ADULTERATION OF FUEL: A HUMAN SELF-INFLICTED DISASTER

Happy new month steemians!

Like I rightly mentioned in my last article, I've been working on a nonprofit project for the past 2 months alongside an amazing group of volunteers. Actually, this project was conducted in a rural community (south-eastern part of Nigeria), and the main aim was to provide educational awareness to indigenes of this village. Well... Since the hotel where one could possibly lounge and feel safe was quite a distance from the village, we had to rent an apartment and live amongst the people.

The human heart is hopelessly dark and wicked. Of a truth, it's a puzzle that no one can figure out

[Source: Yours faithfully]

The picture above is that of Mrs. Elizabeth Benedict, a widow and mother of six children who happened to be our next door neighbor. According to her, on the 21st of August her world came crumbling down when the product she bought which was meant to serve the family's need exploded on her face as soon as she lighted her kerosene stove.

Unfortunately, in this part of the world, Elizabeth isn't the only victim of adulterated fuel. Issues like this are frequently seen on a daily basis. The sad thing is that due to financial constraint and poor health care services in this vicinity, incidents of fuel adulteration has left most of the victims incapacitated and lurked in unimaginable pains.

Inasmuch as cases like that of Mrs. Elizabeth Benedict are regarded as domestic accident, yet, you'll agree with me that fuel adulteration culprits are quite aware of the resultant effects of their inhumane act. The only people that are ignorant here are the victims.

So on that note, we can say that it's a situation where humans sacrifice the lives of others so they could make few bucks. There's definitely nothing accidental about that... Also, aside from claiming the lives of innocent people, there are several other catastrophic effects of fuel adulteration. Hence, in this article, we'll be looking at some of those destructive effects of fuel adulteration, as well as how we could curb this menace.

But first, we need to understand what fuel adulteration really is, and the factors that encourages this criminal act

Over the years, although incidents of adulteration of fuel is quite rampant, most people still can't make out the concept behind this unscrupulous act since issues like these are frequently swept under the carpet by top figures in the government. However, from the explanation given by the energy regulatory commission (ERC), we can define adulteration of fuel as the process whereby fuels are contaminated and their quality weakened due to the addition of inferior fuels or substances that are not allowed either for legal or other reasons.

Truth be told, adulteration of fuel does not only occur when inferior quality fuels are mixed together with the good ones. In most cases (especially the ones triggered by small and medium size petroleum resellers), fuels are adulterated through the addition of quality kerosene to quality petrol and vice versa.

For instance, in this part of the world, a litre of kerosene goes for 250 naira ($0.69), while a litre of petrol is 145 naira ($0.40). Just imagine the margin. When these resellers consider the profit they could make from selling a particular fuel, this thought lures them into compromising their products.

Furthermore, aside from the fact that these petroleum resellers are selfishly trying to maximize profit, fuel scarcity is a significant factor that initiates the idea of adulteration of fuel to majority of them. As a matter of fact, even some of the branded petrol stations are also getting involved in this inhumane act. The reason why it's easier for branded petrol stations to get involved is because most of the developing countries are less concern about the issue of fuel adulteration. Dirty fuels are exported and imported into the country, and as well distributed to retail outlets without the department for petroleum resources interfering. Unfortunately, while the culprits flourish in this immoral line of business, innocent consumers automatically become the victims of the impending consequences.

Effects of adulteration of fuel

From the story of Mrs. Elizabeth Benedict and the ones you might have either witnessed or read about, you'll agree with me that the aftermath of fuel adulteration has never been a pleasant experience. Therefore, in situations where these adulterated fuels are used indoors, it could result in loss of lives and properties.

At the same time, usage of fuels that have been adulterated is the major factor responsible for malfunctioning in machine engines and other component parts of vehicles. For instance, in cases where kerosene is added to petrol for whatsoever reason, if this mixture is used, it automatically knocks the engine of such a machine or vehicle. This is because, in a normal condition, petrol is able to burn completely and smoothly in engines due to its low boiling point. However, this is not the case for kerosene whose boiling point is way higher than that of petrol. Hence, mixing these two different fractions of crude oil will only upset the normal up and down motion of the pistons thereby resulting in abnormal 'pinking' sounds.

Also, it might interest you to know that since petrol burn completely and smoothly in engines, it produces a non-sooty flame. On the other hand, kerosene burn too rapidly (less completely), and that's why it produces a sooty flame. Consequently, if these fuel fractions are mixed together and used to power machines and vehicles, its effect goes beyond knocking of engines to pollution of the environment. Also, according to researchers, absence of sulphur in petrol and presence of sulphur in kerosene goes a long way to explain why the environment is polluted by machines and vehicles that make use of adulterated fuel. The presence of sulphur in the adulterated fuel is what triggers the increase emission of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and other particulates of matter that intoxicates the air from tail-pipe. In return, the polluted air leads to distortion in the carbon-oxygen balance of the earth, as well as health problems due to exposure to cancer-causing pollutants

Can the world ever be free from adulteration of fuel?

The truth is, when considering the factors that encourages adulteration of fuel, it might seem like a disease with no tangible cure. Yet, personally I believe that the above question deserves all the yeses it could possibly get. I'm an optimist; so you should understand the reason why I'm a little assertive.

I have this strong conviction that the oil companies and refineries are the root of this problem. This is because some of these oil companies really don't care about the quality of fuels they produce, as far as they're making profit from it. So, in order to checkmate this particular area, I feel this is where the energy regulatory commission (ERC) comes in. With the use of biochemical fuel markers, oil companies producing substandard fuels, as well as private depots that distribute adulterated fuels will be caught and severely penalized.

For the small and medium size petroleum resellers, security personnel or task-force can help curtail the atrocious act of fuel adulteration by monitoring the business frequently and punishing the offenders.

With that being said, the populace also have an important role to play in order to make the work easier for the different enforcement agencies. This can be done by reporting individuals who are involved in adulteration of fuel. By so doing, the incidence will be reduced to the barest minimum level.

For Further Reading...

Dangers of using adulterated fuel. Retrieved on the 30th October, 2018.
Drastic drop in fuel adulteration after ERC tightens grip on culprits. Retrieved on the 30th October, 2018.
Adulterated fuel: task-force to monitor private depots. Retrieved on the 30th October, 2018.

Image source
Images are from flickr and pixabay (except otherwise stated), all licensed under creative commons and eligible for commercial use.