In this article, we will address this issue in order to make our readers more aware of how gas stations modify fuel, making it unsuitable for use and causing it to last a shorter period of time.

In addition, we will provide information on the main consequences of adulterated fuel, alerting drivers to possible situations.

We recommend that you read the content in sequence so that you can have a better understanding. However, you can select a topic that interests you the most and you will be redirected directly to it.

What is adulterated fuel?

Adulterated fuel is a very common term used to describe fuel that does not comply with distribution standards. In most cases, some type of extra substance is added to make it “more profitable” when it comes to selling. This way, the distribution station can make more profits, since it will have a larger quantity of “fuel” to resell while paying the same price to buy it.

In the past, this practice was more common, since there were not as many inspections and standards as there are today, and the tendency is for inspections to increase, freeing consumers from this type of misfortune after refueling.

The agency responsible for inspecting fuel at distribution stations is the National Petroleum Agency (ANP), which inspects stations mainly through complaints. According to the Agency:

“The ANP has an intense inspection agenda and has been expanding its intelligence work in repressive actions and communication/education with a view to further improving practices in the supply market.”

Even though inspections are intense, fraud continues to occur. Therefore, we will present the main known modifications that fraudulent gas stations make to fuels, and then how to tell if the fuel you purchased has been fraudulent or not.

How gas stations can adulterate fuel

Fuel adulteration is carried out by adding components that do not originally belong to that fuel or by increasing existing components that make the fluid sold cheaper for the distribution center.

Read more about the composition of fuels by clicking here!

In general, known adulterations occur as follows:

Adulteration in Gasoline:

Regularized gasoline has a rate of Anhydrous Ethanol in its composition, and this rate corresponds to approximately 27% of the total fuel. When gasoline is adulterated, more anhydrous ethanol (which is cheaper) is added to its composition, which makes the fuel less efficient and causes greater problems for cars whose engines do not run on alcohol.

In addition, it is also common to add solvents to gasoline to generate a greater volume of “fuel”.

Ethanol adulteration:

Ethanol has a maximum acceptable water content in its composition, which corresponds to approximately 7% of the total fuel. Adulteration usually occurs when gas stations add more water than allowed in the alcohol composition, which will result in greater profits for the station and less efficiency and problems for the consumer.

Diesel adulteration:

Gas stations usually add a higher percentage of biodiesel and solvents to the diesel they sell, which results in a loss of efficiency and (in the case of solvents) serious problems for engines that run on diesel.

Adulteration of Natural Gas:

As we mentioned in our article on Natural Gas, Natural Gas for Vehicles is a type of fuel that is more difficult to adulterate. However, in order to defraud its sale, some gas stations add less gas to the cylinders than what is informed to the consumer.

Signs that you have filled up with adulterated fuel

There are many possible signs and tests to determine whether the fuel you have filled up your vehicle with has been adulterated in some way. We will list the main ones:

Gasoline:

If your vehicle is not flex-fuel, that is, it does not accept alcohol or gasoline, when your car is filled up with adulterated gasoline, it will present frequent failures and “stuttering”, which will be noticed by the car’s performance, which will be drastically reduced.

However, if your vehicle is flex-fuel, the loss will be solely financial, since the vehicle will be able to travel a shorter distance than if it had been filled up with pure gasoline.

To identify the latter, it is recommended that you frequently take notes on your car’s performance after filling up at different gas stations. For example, if your vehicle gets an average of 10 km per liter of gasoline, and after filling up at a different gas station this number drops to 6 km per liter, something is wrong. (Considering the same type of travel, it is common for there to be lower consumption on the highway than in the city. Find out more by clicking here)

Ethanol:

When the vehicle is filled with alcohol, it is common for water to drip from the car’s exhaust pipe, after all, as we have seen, ethanol does contain water in its composition. However, if this water leak is very large and for a long period of time (longer than what you usually notice), this probably means that the fuel you purchased is adulterated.

Diesel:

For Diesel, the most common consequences of adulterated fuel is a major loss of performance of the car’s engine, sometimes even causing it to stop. If you filled up at an unknown gas station and soon after your vehicle’s engine began to show major problems, it’s time to be suspicious.

NGV:

Similar to the investigation carried out for gasoline in flex-fuel cars, it’s a good idea to take notes on the vehicle’s movement while using a cylinder. If the vehicle moved much less after purchasing Natural Gas for Vehicles at a different gas station (considering road/city conditions), it’s time to start being suspicious.

What to do if you suspect that the fuel is adulterated

According to the ANP, “Any citizen can report irregularities in the fuel market through the CRC,” which is the Consumer Relations Center.

It is interesting to note that not only is fuel adulteration checked, but other factors that may be out of compliance are also investigated:

“During an inspection at a gas station, ANP inspectors check the quality of the fuel (whether it meets ANP specifications), items related to safety and environmental protection requirements, provision of correct information to the consumer, documentation, among other items related to compliance with the Agency’s standards.”

For this reason, if you have doubts about the quality of a fuel, or believe that a gas station is acting outside the standards and evading regulations, contact specialized organizations through the following channels:

Phone: 0800-970-0267

Want to purchase quality fuel without running the risk of adulteration? Contact ON Petro through our contact page!