Discover the most useful fuel

Fuel closed the second week of 2023 on a strong decline in service stations in the country. In the past year, both gasoline and hydroethanol have gotten cheaper at the pumps. This also happened last week, with the average value of both fuels declining compared to the previous week.

Namely, drivers still have a lot of doubts about the best fuel to fuel their cars. questions involving gasoline it’s the aqueous ethanol, may be numerous, but the answer to these questions is very simple. By the way, both fuels are competitive at the pumps.

In short, ethanol cannot provide as high a performance as gasoline. That is why its price is lower than that of fossil fuels. And to find out which one is more beneficial, drivers will need to do a simple math. Keep reading and find out how the equation works.

last week, The price of gasoline decreased by 1.56% in the country, from R$5.12 to R$5.04.. In contrast, ethanol decreased by 1.74%, with the average price dropping from R$4.01 to R$3.94 in the country.

By the way, this data is part of the survey that is published weekly by the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). In short, the entity researches fuel prices at more than 5,000 service stations in the country and publishes the average price of gasoline, hydroethanol and diesel oil.

Find out which fuel had the best cost-effectiveness

In absolute numbers, the difference between fuels is quite telling. That is, the average price of ethanol corresponds to 78.2% of the value of gasoline in the country. However, the rate must be lower for ethanol to become more useful than a fossil fuel.

This means that, on average, gasoline was more beneficial than ethanol last week. Incidentally, this score was recorded in all Federal Units (FUs).

In fact, this has been going on since November last year. So, those who want to fill their car with ethanol need to put it aside, at least for the time being, if they want a better cost-benefit ratio.

Briefly, The value of ethanol must be equal to or less than 70% of the price of gasoline So that its cost-effectiveness is greater than its competition pumps. If the equation result exceeds this mark, drivers should choose gasoline, as it will provide better vehicle performance.

Last week, as they have been for nearly two months, all deductible unit rates were above 70%. This means that gasoline was more beneficial than ethanol across the country.

See below the lowest ratios among UFs in the country.

• Mato Grosso: 71.9%
• Goiás: 76.0%
• Sao Paulo: 77.8%
• Amazon: 78.6%
• Paraiba: 78.7%
• Rio Grande do Norte: 79.6%
• Minas Gerais: 79.7%
• Mato Grosso do Sul: 80.3%
• Alagoas: 80.8%
• Sergipe: 80.9%
• Bahia: 80.9%

Although these were the lowest rates recorded among extracted units, they were still above 70%. In other words, gasoline was more cost-effective than ethanol nationwide for another week.

Find out how it counts

According to experts, drivers in the country need to do calculations to see if gasoline is more beneficial than ethanol, and vice versa. In short, the well-known 70% should always be considered before choosing one of these fuels.

According to Marcio D’Agosto, a professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), “a liter of ethanol is equivalent to about 70% of a liter of gasoline in terms of energy content.” This means that The price of ethanol must be equal to or less than 70% of the price of gasoline. Thus, the cost-effectiveness of ethanol will be more attractive than the cost of gasoline.

It is important for all drivers to analyze the fuel values ​​at the gas stations before filling up. Especially since the maximum price of gasoline found by the National Ports Agency at gas stations in the country was R$6.99 last week, while the highest price for ethanol was R$6.37. This shows that in some places, rates could be even worse for biofuels.

In any case, the most important thing is to look for alternatives to higher prices. If both fuels cost more than the driver can afford, the option is Leave your vehicle at home and use public transportation.