Specifications of undenatured ethanol

Following a webinar held on November 19, 2010 and bilateral discussions with European ethanol market participants on the definition of undenatured ethanol and the level of denaturants allowed, Platts proposes to add these details to its European methodology and specifications guide for fuel grade ethanol effective January 2011. Product Purity Specification: Assessments are for anhydrous undenatured ethanol conforming to the latest edition of the European standard EN 15376 specifications for automotive fuels -- ethanol as a blending component for gasoline. These specifications include:

--Minimum ethanol content + higher saturated alcohol: 98.7%

--Maximum higher saturated (C3-C5) mono-alcohol content: 2.0%

--Maximum water content by mass: 0.3%

--Maximum methanol content: 1.0%

The ethanol must also conform to the Netherlands' customs tariff code of CN 2207 1000, under the European Commission's latest definition of "Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an alcoholic strength by volume of 80% vol or higher." Please direct any queries to petchems@platts.com and pricegroup@platts.com.