Marker system to detect fuel adulteration unveiled

New Delhi, Oct 4 (UNI) Petroleum Minister Murli Deora while of the opinion that adulteration of fuels like diesel and petrol was a social menace, today introduced a new marker system to detect adulteration in these fuels including kerosene and to ensure quality to the customer.

The Minister said, ''We are all familiar within the oil industry.

We are committed to fight the forces that adulterate petroleum products. This step is not only aimed at checking adulteration but is also meant to ensure that under privileged sections of the society get their due quantity of heavily subsidised kerosene for cooking and other purposes.'' He added that the new generation marker system will also ensure quality to customers of diesel and petrol. The adulteration of diesel and petrol with marker-blended kerosene would immediately show-up when tested, using a simple kit through a simple visual check.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachauri, present during the launch, complemented the oil industry.

The new marker system being introduced for the first time by the oil Industry, in alignment with international practices is expected to curb, to a large extent, auto fuel adulteration using kerosene.

Adulteration in auto fuels is essentially driven by the huge price difference between auto fuels like petrol&diesel and potential adulterants like kerosene, naphtha and other industrial aromatic solvents. In the first phase, the marker will be introduced in the entire quantity of kerosene that is supplied by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).

Based on examination by Petroleum Planning&Analysis Cell alongwith OMCs, the marker system developed by M/s Authentix was found to meet the various characteristics and requirements identified by the Oil Industry. The dosing of markers in kerosene will now be carried out at Oil Terminals/Depots of OMCs.

The revolutionary marker will provide a new thrust to the oil companies, which have been facing the scourge of adulteration for a long time now. Field trials using the marker were initially conducted successfully by the oil industry, after which it is now slated for an all-India launch.

All kerosene supplied by OMCs will now be marked at the terminals/depots of the oil companies. In the first instance, test kits will be provided to the field officers of OMCs to enable them to check for adulteration of auto fuels during their inspections.

The tests are simple and it is possible to visually detect even small traces of kerosene eg 1 per cen in auto fuels using a simple but highly accurate and effective test kit.

Speaking about other measures to check adulteration, Mr Deora informed that the Petroleum Ministry has been taking several steps to check adulteration of auto fuels. Periodic monitoring undertaken by the OMCs in conjunction with the state Government authorities and the tracking of tank trucks through Global Positioning System are some of the recent initiatives.

The OMC have also launched automated facilities in their retail outlets with tank level sensors and digital dispensers connected to a server that monitors that quantity of the product stored and dispensed through the nozzles. With the help of cutting edge technology, the oil companies now control the entire supply chain from Oil Terminals to Retail Outlets.

The various IT-enabled initiatives are therefore aimed at securing product transfer between the supply locations and petrol stations. It covers the entire retail outlet forecourt&back office operations, including monitoring through electronic gauges, temperature and density measurement through sensors, besides dispenser unit controls that are linked to an automatic bill printing facility.

Seeking cooperation of all concerned, Mr Deora said that we need to be vigilant at all times to ensure that adulteration is rooted out of the system completely. The nefarious elements, which indulge in adulteration, need to be tackled by efficient coordination with the policing authorities at both the Centre and state Government levels. ''I seek the cooperation of all concerned in ensuring that only quality products are made available at all times''.

While the quantum of leakages estimated may vary, but the fact of the matter is that the nation is losing precious resources.

Way back in 1990, the Oil industry first introduced blending of kerosene with furfural, in order to detect adulteration of petrol and diesel.

This programme had certain limitations. Also furfural being toxic in nature posed problems in blending especially at port locations, with the liberlisation of the oil sector, large quantities of kerosene from Parallel Marketing network entered the market.

This was joined by the numerous other products like aromatic solvents, all of which were potential adulterants in both petrol and diesel. Subsequently, bio-markers like oronite and spectrace markers were also experimented with by the oil industry.

However, the operational issues of correct dosage and availability of test-kits were a major deterrent. In view of the limitations in the system of marking the fuels, a decision was taken to examine the feasibility of marking potential adulterants instead, which was found to be a better and more conclusive system to detect adulteration.

UNI RT RA KN1908