emissions in Africa and preserve air quality in densely-populated African cities.
Way forward:
Most African countries have already started regulating their fuel market and monitoring air quality to make sure vehicles are less polluting. However, there is still room for improvement especially as far as fuel quality is concerned. A solid regulatory framework is also needed not only for the fuel market, but also for tank storage, and fuel transportation to ensure fuels are handled in a safe and environmentally-friendly manner.
Role of fuel ethers:
Fuel ethers can play a significant role in reducing transport emissions in Africa without requiring an additional investment. They are compatible with the existing refinery infrastructure, fuel supply and distribution system.
By raising the oxygen content of petrol, fuel ethers, a blending component of petrol, enable a more complete combustion of fuel, resulting in improved vehicle performance and fuel efficiency, lower exhaust emissions and improved air quality. With fuel ethers, more petrol is burned inside the engine rather than expelled through the exhaust system into the atmosphere, allowing for cleaner-running engines.
Fuel ethers decrease a variety of toxic emissions from vehicles, in particular:
- Carbon monoxide by 14%
- Toxics by 23%
- Particulate matter (PM) by 1%
- Benzene by 37%
In addition, high quality fuels also contribute to decreasing CO2 emissions. High-performing engines combined with high quality petrol can improve efficiency by nearly 30%, which means that consumers will drive longer on the same petrol tank. Thus, less petrol is burnt, which reduces CO2 emissions.
Contact:
For more information, please contact:
Sustainable Fuels
a sector group of Cefic
Rue Belliard 40 b.15
B-1040 Brussels Belgium
EU Transparency Register n° 64879142323-90
E-Mail: info (at) Sustainable Fuels (dot) eu,
Tel: +32 2 436 94 82