Brussels, 6 December – Scientists at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) have identified a shortlist of denaturants that could be used to harmonise denaturing practices at EU level and reduce fraud and tax evasion of alcoholic beverages. The proposed denaturants could potentially replace over 100 different substances currently used in Member States to denature alcohol.
Denaturants are used to make alcohol unfit for human consumption and are therefore strong-smelling or bitter-tasting substances. Denatured alcohol is not subject to the harmonised excise duty applied on alcohol and alcoholic beverages. It is used, for example, in screen-washer fluid, perfumes and solvents.
The study was coordinated by the JRC under a request from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union. It compared various potential denaturants against a set of criteria, such as difficulty to remove from alcohol, ease of detection and reasonable cost. The study produced a shortlist of specific denaturant formulation and concentration for several categories of product, as detailed in the table below:
Product category
Recommended denaturants and concentrations* for completely denatured alcohol
3 litres isopropyl alcohol (IPA) + 3 litres methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) + 1 gram denatonium benzoate for solvents, thinners and screen-wash products as above
for cosmetics, perfumes and hygienic products 5 litres IPA + 1 gram denatonium benzoate or 78 gram tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) + 1 gram denatonium benzoate for biofuels
gasoline** + 2 litres ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) + 1 litre IPA for printing inks
3 litre IPA + 3-10 litres ethyl acetate (EA).
* Concentrations expressed per hectolitre absolute alcohol (hL aa)
** The denatured ethanol would still need to be mixed with gasoline in order for the final exemption to be granted. In the case of E85, more than 10% gasoline should be added.
The European Commission is currently considering how to promote the use of the proposed denaturants throughout the EU. The aim is to have a voluntary transition over time to the new denaturants per product category. The European Chemicals Agency has already given a positive opinion on the compatibility of the proposed denaturants with the objectives of the EU legal framework for chemicals (REACH).
A consultation with the Member States on this subject was opened in July 2011 and should be finalised by end of June 2012.
Background
EU Member States are currently free to establish the requirements for both completely denatured alcohol and for alcohol to be used for the manufacture of any product not for human consumption and decide on what substances they use for each category. Not all of the denaturants used in Europe are simple to detect though, and their number – 145 in total – adds a hefty administrative burden to the customs laboratories, making controls more difficult. Furthermore, some denaturants appear to be less robust than others. This fact is exploited by fraudsters who recover alcohol from products exempt from alcohol duty, leading to considerable financial loss for Member State authorities.
Member States have expressed on several occasions their wish to rationalise and improve the current system in order to simplify administration and to better combat attempts by fraudsters who exploit weaknesses in the denaturing systems.
For the current study, a project team including 16 technical experts from different Member States was established, and trade bodies were also consulted.
The JRC also organised an inter-laboratory comparison, in order to benchmark the performance of testing laboratories to accurately detect various concentrations of the proposed euro-denaturants using their method of choice. In general, the 31 laboratories who participated performed well, even in the determination of the lowest concentrations of some denaturants.
More information: Council Directive 92/83/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the harmonization of the structures of excise duties on alcohol and alcoholic beverages, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31992L0083:en:NOT
About the JRC
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's in-house science service. Its mission is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of European Union policies. The JRC serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether private or national.
Through its Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM), the JRC promotes a common and reliable European measurement system in support of EU policies.
Contacts
JRC Press Office
Francesca Micheletti, francesca.micheletti@ext.ec.europa.eu