By the decision of Azerbaijan’s Tariff Council, the retail price for a liter of RON-92 gasoline in the country had been set at 1 manat (58 cents), and of diesel fuel - 0.8 manat (48 cents), Trend reported.

According to Tariff Council’s new decision, by June 2022 diesel fuel, and by June 2023 RON-92 gasoline, will fully comply with the Euro-5 standard.

Mirsalam Ganbarov, Chairman of the Board of the State Agency for Ecological Expertise of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, compared the negative impact of using gasoline and diesel fuel.

The main source of air pollution around the world is gases and particulate matter from internal combustion engines of cars, he said.

“Currently, gasoline and diesel fuel are most widely used in Azerbaijan. Analyzes carried out in many countries around the world, especially in Europe, show that cars with diesel engines pollute the environment more than gasoline ones. While diesel engines are estimated to have lower carbon emissions, gasoline engines outperform them in a number of other ways. It is known that more heavy fractions are released during the combustion of diesel fuel than to obtain the same amount of energy during the combustion of gasoline. Because diesel engines require more oxygen to burn fuel, the combustion process leads to different chemical reactions and the formation of a wider variety of combustion products. Smoke generated by diesel engines also has a strong odor and color. Although special substances can be added to gasoline to increase the octane number and reduce harmful emissions. In diesel fuel these additives are ineffective and lead to a large number of additional emissions,” Ganbarov said.

“Typically, diesel engines generate nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur compounds, hydrocarbons and their derivatives, as well as polycyclic hydrocarbons and other products during operation. This waste is harmful not only to the atmosphere, but also to all other components of the environment. Invisible particulate matter negatively impacts human health due to their carcinogenic content,” Ganbarov said.

The expert added that the use of advanced technologies and the transition to European standards are mandatory.

“At present, the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery is actively working in this direction. Since the work done and its results are directly related to the environment, our employees also monitor its progress, meetings are held regularly. I believe that soon we will be able to receive diesel fuel and RON-92 gasoline of Euro-5 standard,” added Ganbarov.

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