First bioethanol-based gasoline rolled out to curb pollution
Iran produced its first bioethanol-based gasoline (E5) with an annual capacity of 1.2 billion liters, aimed at reducing pollution and expanding the use of green automotive fuel, Deputy Industry Minister Farshad Moqimi said on Monday.
Moqimi told Mehr News Agency that said the biofuel blend would lead to “a significant reduction in pollution and MTBE consumption.”
Bioethanol-based gasoline, containing up to 10% bioethanol derived from plants such as corn or sugar cane, is part of Iran’s plan to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and lower urban air pollution.
MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether), a chemical compound used to raise octane levels in gasoline, has been a standard additive since the 1970s as a replacement for lead.
The bioethanol is produced by the private Zagros Green Fuel Development Co., headquartered in Kermanshah, western Iran. Zagros was officially inaugurated on May 15 by President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Moqimi, who is also CEO of the Industrial Development & Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO), said that bioethanol-based gasoline containing the octane booster was produced at the Abadan refinery and distributed in Khuzestan province, where operational tests were successfully completed.
“So far, we have delivered over five million liters of bioethanol produced at Zagros to the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Co. (NIORDC) and the Abadan refinery,” he said.
The state fuel distributor NIORDC and the IDRO, a key arm of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, signed an agreement in late May to kickstart the production of bioethanol-based gasoline.
Under the deal, the two bodies work together to provide incentives for scaling up biofuel output and create a framework to enable refineries to easily purchase bioethanol.
Moqimi added that a second project was underway and would go online next year, doubling the annual production capacity of bioethanol-based gasoline to 2.4 billion liters.
“Plans are also in place to produce bioethanol in 30 additional units across the country.”
The deputy minister noted that Zagros, Iran’s first green fuel plant with a production capacity of 60 million liters of ethanol per year, could support the output of 1.2 billion liters of E5 gasoline annually.
Globally, bioethanol-based gasoline is recognized as E5 (5% ethanol) or E10 (10% ethanol).
It is expected to eliminate around 85 million liters of MTBE from gasoline production while boosting fuel octane levels, according to Moqimi.
Iran cranks out around 107 million liters of gasoline daily, while consumption stands at 134 million liters, leaving a deficit of about 27 million liters per day.
Since 2021, the government has spent over $3 billion annually on gasoline imports to plug the gap.
Officials hope the new green fuel initiative will ease pressure on both the supply chain and the national budget.