There probably isn't a gasoline brand around that does not claim for its fuel to be high-octane. This is so because octane rating is considered the standard measure for fuel's flammability, or in laymen's terms: quality. Thus, higher the octane level in a brand of fuel, the better the fuel quality it is marketed as.

While that may be true to an extent, oil companies sometimes go so overboard in their pursuit of higher octane ratings that the resultant fuel, although octane-rich, could have an adverse impact on the engine's life as well as the environment, and even human health.

The compound primarily responsible for this double whammy is Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) — the main additive used to enhance octane levels in fuel.

The use of MMT — sometimes also referred with its portmanteau, Metal — as an octane enhancer has been debated in the automotive industry and scientific community almost right from its inceptions in the 1970s.

Automobile manufacturers, for instance, have long argued that the manganese atoms in MMT, during the combustion process, form solid manganese oxide particles, which when accumulated on the engine and the surface of the exhaust system, can cause a variety of problems, including but not limited to increased spark plug fouling, catalyst plugging, exhaust valve leakage and impairment of the on-board diagnostics system.

Such claims have time and again been substantiated by studies but MMT continues to remain a staple in the gasoline industry's assortment of fuel additives.

The other, far more concerning factor of MMT usage in fuels is the manganese emissions it leads to, which in turn can create serious complications of health. Upon human contact, studies have showed that these manganese particles could build up in the brain and cause a neurodegenerative disorder known as manganism. The threat of such emissions can be further aided by the fact that MMT is long suspected to cause the vehicle emission system to malfunction.

In addition to the threat MMT poses to vehicle longevity and human health, its emission of hydrocarbons also contributes to the formation of smogs — a severe form of air pollution.

All of this by no means is brand new information as environmental experts, healthcare officials and automakers have pointed their concerns in many a studies. However, MMT-makers' effective lobbying and financing of studies that makes claims to the contrary means that the compound is still used around the world — if not with impunity then with regulated moderation.

While in the US and Canada and most regulated markets, oil marketing companies are bound to limit their MMT usage to 8.3mg per litre or at least in single digits, no such cap had existed in Pakistan until recently.

In September 2018, the Petroleum Division had instructed the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to set a 40mg-per-litre limit on MMT use, with plans to bring the number down to 24mg per litre by April 2019.

Shell Pakistan Limited was among the first companies to acknowledge that the ratio of MMT in local gasoline supply was very high.

At the same time, Shell Pakistan spokesperson Habib Haider had told Business Recorder that the company's Shell V-Power brand was already "free of MMT".

The company is now launching an upgrade to the MMT-free brand that would go by the name of "New Shell V-Power", which it says uses Dynaflex Technology and reduces engine dirt as well as friction.

The new brand, Shell claims, "will help remove performance-robbing deposits from your engine and prevent more from building up to deliver efficient running".

Furthermore, the New Shell V-Power is "formulated with a new friction reducing ingredient, designed to help key engine components turn more freely and help reduce wasted energy."

Shell says that the effects of the New Shell V-Power can be felt from the very first tank fill, although in some cases, it adds, the impact could take a little time as its DYNAFLEX Technology would first have to wash away carbon deposit formation.

This content is produced in paid partnership with Shell Pakistan and is not associated with or necessarily reflective of the views of Dawn.com and its editorial staff.