Converting ethanol into bio-ethers removes barriers to its introduction into petrol. Fuel ethers remove the concern over the so-called “co-mingling” of different batches of fuel containing different levels of bio-ethanol. Low levels of bio-ethanol in petrol show non-linear volatility behaviour. If two batches of petrol containing different levels of bio-ethanol are mixed together then the resulting blend could have a higher than expected volatility. This could result in it going out of specification, which is a major concern, given the prevalence of shared storage in the European oil industry.
Bio-ethers are also compatible with the hardware used in the distribution systems and in older vehicles. It is worth remembering that the average age of a car in the EU is around 7 years old. Likewise, there is no need to dry the distribution system in order to prevent water being dissolved in the petrol.
