Leaded fuel is running out: Algeria has been the last country to abandon it

It has been years since the sale of unleaded fuel was banned in Spain. Many of us remember how at petrol stations there was one pump for “regular” petrol and another for “unleaded“. In fact, even today you can still see signs for both fuels, made up of the image of a black pump and a green one on many roads, warning of the presence of a petrol station.

This fuel was on the market from 1923 until… 2021. Although we have already forgotten it, Algeria continued to use it. From this month onwards it can no longer be sold, and the last stronghold where this type of fuel was used has taken the step and has started using unleaded petrol.

History of leaded petrol

Leaded petrol contains tetraethyl lead, an additive that began to be added to petrol in 1921. It was developed by GM and its function was to protect the engine from knocking. At that time it was common for combustion in the engine to wear down the cylinders, and this product prevented that from happening. It quickly became popular and was announced as a “new era in the automotive industry”.

What happened is that the exhaust emissions produced by the combustion of leaded petrol and diesel were far more toxic than anything until then. Cases of cancer, respiratory problems and many other health problems arising from those emissions multiplied. In 1975 unleaded fuel began to be sold in the United States and little by little more and more countries opted to offer this fuel.

In 1996 the use of leaded fuel was banned in the United States and it was gradually eliminated in countries around the world. In Spain the ban arrived in 2001 and from that date all cars had to be fitted with a catalytic converter, a key element for reducing the toxicity of exhaust emissions. This was the moment when most of the world withdrew this fuel, but it continued to be used in other countries, especially in Africa.

From 2006 onwards most African countries had already banned its use and in 2021 it was only used in Algeria. This was due to the pressure exerted by the company Innospec, which was the only one manufacturing this compound for fuel. For years it pressured the governments of several countries, although the awareness-raising work of the UN and its agencies managed to change the legislation.

This year, with the ban on its use in Algeria, leaded petrol and diesel have disappeared entirely from the international market and are a thing of the past.