Australian Petrol Fuel Quality
When I first arrived in Australia from the United States a few years ago, I noticed key differences when refuelling the car at a service station. Apart from driving on the opposite side of the road, metric units for speed limits and fuel purchases, the listed octane number at the bowser was also alternatively represented.
Petrol vehicles have 72,7% market share in Australia.
The posted values for octane rating made use of RON (Research Octane Number) rather than the AKI (Anti-Knock Index) used at service stations in America. Curious about this alternative approach to fuel, and I began to ask many automotive workshop owners and service technicians their opinion on the fuel quality here in Australia. It seemed that many had poor opinions of fuel quality overall for the country, and each had a personal preference on where they purchased their fuel. With little praise for fuel quality across the general consensus, it seemed worthwhile to investigate the claims of this “norm” in the industry.
QUALITY TODAY
Australia has historically been lacking in keeping up with the most modern fuel standards of other first world countries. The reasons and justifications for this could be many. Typically, the fuel standard of a country changes after emissions regulations, and their associated laws, change first. Because there has been no major recent mandate for fuel quality change legislatively, the push for higher quality fuel standards has not followed suit. The last major change in petrol fuel standard for Australia took place in 2007. A new requirement for premium unleaded petrol to contain a maximum of 50ppm sulphur was enacted. Today’s vehicle technologies making use of a fuel standard from nearly 15 years ago has resulted in quite a number of headaches for owners and repairers alike. With the next major revision for the Australian Fuel quality Standard previously not slated to take place until 2027, the storm was well on the way.
Australia’s current fuel standard aligns with the well-outdated Euro 3 standard.
(Figure 5.3)
So where does the quality of Australian fuel stand today, and how does it compare to the rest of the world? If Australian fuel quality is truly as poor as many express, by what magnitude is it poor? Let’s first look at the current fuel quality standard for Australian fuels, you can find it linked to the EPA website.
A few key points that still stand out include; allowed tolerances for lead, MON minimum requirements for 91 RON and 95 RON grade fuels, and high sulphur tolerances for 91 and 95 RON grade fuels at 150ppm and 50ppm respectively. Many modernised fuel standards found in Europe and the United States limit sulphur content to 10ppm! Many also mandate the use of ethanol blends and deposit control chemicals as part of their standard. These components all assist in the prevention of fuel-related drivability issues while also meeting more stringent emissions regulations.
“Australian 91 octane fuel is potentially fifteen times worse than European fuel.”
While the rest of the world is currently or already making use of EURO 6 emissions and fuel quality standards, Australia is still stuck in EURO 3 for its 91 RON and EURO 4 for its 95 RON fuels. For generalities, and simplicity, let’s interpret lower sulphur content to higher fuel quality. We can infer that the standard for Australian 95 RON fuel is about 5 times worse than current European fuel. An eye-opening realization gets worse when we notice that many countries do not use, nor list a standard for 91 RON fuel. The current standard for Australian 91 RON fuel allows for nearly 15 times lower quality than the current European fuel standard.
Worldwide standards for sulphur content.
Sulphur
Why is there such a big focus on sulphur content in fuel, both in quality and regulation? As a natural component of crude oil, sulphur content has been a key topic especially as it relates to emissions. A byproduct of combusting fuel that is laden with high sulphur content is sulphur oxides and secondary particulate sulphates. These types of emissions are harmful to health, the environment, and the vehicle emission systems themselves. As the need for higher efficiency emission systems advances, protecting their integrity and functionality does as well.
“Excess sulphur byproducts poison emission systems over time.”
Fuels with low sulphur content provide low sulphonated byproduct amounts. This results in a lower potential to poison catalytic converters, selective catalytic reducers, and particulate filters. Over time, the emissions systems designed to keep unburnt fuel, oxides of nitrogen, and particulate matter out of the air can’t do their job efficiently. A more immediate effect that acidic sulphonated byproducts have on vehicles is the premature breakdown of engine oil. High service intervals combined with modern engine oil specifications yield problems when they encounter excessive sulphur-containing fuel. Even the latest highest-performing engine oil specifications on the market are susceptible to premature breakdown (oil sludge) from poor quality Australian fuel. Engine oil sludge is the severe form of an engine oil breakdown, here you can read about engine oil sludge removal. The removal of sulphur in all types and grades of fuel has become a new key requirement for meeting the latest environmental and technological needs of the world.
91 octane fuel has 69,5% market share in Australia.
FUEL OCTANE RATING
Contrary to popular belief, octane rating has nothing to do with the power, energy, or burn quality for a given fuel. It does have everything to do with stability and preventing knocking (pre-detonation) of the fuel in the engine.
