By
the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
On Tuesday, Alejandro Muñoz
Villalobos, President of the
Costa Rican Petroleum Refinery
(RECOPE), announced that the
sale of gasoline with ethanol,
ECO95, will be postponed, in
order to extend the deadline to
analyze this project.
"This measure creates a space of
time, and aims to broaden the
discussion and analysis at a
technical and scientific level
on the subject," said Muñoz.
This announcement was made after
former congresswoman and
representatives of the
Government questioned the
efficiency of the new ECO95
fuel.
On April 7, Natalia Díaz, a
former deputy in the 2014-2018
period, announced that she filed
a complaint (known as Recurso de
Amparo) against RECOPE's ECO95
project, forcing the consumer to
buy gasoline with Ethanol, an
arbitrary and unconstitutional
decision that could violate the
principles of reasonableness and
transparency.
"The right to property is
damaged due to damage to the
vehicle because the same expert
authorities in the matter have
opined that eventually the
gaskets, injectors and the same
fuel tank could suffer
deterioration with ethanol", was
part of the claim made by Deputy
Díaz.
"There is also an obvious injury
to the constitutional principle
of reasonableness, due to
technical reasonableness, as it
has not been demonstrated with
technical studies of the
feasibility of use without
collateral damage," said the
former deputy in her complaint.
However, RECOPE will create a
pilot program for volunteers who
want to use the fuel to verify
the performance of gasoline with
Ethanol, ECO95, in their
vehicles.
"At this moment we are working
on defining the conditions of
the volunteer program, which
will be announced in a timely
manner," said Muñoz.
RECOPE will continue with the
normal sale of Super gasoline
and Regular gasoline.
As A.M. Costa Rica reported on
April 5, RECOPE announced the
new type of gasoline, ECO95,
which contains 8 percent
ethanol. The government was
looking for reducing CO2
emissions from combustion
engines.
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According
to RECOPE
specialist,
ECO95 was in the
process of price
authorization by
the Public
Services
Regulatory
Authority. The
price proposed
by RECOPE was
₡611 colones per
liter (about
$1).
RECOPE
specialists said
that the new
ECO95 gasoline
will keep all
the
characteristics
of gasoline
known as Super
related with the
octane rating,
or octane number
#95.
They
said the main
advantage of the
new ECO95
gasoline is that
it contributes
to the reduction
of the carbon
footprint
because ethanol
used as an
oxygenating
agent will
replace the
compound methyl
tert-butyl ether
(MTBE), which is
a more polluting
additive.
RECOPE tested
the product in
engines, both in
the laboratory
and in few
vehicles owned
by the
institution that
are already
using ECO95
gasoline.
"These tests
have shown that
in cars that had
received
adequate
maintenance, the
ECO95 provides
similar
performance to
conventional
gasoline but
better
combustion
efficiency,"
said Recope on
its statement.
Some of the main
warnings
mentioned by
specialists
after using the
ECO95 gasoline
were:
- Keep
maintaining the
filters, because
the solvent
property of the
ethanol removes
more the dirt
adhered to the
gasoline tank,
and this will
make the filters
dirty faster.
- Check the
seals and
packaging that
are made of
rubber, because
rubber is
degraded by
ethanol.
- Check the
tightness of the
fuel tank top
cover (lid), to
avoid leaks of
water that could
mix with the
fuel.
According to
RECOPE experts,
fuel with
ethanol is used
in the United
States, Jamaica,
Mexico,
Argentina,
Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru,
Bolivia, Brazil,
Paraguay and
Uruguay; as well
as India, Japan,
China and much
of Europe.
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Have
you ever used
gasoline with
ethanol in your
own country? We
would like to
know your
thoughts on this
story. Send your
comments to: news@amcostarica.com
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