Fuel additive controversy spooks oil majors, DOE

A not-so-funny thing happened in the morning of the Oct. 16, 2013, Usapan AAP, the interactive media lunchtime forum regularly held by the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP). The topic of the forum was “Fuel quality and prices.” Two of the four invited panelists who had previously confirmed their participation suddenly backed out. Department of Energy (DOE) Oil Industry Standards and Monitoring Division chief David Lim faxed a letter to AAP early that morning, stating that the DOE had not yet finalized an official position on the fuel additives issue while Chevron (Caltex) Philippines Policy Government and Public Affairs Manager lawyer Raissa Bautista sent word that she couldn’t attend and would not send anyone to represent Chevron either.

AAP had also sent invitations two weeks ahead to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Total Philippines and the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA). But except for IPPCA chair Fernando Martinez, who accepted immediately, and the DENR, who assigned Antismoke Belching Coordinator Jerry Capulong, and Total Philippines, who said no immediately, the others didn’t respond despite frequent followup calls by AAP staff. Finally, Petron said they would send several observers who, however, were not authorized to join the panel or answer questions. Shell left AAP hanging up to the last day.

SPOOKED. Apparently, the forum topic spooked the oil majors and the DOE because of the announcement last August by the sales and marketing division head of Automobile Central Enterprise Inc. (Acei), the Ayala Automotive Holdings Corp. subsidiary that will import and distribute Volkswagen passenger cars, that only diesel-fueled vehicles will be initially offered due to VW AG’s concerns about the presence of manganese in unleaded gasoline sold in this country. At a second lunch with the motoring media, Acei’s Arnel Doria reiterated that there are engine damage and environment issues connected with the use of manganese to replace lead as an octane-boosting additive in gasoline. Also, that tests conducted by an independent laboratory contracted by VW AG indicated that although at present, unleaded gasoline sold by Petron, Shell and Chevron  does not contain manganese, Acei will request them and other oil companies to certify that their gasoline has no manganese additive.

VW AG’s position on manganese in gasoline was promptly picked up by the press, such as Inquirer Motoring reporter Tessa Salazar (“Fuel quality delays entry of gas-powered VWs,” 9/25/13) and Philippine Star columnist Cito Beltran (“Gasoline Alert!!!” 9/25/13) who happens to be the emcee of Usapan AAP. Beltran showed me a letter from DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Zenaida Y. Monsada saying that in the 1994 Philippine National Standard (PNS) for unleaded gasoline, a minimum level of 1.32 mg/L of manganese-based additive was specified, but as the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 did not ban organo-metallic additives like manganese, the PNS also did not explicitly prohibit it except lead, with a level to consider contamination. “However, due to the general damaging effect of organo-metallic additives to the engine and environment,” she continued, “the DOE regulates the use of fuel additives as mandated…” Monsada assured Beltran that the DOE “intends to review the gasoline PNS very soon as it started to gather facts and consult with various stakeholders on the impact of manganese and other organo-metallic additives to [sic] engine and environment.”

FILLER. Fortunately for Usapan AAP, the void left by the absent panelists was filled up by Edgardo Alabastro, a chemical engineer Ph.D. who is the executive director of Kaibigan ng Kaunlaran at Kalikasan, and Afton Chemical Corp. worldwide marketing director John Walsh, who happened to be in Manila from Canada for meetings with Afton’s Philippine partner, International Engineers (Philippines) Inc. Afton Chemical, a global company based in Richmond, Virginia, produces and markets the manganese-based fuel additive “mmt” under the trade name HiTEC 3000.

Walsh was ready with a video presentation proving that mmt is a safe, effective and beneficial fuel additive that has been used for more than 30 years and is currently used in more than 50 countries and by more than 150 refineries, blenders and marketers in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia including China, and Central and South America. Walsh claimed that the concentration of manganese in mmt is very small, yet it increases the octane of gasoline by one to two points, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, helps decrease vehicle emissions of toxic and regulated pollutants and protects advanced vehicle emission control systems from contamination due to the combustion of motor oil. He asserted further that mmt has been and is subjected to continuous testing under the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulatory oversight while Afton has completed physiologically based pharmacokinetic models.

NO HEALTH EFFECTS. A risk assessment performed by Health Canada in 1994, Walsh said, concluded that the use of mmt in gasoline did not present a public health risk and reaffirmed this conclusion in 1998 and 2001. What’s more, studies in South Africa and Australia reached similar conclusions, Walsh pointed out, while a wide range of studies and a long history of use around the world demonstrate that mmt will not cause or contribute to the failure of any emission control device or automatic on-board diagnostic system. Since manganese is an essential element found abundantly in soil and food, Walsh continued, there are no negative health effects from manganese exposure related to the use of mmt as demonstrated by tests submitted to the EPA. In December 2012, the United States Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry increased the standard for the amount of manganese that can be safely inhaled although government agencies do not often relax health standards, Walsh stated.

However, Walsh admitted that despite findings by independent scientists and governments worldwide that mmt is fully compatible with advanced vehicle technology meeting stringent North American Tier 2 and Euro IV/V standards, suggestions have come up for governments to follow the additive specifications of the Worldwide Fuel Charter published by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Afton Chemical describes this fuel charter as an advocacy document, not an industry standard, representing only the views of a specific segment of the industry.

Which additive specs will the DOE follow? Maybe that can be the next Usapan AAP topic.