This is my sixth post in this series. In case, you want to refer to the previous articles that I have written on this issue, here is Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 , Part 4 and Part 5. Back in September 2007, the Office of the Director of Science and Technology in Malawi told me that the Ethanol driven vehicle project is targeting the middle class Malawians who own a bulk of vehicles driven on the roads of Malawi. As expected, this group consumes a lot of fuel. If their cars, which are generally old, could be converted to ethanol, petrol demand could be reduced and in turn reduce government bill on fuel import. This completely justified the approach used in the project. But somehow, I have always been of the view that folks in some other country have already done the stuff that we are trying to do in Malawi.
After many months of procrastination, I finally did a simple Google search for conversition+kits+ethanol+cars, I found a lot of sites selling Ethanol conversion kits of many different types. While most companies provide kits (AutoFFV conversion kit, E-85 Ethanol FlexTek Adaptor Kit, FLEX-BOX SMART KIT) that allow the engine to operate on E-85 Ethanol (85% Ethanol, 15% gasoline), Fuel Flex International (FFI) provides technology to allow any fuel-injected vehicle to run on anywhere from E100 (100% Ethanol) to regular gasoline. Cindy Zimmerman, who writes for Domestic Fuel News, reports that at the recent Ethanol Conference and Trade Show in Omaha, Curtis Lacy, the FFI president for marketing and distribution Curtis Lacy, said that the technology was developed in Brazil and is now being marketed in 34 countries, including most recently Thailand and the Philippines. He further said that their system is very simple for the average user because it’s a simple plug and play device which you attach to your fuel injector connectors and ground to your battery. It retails for between $289 ( aprox. MK40,000) and $459 (approx. MK64,000) in the USA. Lacy also claims that they have no problems with vehicle warranties.
I am sure there are a number of companies producing ethanol conversion kits similar to FFI’s; but I could not search any further because FFI’s kit seems to be very similar to the one being tested in Malawi. The only difference is that FFI’s kit is a finished product. It is being sold to more than 38 countries. People who are using it are giving good comments and testimonials. I, therefore, would like to encourage the colleagues involved in the Ethanol driven vehicle project in Malawi to look at this and other similar ethanol conversion units and see if there is any difference. If there is no difference, there will be a need to refine the project’s goals and approach.
FFI has an agent in South Africa. Biofuel or automotive dealers interested in working with them in Malawi and, indeed, in any other country can contact them at anytime.
18 users commented in " Conversion kit for Ethanol driven cars in Malawi:Is it different from the kits on the market? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackEthanol’s success has been proven in many parts of the world, and the sooner your country gets on to it, the better it will be for your people, and the air of your country. I hope that it works out alright for you.
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Clement Nyirenda says:
February 28th, 2009 at 9:32 am
@Nicole: I really want FFI to come to Malawi as soon as possible.
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I don’t think that ethanol will become mainstream any time soon. Although who knows, economy crisis could change the rules.
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Malawi invested in ethanol in a big way back in the ’80s using Brazilian expertise. There was(is??) a big ethanol plant at Dwangwa Sugar Corporation and in those days our petrol was a 10% or 20% ethanol mix. We were in a leading position then but I am not sure where things changed. In addition there are currently a couple of tephrosia biofuel projects underway in the country so indeed the vehicle conversion technology must follow.
Indeed I understand that a plane flew to Austalia last month fuelled (partly or wholly I know not) with Malawi biofuel
Cheers
Margaret
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Clement Nyirenda says:
March 7th, 2009 at 11:40 am
@Margaret: Thanks for the historical info. I read somewhere that Brazil somehow lost interest in ethanol in the 80s(?). I think that is why there was a slowdown in the Malawi project. But Brazil is back with ethanol driven vehicles in a big way. I am well aware of the tephrosia biofuel projects. Both developments are good for the country. I am just worried with the pace at which we are going.
Yes, towards the end of last year, Air New Zealand passenger jet with one of its four engines running on a biofuel blend completed the world’s first commercial aviation test flight to test a biofuel made from jatropha. This jatropha was sourced from in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. In January, 2009, Continental Airlines completed its first biofuel demonstration flight in the United States. Towards the end of the same month, Japan Airlines (JAL) joined the slowly expanding list of airlines trying to green their fuel usage. The fuel which they used was a mixture of jatropha oil, algae oil, and camelina oil (the first time that feedstock has been employed in a jet fuel). They found it to be more efficient than petro-fuel.
Last year, it was reported that a consortium comprising Netherlands-based TNT Group and some African investors was preparing to set up a $12-million biodisel production plant in the capital, Lilongwe. It was expected that Malawi will start producing biodiesel in 2009. We are now more than two months into 2009 and I am not hearing anything. I do not if this project is still alive.
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Here is wishing you and your country all the best to see that happens quickly.
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At first everybody was excited with Ethanol or Bio-fuel. However, many studies conducted by researchers have shown that Ethanol is worse for the environment than gasoline. Just google for “ethanol bad for the environment” or something else related with ethanol and you will see that this bio-fuel is not exactly eco-friendly.
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Clement Nyirenda says:
March 7th, 2009 at 11:09 am
@Caesar: Don’t you think that most of the “ethanol bad for the environment” articles are written by the anti-ethanol people who see it being as a threat to their oil businesses. Can you show me an unbiased article that compares ethanol with gasoline with regard to echo-friendliness. I agree that ethanol is not perfect for the environment but I see it as more eco-friendly than gasoline. If you have any links to the contrary, share them.
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[…] Conversion kit for Ethanol driven cars in Malawi:Is it different … […]
FFI has a great kit and it works well. The man who helped make the Digital unit for FFI (Dan Lorenzo “White Lightning Kits”)has now come out with the next generation kit. It uses SMT for the circuit board and has what I believe as the best cold start out of all the kits. These kits are being sold in the US at a great value. Prices range from $149 for a 4 cylinder and $199 for 6-8 Cylinders. My company will be offering these in the very near future.
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Clement Nyirenda says:
March 7th, 2009 at 11:02 am
@Johnny Energy: This is the kind of info that I like to hear. Wishing you all the best there in Chicago
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Oil companies like Shell and BP don’t want these new fuels to come out until all the oil runs out. One oil company owns the rights to a car that runs of water but wants to make as much money from petrol/diseal before it releases it.
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The technology provided by FFI is amazing. It is a little pricy but come on – you can fuel your car with whatever you want. This flexibility is worth the money in my opinion.
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Everybody should take a proactive stand in protecting the environment. I just do not understand the reason why government is not promoting this as much as they should. This will really help the economy especially if we all use ethanol instead of relying on fuel and oil from the Middle East.
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Adopting good technology is never late, soon it will deliver expected results.
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These conversion kits are really good, and works well with all cars with out any problem according to my research.
This project needs to extend to other developing countries as well. Its true that middle class consumes more fuel then any other. If this way we will be able to reduce the demand of petrol, it will be a great success.
The ways we are consuming petrol, our coming generations will no longer will able to use it as it will not be available in natural resources.
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This is the first time I heard about ethanol driven cars. I hope this works well in all cars to save more on gas.
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Hi All
Intersesting to see this thread on Ethanol kits,here in the U K our goverment has announced that by 2020 all cars here will run on electricty,a statement to me that sounds more than ambitious,we are going big time on wind farms here much to the annoyance of country folk,but for me I can`t see it being any other way oil supplies will soon be a thing of the past,and as for bio fuels this is a no no,we need the weat etc,world wide to feed on.
Mike
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