A large number of regional networks, as well as the main all-Ukrainian fuel sellers, were checked.
The fuel market is in a fever — either the state regulates prices, or the dollar soars, or the Belarusians threaten to stop supplies … And the oil in the world is approaching three-digit values. The result — on the steles of Ukrainian gas stations. In such conditions, various kinds of «alchemists» are activated, flooding the market with low-quality artisanal fuel. Let's check the quality of fuel at gas stations, reports the Chronicle.info with reference to Channel 24.
In the last study of the Institute of Consumer Expertise, conducted two months ago, 25% of counterfeit was found. Unfortunately, the current raid has already shown growth to a third of “out of condition”. This time, the experts also conducted an experiment — in a number of networks they bought samples of gasoline in cities and on the highway in order to determine the correlation depending on the distance from regulatory authorities, both internal and external. The results are at the end of the article.
A large number of regional networks, as well as the main all-Ukrainian fuel sellers, were subjected to verification. In this study, samples of 16 networks were selected — WOG, OKKO, SHELL, ZOG, KLO, PRIME, AVIAS, ULTRA, BRSM-Nafta, Avantage 7, UPG, CHIPO, Brent Oil, MOTTO, and two small regional filling station networks — KSEM and Dnepro-Nafta.
As always, the experts divided the results obtained in the laboratory into zones — green, blue and red. The first group included networks whose results met all standards and had a “margin of safety” in terms of quality, blue — filling stations, the fuel of which had no violations according to the requirements of the specialized DSTU, and red — networks, the fuel of which turned out to be out of specification, that is, it had deviations in quality indicators.
The samples were sent to a certified laboratory, where they were examined for compliance with the standards of the specialized DSTU 7687:2015 (gasoline A-95-Euro5). The samples were tested for the main parameters — octane number, sulfur content, and volume fractions of aromatic hydrocarbons and benzene. All of the above indicators must be within the tolerances of DSTU, otherwise it can harm both the car and the environment — in fact, the air we breathe.
The results of the study of gasoline A-95 in February 2022: filling stations (research according to DSTU 7687:2015) Octane number (research method) (standard — not less than 95 units) Sulfur content, (standard not more than 10 mg/kg)Volume of aromatic hydrocarbons (%, max 35)Volume of benzene (%, max 1.0)WOG (city)95.6725.70.54WOG (track )95.7624.90.53OKKO (city) 95.6726.90.45OKKO (highway)< /strong>95.6827.40.39K< strong>LO (city)95.6925.70,372KLO (track) 95.5925.30.4PRIME95 ,3830.70.75ZOG95.6739.80.46AVANTAGE 795.4< strong>730.30.44AVIAC95.61032.90.84< /strong>CHIPO95.5933.50.51< strong>ULTRA95.51027.80.37SHELL< /strong>95.6928.50.42UPG< strong>95.91026.40.44BRSM-Nafta (city)94.2924, 60.97BRSM-Nafta (highway)94.2624.30.496BrentOIL93, 068.51.45MOTTO (city)90 .55410.33.98MOTTO (track)92.3129.51.90KSEM92.37 9.72.32DNIPRO-NAFTA95.62014.60.88 Green zone
5 networks turned out to be in the green zone of the leaders — WOG, OKKO, KLO, ZOG and PRIME. The first step was to check the most important parameter for the operation of the engine — the octane number. The standard is set at a level not lower than 95 units. All samples showed a good result — everyone had a “reserve”. The highest is in WOG (95.7 units). Their colleagues did not reach the leader by only one tenth — OKKO, KLO, ZOG (95.6 units). Closes the podium PRIME — 95.5 units. Next, we looked at the sulfur content, one of the most important indicators, which is directly an indicator of the long “life” of the engine. The minimum value was found in A-95 gasoline purchased from the WOG network (6 mg/kg), a little more from OKKO and Zaporozhye ZOG (7 mg/kg). This far exceeds Euro-5 tolerances.
As for the content of aromatic hydrocarbons, all participants have values within the normal range, the best indicator for KLO is only 25.3%. Next, another important indicator was checked — the content of benzene. This toxic substance in gasoline should be as small as possible, since an increase in its amount directly affects the reduction in engine life. The result is excellent. The smallest number is in OKKO (0.37% at a rate not higher than 1%), and KLO (0.4%).
Blue zone
Fuel purchased at Avantage 7, SHELL, AVIAS, CHIPO, ULTRA and UPG gas stations fell into the blue zone. A-95 gasoline, sold here, met all the requirements of DSTU, and in general is of excellent quality. Almost all samples are assigned to the blue zone due to the sulfur content, which are on the border of the tolerances of the standards (9-10 mg/kg with a standard of no more than 10).
Red zone
The red zone is again full of discounters, although in the current realities, their price is no longer so different from networks from the green and blue zones. Gasoline A-95 did not comply with DSTU for the BRSM-Nafta, MOTTO, Brent Oil, KSEM and Dnipro-Nafta networks. The first four samples had a lack of “octane” — BRSM-naphtha (94.2 units), MOTO (90.4 units), Brent Oil (93 units), KSEM (92.3 units). And if Brent Oil and KSEM sell “ninety-second” at the price of “fifth”, then MOTTO does not even reach that! This is a serious violation, since the engines of modern cars are precisely tuned to the appropriate octane level. Refueling with gasoline with a reduced number will at least increase fuel consumption and reduce engine power, and at the maximum it can lead to damage to the fuel equipment.
As for sulfur harmful to the environment and air, an excess of more than five times was found in the MOTTO sample (54 mg/kg at a rate of not more than 10), and 2 times in the Dnipro-Nafta sample. And the most interesting began, traditionally, when checking the content of benzene. A fourfold (!) excess of the permissible level of this toxic substance was found in the MOTTO sample (3.98% at a rate of not more than 1%).
Twice for KSEM and one and a half times for Brent Oil. Samples of gasoline BRSM-Nafta and Dnipro-Nafta (0.97 and 0.88%, respectively) turned out to be practically on the verge. In general, environmentalists should sound the alarm — with such exorbitant benzene levels, health problems for drivers and pedestrians are almost inevitable. The experts also drew attention to the abnormally low content of aromatic hydrocarbons in the samples of MOTTO, Brent Oil, KSEM and Dnipro-Nafta (from 8 to 14%). This is a clear marker of non-factory, handicraft production.
In general, the study showed that the desire to save money during a period of turbulence in the market can come out sideways to car owners. As for the correlation between gasoline sold on the highway and in cities, judging by the results of the study, there is no difference. Where the company thinks about the client and its reputation, the geographical location of the stations does not matter. Well, those who put profit at the forefront are deceiving everywhere.