BS-VI: Here’s to a cleaner future ahead

From tonight, India is bringing in a fuel revolution as it jumps from the existing BS-IV standards to the ultra-clean BS-VI fuel standards. This move will set the foundation towards making India a cleaner and less-polluting country.

The BS-VI Petrol and Diesel will have five times lesser sulphur content and its pollution levels will be as low as that of compressed natural gas (CNG).

India has the dubious distinction of having some of the most polluted cities in the world and the vehicular pollution contributes to the deteriorating air quality of the Indian cities in a substantial manner.

Hence, the decision to directly jump from BS-IV to BS-VI norms. Such an extreme decision was catalyzed on the back of deteriorating air quality and growing health concerns across the country, primarily the metros.

This move will go a long way in mitigating the problem of air pollution and improving air quality in the country.

Behind this upgrade, the public sector oil marketing companies led by IndianOil, have toiled tirelessly over the last couple of years.

It was a race against time to roll-out BS-VI auto fuels to meet the deadline of April 1, 2020 against all odds. Infact, IndianOil was 100% BS-VI by the third week of March, including the remotest of retail outlets in Nicobar Islands, Leh and Arunachal Pradesh.

The Bharat Stage Emission Standards (BSES) – the guidelines for fuels in India have evolved from BS-I, II, III, IV and now to VI. They have been instituted by the Government of India and are based on the European standards with a sole aim: a cleaner environment.

If the benefits of BS-VI fuels have to be summed up simply: lower pollution levels than ever before.

When the first Bharat Stage standards were implemented way back in 1991, the Sulphur content in fuel stood at 10,000 ppm for diesel and 2,000 ppm for petrol. Today, the Sulphur content in BS-VI fuel stands at just 10 ppm for petrol and diesel.

BS-VI emission norms will restrict tailpipe discharge from petrol cars to a carbon monoxide emission of 1.0g/km, hydrocarbons + nitrogen oxides discharge of 0.16 g/km, and respirable suspended particulate matter discharge of 0.05.

The diesel models will emit a peak carbon monoxide of 0.50 g/km, nitrous oxide of 0.06 g/km, and hydrocarbons + nitrogen oxides discharge of 0.17 g/km. Also, the sulphur content in the BS-VI-compliant fuels will be restricted to 10 ppm.

The lower sulphur in the fuel will permit the use of advanced after-treatment devices (ATDs) used in BS-VI vehicles to reduce harmful exhaust emissions like carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter (PM).

Hence, vehicles complying with BS-VI norms would produce lower nitrogen oxide emissions, lower by 25 percent for petrol and 68 percent for diesel engines to be precise. Particulate matter emissions will have an 82 percent reduction in diesel engines and lower hydrocarbon emissions as compared to BS-IV norms.

Even in the in-use older generation diesel vehicles, reduction of sulphur in these ultra-clean fuels will also reduce PM emissions.

The poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in diesel fuel have been reduced to 8% in BS-VI compared to 11% in BS-IV; thereby reducing carcinogenic emissions.

Besides the stiff timeline fixed for the BS-VI upgrade, the Indian oil industry had without thinking twice about the return on investment, invested over Rs. 35,000 crore for the infrastructure upgrade.

India’s refineries are mostly nested in the hinterlands of Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradhesh, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab, and along the coast in Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi, Vishakapatnam and Paradip.

From the oldest Indian refinery, the 120-year-old Digboi Refinery to the youngest refinery at Paradip, which is just about four years old, all the refineries underwent heavy customer infrastructure upgrades racing against time to ensure timely supply of BS-VI fuel.

It was indeed symbolic that Digboi Refinery, among the oldest operating refineries in the world, was the first to produce BS-VI fuel.

By ensuring the oil industries have stuck to the April 1 deadline, it has helped automobile manufacturers plan smoothly for this transition. The baton now has been passed to usher in BS-VI vehicles which will be best able to harness the benefit of the fuels.

According to an assessment by the US based International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), the enforcement of BS-VI and fuel and emissions standards roadmap will help to avoid 280,000 cumulative avoidable deaths by 2030.

 Here’s to a cleaner future ahead.