Guanacaste Gears Up for Bioethanol

SIXTY-four gas stations in the northwestern province of Guanacaste and in the country’s central Pacific region will start distributing a gasoline mixture containing a small percentage of bioethanol as part of a revolutionary program set in motion by the National Biofuels Commission, according to Sergio Musmanni, executive director of the National Cleaner Production Center of Costa Rica, a nonprofit organization financed by the United Nations.Through this initiative, a pilot program scheduled to begin this month, gasoline will contain between 5-7% bioethanol, according to the National Oil Refinery (RECOPE) press office.Most countries that include bioethanol mixtures in fuel use up to 7.5% bioethanol in their gasoline, but no more than 10%, the maximum amount of this substance that vehicles accept, Musmanni said.