Octane rating is especially important as vehicle manufacturers advance technology. The use of smaller engines that generate greater power and efficiency than previous larger engines is the new standard. A primary way they accomplish this is by increasing injection pressure, increasing the compression ratio, and boosting the system via turbo/supercharger. When these parameters are added to the mechanical system, a very stable fuel becomes a BIG requirement. Especially at high rpm and load, a fuel with a lower octane rating may detonate at undesired times. This leads to poor performance and drivability, with catastrophic engine failure as a potential outcome over time.
The increased use of higher octane rated fuels by manufacturers is the best way to safely gain performance while meeting lower emissions. This is why many countries are only using high RON octane rated fuels. The United States makes use of AKI (anti-knock index) rated fuels, an average between the old RON octane rating test, and an updated MON octane rating test. The MON (motor octane number) test is completed at higher engine speeds and temperatures. Previously, octane ratings could be easily boosted by using metallic catalysts such as lead or ferrocene. Since these substances are terribly detrimental to emissions systems, we no longer use them in our fuel. The preferred method to boost octane is to partially blend ethanol or other bio-based elements into the fuel. Ethanol has a high RON rating of 120-135 and is safe for use in emission systems.
DEPOSIT CONTROL ADDITIVES
Injectors in modern Petrol DI engines build hard to clean deposits rapidly.
From the moment fuel leaves the refinery, chemicals are added to improve fuel quality. Preventing corrosion, static build-up, and oxidized deposits from fuel breakdown are key to ensure that fuel remains safe and pure for use. A few countries have mandated the required use of deposit control chemicals at fuel retailers in their legislation. Providers of fuel to the general public ensure that fuel purchased from them assists in keeping fuel systems tidy and that the fuel maintains an adequate shelf life. A common term used by Top-Tier fuel retailers in the United States is (LAC) or “lowest additive concentration”. This is the minimum amount of cleaning chemistry required by retailers in their fuel. Although this amount is typically very low, making required use of these chemicals can drastically reduce drivability issues caused by fuel degradation. Currently, there is no mandate for deposit control chemicals, or an (LAC) in Australia. Thus, retailers are not required to use them in their fuel. If you are interested about fuel system cleaners you probably want to read our article about them.
High Quality deposit control chemistry is needed to achieve this. After one can of BG 44K® Platinum®
By a global comparison, the bar is set quite low when it comes to the Australian fuel quality standard. However, that doesn’t mean that fuel retailers are not allowed to exceed the standard. Many retailers offer fuels with qualities that exceed current specifications. Some offer fuels that encompass higher RON grades and use deposit control chemicals. Unfortunately, without regulation to raise the bar for these higher-quality fuels, there is little reason for fuel suppliers to do so. Increasing fuel quality requires additional processing (removing sulphur), ingredients (allowed octane boosters), and maintenance costs (deposit control) that inevitably get passed to the consumer. Without an improved standard addressing modern fuel quality, is a premium 98 RON indeed premium and truly 98?
WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Avoid 91 octane petrol fuel. The Australian government has committed to ensuring the country’s fuel security. Additional funds directed at fuel storage and manufacturing will aid in providing new technologies for improved fuel production and logistics. With this renewed investment into the industry, the timeline to improve Australia’s fuel standard has been advanced from 2027 to 2024.
In the meantime, the following things you can do for your vehicle during this period of low fuel standard:
Avoid the use of 91 RON fuels if possible.
Remember that these fuels allow for high sulphur and may cause engine failure in modern or high performing vehicles.
Keep the vehicle’s fuel system clean.
Premium fuels may use a small amount of cleaning chemicals but are not required to; I recommend BG 44k (petrol) or BG 245 (diesel) at your recommended service interval.
Protect your engine oil against sulphur
If you must use 91 RON fuel its best to boost the engine oil and protect against acidic sulphur byproducts, I recommend BG MOA (petrol) or BG DOC (diesel)
Ask your vehicle service provider or local mechanic what they think of Australian fuel quality. If you are a service advisor or technician yourself, recommend that your customers use high-quality fuels and avoid low octane rated fuels. And if you are a BG partnered workshop, you have customers covered from poor fuel quality issues with the BG Performance Service!
-Clinton J. Meyer
ACS Certified Petroleum Chemist working for BG Australia.
BG Products Inc.
BG Products, Inc., the leading manufacturer and supplier of automotive fuel and oil conditioners, specialty chemicals, greases, tools and equipment, is ISO 9001, 14001, 17025 and 45001 certified.
As an ISO Certified company, BG Products, Inc. is obligated to provide transparent and factual information. All products are tested and proven to provide added benefit to equipment owners.
If you want to learn more about our products and services you can contact us here.
References:
https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/environment/forum/files/IHS_Markit_Report_2016.pdf
https://www.energy.gov.au/government-priorities/energy-security/australias-fuel-security-package
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2019L00455
https://stratasadvisors.com/insights/2021/05272021-global-gasoline-quality-outlook
https://stratasadvisors.com/Services/Global-Fuel-Specifications