Ethanol Malawi

(i) Fuel Ethanol minimum 99.5% v/v alcohol strength

Mainly used as a blend component in Petrol with a 1 to 9 parts national ethanol/ petrol ratio, fuel ethanol is sold to Petroleum Companies within Malawi. Use of ethanol as a petrol blend enhances vehicle engine octane levels and reduces harmful tail – pipe vehicle emissions.

 (ii) Rectified (industrial) alcohol minimum 96.0% v/v alcohol strength
This product is widely used as a solvent and as a raw material in many chemical processing industries. It is relatively safe and can be used to dissolve many organic compounds which are insoluble in water. It is used in the manufacture of various substances including paints and plastics.

(iii) Potable (ENA) alcohol 96.0% v/v alcohol strength
Potable Alcohol is sold in bulk litres to Malawi Distilleries Limited for the production of a wide range of spirits for beverage use. In the pharmaceutical industry, ENA is a prime carrier for a whole spectrum of medicines and is therefore used for processing a wide range of drugs. It is a good disinfectant as methylated spirit. Surplus potable alcohol is also exported.

Ethanol Malawi realizes the need for alternative fuels sources to the fosil fuels. The company embarked on a project together with the Department of Science and technology and the Lilongwe Technical College to explore the use of ethanol as a fuel for vehicles. Ethanol Malawi also bought a Flex Fuel Vehicle (FFV) from Brazil to see if Malawi can adopt what Brazil has achieved in ethanol propelled vehicle and in FFVs. An FFV is a vehicle that can run on either ethanol or petrol alone or on any ration of the two.

The beauty with the FFVs is that they run on the 96.0% v/v ethanol strength and this grade of ethanol is cheaper to produce than the anhydrous one.

Uses:

1. As  fuel

Ethanol produced by Ethanol Malawi is principally used as a fuel for motor vehicles through blending with petrol within specified limits as set by regulatory authorities (Energy Departments, MBS). Currently the ratio stands at 10% of ethanol to 90% of petrol.

Fuel blending in Malawi (and indeed elsewhere) was precipitated by the energy crisis of the early 1970’s. Today fuel blending is mostly driven by;

• Environmental clean air issues  (Green House Gases and Global Warming)
• The recognized rapid depletion of fossil fuels and hence the necessity of renewable energy sources
• The need to save on forex (Malawi specific consideration)
• Performance (octane rating) enhancement of petrol due to its use as an oxygenate.

2. Rectified Spirit

The company also produces Rectified Spirit which is an industrial grade alcohol. This product is used pharmaceutically as methylated Spirit. It is also used by paint and other manufacturers as an input in their production process.

Rectified spirit can be processed further into food grade alcohol also known as Potable Alcohol.