Ethanol in petrol

In USA, ethanol and methanol have been added to petrol in concentrations up to 10% for years. This has led to problems with plastic fuel tanks weakening, leaking, blistering and losing shape. Forums in USA are full of stories of warranty claims, e.g. with various Ducati and KTM bikes, and now a class-action lawsuit. But now many UK petrol stations are starting to put ethanol and/or methanol in their pump petrol. For example, see the Tesco petrol stations website at www.tesco.com/Momentum99/productBenefits-specs.asp which lists the specifications for their “Momentum 99” high-octane Ultra Low Sulphur petrol which has Research Octane number (RON) = 99.0 The specs include the alcohol content which is given as: Methanol = 3.0% ; Ethanol including bioethanol = 5.0%

The benefits are genuine and much advertised in terms of cooler running and more power (hence lower fuel consumption for same power) as well as by reducing use of fossil fuels. The possible harms caused by putting methanol/ethanol into tanks and engines not designed for them is, of course, not mentioned. Hazarding a guess, this problem may soon become endemic in UK. It would seem that neither fuel suppliers nor bike manufacturers could have bothered to test for this factor when setting the specs for the fuel, or for the grades of plastic used in fuel tanks. In view of the problems with fuel tanks in USA, I would be interested in hearing the comments of Tesco, BP etc and of Ducati & KTM UK on this issue. Would you care to ask them, Kevin? There may be material for an MCN article in this, eventually!