Spiked petrol
Two Indian researchers have developed a blend that consists of only 50 per cent petrol and the rest being industrial alcohol and 1-4 per cent co-solubliser. The alcohol has 95 per cent ethyl alco-hol and five per cent water. C Chiranjeevi, a member of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research panel of chemical engineering and his student P V Ravi Kumar at the Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, say the fuel provides higher efficiency at higher operating speeds, better combustion and reduced emissions of pollutants. The cost of the fuel would also be less than that of petrol. When the blend was tested in cars, they gave more mileage than petrol while running at high speed. However, the fuel cannot be used in near-zero degree temperatures. P V Ravi Kumar says that the blend can be used in cars without making any modification in the engine. The fuel has been patented as aquapetrohol.