Bimmer Owners Club

What is E10 fuel and why is it being introduced? The reason E10 fuel has been introduced as the standard grade fuel at forecourts across the country is to try and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. This fuel is made up on 90% regular unleaded petrol and 10% ethanol. Current petrol grades in the UK (E5) contain up to 5% ethanol, with the rest being regular unleaded petrol. The Government claims that the introduction of E10 petrol at UK forecourts could cut transport CO2 emissions by 750,000 tonnes a year – the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars off the road. Can E10 Petrol be used in my car? All cars registered since 2011 are required to be E10 compatible and for any that are older than this, the Government have produced a simple online checker. However, the RAC estimate there to be up to 600,000 vehicles currently on the UK roads not to be compatible. All petrol engine BMW models are cleared for the use of E10 petrol regardless of their year of manufacture but the minimum octane required should be observed according to the owner's manual. What is E10 Petrol? Throughout September 2021, forecourts have been replacing the current 'E5' petrol with 'E10' fuel, which contains more renewable ethanol. This change only applies to standard (95 octane) petrol, and doesn't affect diesels. The change comes as part of the government's plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel-powered cars by 2030, with E10 petrol predicted to reduce transport carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 750,000 tonnes a year; the equivalent of removing 350,000 cars from the roads. It's worth noting that the transition to E10 petrol could see an increase in fuel consumption, although experts believe this would only be an increase of around one percent, which should be barely noticeable in day-to-day driving. What is Ethanol? Ethanol is an alcohol-based fuel that is derived from a range of plants, including corn and sugarcane, through a process called fermentation. The problem with regular unleaded petrol is that it's not carbon neutral, meaning the whole process from refining the fuel to it being burned by an internal combustion engine (ICE) results in more CO2 being emitted than absorbed. However, ethanol is said to be partially carbon-neutral. As the plants that will become biofuel grow, they absorb more carbon dioxide than what will be produced through the fuel refinement and combustion process. It's believed that the greenhouse gases absorbed during the production of ethanol partially offsets the resulting CO2 produced by petrol-powered cars. How does it affect classic cars? It's highly unlikely that any classic car will be able to run on E10 petrol without damage occurring to components such as the fuel pump or fuel hoses. Components such as seals and plastics could get damaged by prolonged use because of ethanol's corrosive properties Ethanol is also hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture from the air, which can pose a problem in older cars that don't utilise a closed-loop fuel system. In other words, classic cars that are left standing for long periods will be susceptible to potential corrosion within the fuel system, and could run poorly if they aren't used regularly. We'd recommend making the switch to super-unleaded petrol when E10 is introduced to prevent any issues. Although the ethanol present in super-unleaded (E5) fuel can still cause issues in the long-term, the lower amount of ethanol should reduce the likelihood of issues arising in the future, as well as offset the increased price of fuel. When was E10 petrol introduced in the UK? E10 petrol was introduced to forecourts across the UK from September 2021. With CO2 emissions set to be reduced because of this change, it should help the UK meet its climate change targets without it affecting the majority of motorists. However, there's no need to worry if your vehicle is incompatible with E10 fuel, because super unleaded petrol will still be available as E5. While your fuel bill will technically go up, it will work out cheaper than dealing with the issues that can be caused by E10 fuel inside incompatible cars. Official Government link to check if your vehicle can run on E10: https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-e10-petrol Original Article Source: https://www.evanshalshaw.com/blog/what-is-e10-petrol/

So what's behind the crisis? The key issue is there aren't enough drivers to supply petrol. There's an estimated shortage of more than 100,000 HGV drivers and petrol is only the latest industry to be hit. The lack of drivers has caused problems for a range of industries - from supermarkets to fast food chains. Fuel tanker drivers need additional safety qualifications on top of their HGV licence to be able to transport chemicals such as petrol. How did the petrol shortage start? Late last week, oil firm BP warned that it would have to "temporarily" close a handful of its petrol stations, because of a lack of lorry drivers. Long queues started to build up outside stations across Great Britain over the weekend, amid fears that petrol might run out. Urban areas have been hardest hit, while Northern Ireland has been unaffected. The panic buying was said to be caused by media reports of a leaked government briefing discussing the shortage of HGV drivers. Some analysts and politicians linked the driver shortage to Brexit, although transport secretary Grant Shapps denied this, whilst others blamed the COVID-19 pandemic. What caused the driver shortage? There are a number of reasons - and many countries across Europe have been affected - but the UK has been especially badly hit. After Brexit, many European drivers returned to their home countries, or moved elsewhere, because working in the UK involved additional border bureaucracy which had an impact on their income. The pandemic saw even more drivers return to their home countries, with few coming back. Meanwhile, some older drivers have retired and there is a huge backlog in HGV driver tests due to Covid. Has the petrol shortage improved? The PRA - which represents nearly 5,500 of the UK's 8,000 filling stations - says that "trying to calm this down appears to be a monumental task at the moment". It says that more than a quarter (27%) of its members' petrol stations were out of fuel on Thursday, compared with two-thirds on Sunday. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said there were signs that the petrol crisis was "stabilising" and urged people to buy petrol as they normally would. There has been no improvement in petrol supplies at independent petrol stations since Wednesday, according to industry body the Petrol Retailers Association "There's been no easing off of the pressure from drivers wanting to refuel whenever they can, wherever they can, " said PRA chairman Brian Madderson. The government had said it thought the situation was starting to get better. What is the government currently doing? The Ministry of Defence is preparing about 150 qualified military drivers to deliver fuel - and has another 150 personnel ready to support them. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) says it will also draw on some of the reserve fleet of 80 tankers which the government keeps for emergencies. Other measures include: A suspension of competition law between oil firms, which the government said would make it easier for companies to share information about fuel supply, and prioritise areas most in need An offer of temporary visas to 5,000 foreign fuel tanker and food lorry drivers (as well as 5,500 poultry workers) in the run-up to Christmas - although some business organisations, such as the British Chambers of Commerce have criticised this as "insufficient" The process for getting an HGV driver licence will be sped up, and nearly one million letters have been sent to existing HGV drivers to encourage them back into the industry, plus there are plans to train 4,000 others Can key workers get fuel? The doctors' body the BMA, the teachers' union NASUWT and some politicians including London Mayor Sadiq Khan want key workers to be given priority access to petrol stations to avoid disruption to essential services. However, the government hasn't announced plans to prioritise key workers as it did with nursery and school places during the pandemic. Is there a limit on how much petrol I can buy? The government has powers to limit how much fuel drivers can buy, and the hours when they can buy it, but there's no indication it plans to use them. Some petrol stations have introduced a £30 cap on the amount of petrol people can buy. However, the PRA said it didn't want garage staff to be put at risk "confronting" customers. Is petrol in danger of running out? No - oil companies have stressed there is plenty of fuel available. They say that the shortage is being caused by "temporary spikes in customer demand" - or as PRA chairman Brian Madderson put it, "panic buying, pure and simple". The government has claimed media coverage has inflamed the situation. What's happening to fuel prices? Petrol prices are at an eight-year high. The average petrol price at UK forecourts was 135.19p a litre on Monday, up from 134.86p a week earlier. The price of a litre of diesel rose from 137.35p to 137.95p over the same period. The RAC has said it's aware of a small number of retailers "hiking prices" in the current crisis.