Costa Rica outlines E7 mandate
The sale of petrol with 7% ethanol content is anticipated for March in Costa Rica following a pilot plan conducted in the north-western area Guanacaste.
Biofuels in the country will use a number of feedstocks. Ethanol is made from sugarcane and cassava, while biodiesel is extracted from oil-producing plants such as castor bean and jatropha.
Roberto Dobles, minister of the environment and energy, expects that the purchase of ethanol to be mixed with regular and super petrol will be adjudicated by March. However, a decree will have to be signed first for establishing the legal framework of a biofuels industry in the country.
This initiative began when the Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MINAE), the Ministry of Agriculture (MAG) and the Costa Rican Petroleum Refinery (RECOPE) were instructed to give priority to studies and any necessary actions to begin using biofuels in the country, with emphasis on offering petrol-ethanol mixes.
In this way, the National Alcohol Commission established a pilot plan which included 30 vehicles owned by RECOPE. Later on, the state company set the goal of evaluating the logistics and handling of petrol mixed with ethanol, from the mixing at RECOPE facilities to the distribution at sale points.
Biofuels in the country will use a number of feedstocks. Ethanol is made from sugarcane and cassava, while biodiesel is extracted from oil-producing plants such as castor bean and jatropha.
Roberto Dobles, minister of the environment and energy, expects that the purchase of ethanol to be mixed with regular and super petrol will be adjudicated by March. However, a decree will have to be signed first for establishing the legal framework of a biofuels industry in the country.
This initiative began when the Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MINAE), the Ministry of Agriculture (MAG) and the Costa Rican Petroleum Refinery (RECOPE) were instructed to give priority to studies and any necessary actions to begin using biofuels in the country, with emphasis on offering petrol-ethanol mixes.
In this way, the National Alcohol Commission established a pilot plan which included 30 vehicles owned by RECOPE. Later on, the state company set the goal of evaluating the logistics and handling of petrol mixed with ethanol, from the mixing at RECOPE facilities to the distribution at sale points.
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