Discussions about E0 type gasoline are considered a populist agenda lacking technical basis. Such discussions arose after the government announced its intention to increase the ethanol content in gasoline from 32% to 35%, under the claim that this would be permitted by the Future Fuel Law.
However, the text points out that this permission for new percentages must always be conditioned on proving 'technical viability.'
Other issues regarding ethanol
Since August, the government had already increased the ethanol content from 30% to 32% (E32) without conducting the mandatory tests stipulated by legislation. The Mauá Institute, responsible for this analysis, only performed drivability tests, neglecting durability and compatibility tests, which means it was not assessed whether the ethanol could damage components susceptible to oxidation.
Additionally, the federal government ignored the protests of motorcycle manufacturers, represented by Abraciclo, who alleged that the new percentage (E32) was affecting the operation of motorcycles.
This increase, classified as 'provisional' by the government, generated several doubts about gasoline, although about 80% of the car fleet has flex engines, making the alcohol content irrelevant to them. However, the financial impact falls on the driver, since a higher ethanol content implies higher consumption and monthly costs.
Several proposals were presented by parliamentarians, who, according to the article, lack knowledge about fuels, suggesting unleaded gasoline (E0) or gasoline with only 10% ethanol (E10), with the aim of allowing the driver to choose what is most suitable for their vehicle. These parliamentarians, however, are unaware of the concept of octane rating, which is the fuel's ability to resist detonation under the high pressure of the piston in the cylinder.
Without adequate octane rating, the mixture can explode before the spark plug fires, compromising performance, operation, and potentially leading to engine failure. Only very old engines with low compression ratios would be capable of operating with this low-octane gasoline.
Technical viability of the proposals
In summary, the E0 proposal is technically unfeasible. Similarly, E10 would be difficult to implement due to the low ethanol content, which would decrease efficiency and could cause damage to engines. The proposed levels of zero or only 10% ethanol would require the refinery to produce a more expensive and complex fuel to achieve an octane rating above 90 RON. Currently, regular/additive gasoline has 94 RON, while Premium reaches about 100 RON.
Therefore, suggestions to offer gasoline 'to the consumer's taste' are impractical in reality, except perhaps for a small group of older models that do not require high octane and are sensitive to ethanol, specifically benefiting vehicles like the Fordinho 29.