GASOHOL - A GREEN FUEL
E.C. Thomas *
The supply of ethanol-
blended petrol from this year marks the beginning of a new era
of green transport fuels. The new eco-friendly fuel popularly
called "gasohol" is expected to contribute towards a
cleaner environment and benefit millions of sugarcane farmers.
The fuel combines
petrol with five per cent ethanol, obtained from the renewable
source of sugarcane molasses available throughout the country.
The sustained demand of ethanol for blending in petrol will enlarge
the area of sugar cane cultivation and better returns to farmers.
Ethanol is also produced from corn, grains, tubers like cassava
and bio-mass.
The long-discussed
proposal to blend gasoline with ethanol produced from sugarcane
and sell the mix as a petrol substitute for auto users became
a reality from January 1, 2003. At the moment, the introduction
of the new fuel cocktail has been symbolic as it has been restricted
to parts of four States- Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and
Uttar Pradesh. By the end of June 2003, it is hoped that the coverage
will be extended to five other States and four Union Territories.
Eventually, in all these areas the blend will replace petrol.
Motorists and other consumers will have no choice but to use the
new mixture when the scheme becomes fully operational. The fuel
mix, however , will sell itself on merit. Certainly, a large number
of inherent benefits are claimed for the blended fuel, even though
some of those may not be readily apparent. It is environmentally
friendlier. Experts say that it can replace certain carcinogenic
additives that are currently used in automobile fuel. It is very
likely that the Government will promote the new fuel through incentives.
A central excise rebate of 30 paise per litre of the blended fuel
is already given to the customers. It is obvious that all those
in charge of the programme will have to go through a learning
curve. In the days to come the consumers will also be educated
on its superiority over the more conventional fuel. In the initial
stage, ethanol to the extent of only about 5 per cent will be
mixed with gasoline and experts say that the proportion can be
increased upto 25 per cent without much alteration to the internal
combustion engines used in India.
In the first
phase of the project, ethanol-blended petrol is being supplied
through retail outlets in nine States and four Union Territories.
These States are Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka,
Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The four Union
Territories include Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman
and Diu and Pondicherry. Petrol blended with 5 per cent ethanol
would be supplied by petrol pumps all over the country under the
second phase towards the end of the year. The content of ethanol
blending would be increased to 10 per cent in the third phase
of the programme scheduled for 2005.
As the current
total consumption of gasoline in these nine States and four Union
Territories is about 4.6 million tons per year, the requirement
of ethanol at 5 per cent blend ratio works out to 320-350 million
litres. The requirement on the national basis is estimated at
500 million litres per year.
Ethanol-blended
petrol, being supplied in Maharashtra, AP, UP and Punjab will
cost 15-20 paisa per litre less than the conventional petrol following
30 paise per litre excise duty relief given by the Union Finance
Ministry. The Ministry has notified that the additional excise
duty on petrol has been reduced from the normal rate of Rs.6 per
litre to Rs. 5.70 per litre for petrol to be sold after blending
with ethanol.
R&D Studies
The issue of
blending ethanol with petrol has become a reality after six years
of study. As many as six technical committees and four study groups
set up by the Petroleum Ministry had examined the issue of blending
ethanol with petrol since 1977. The oil industry commissioned
three pilot projects at Miraj and Manmad in Maharashtra and at
Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh in 2001.
The success of
field trails through these pilot projects has culminated with
the Government making it mandatory for the supply of five per
cent ethanol-blended petrol. The Government issued a notification
on September 12, 2002 for mandatory supply of only 5 per cent
ethanol-blended petrol in nine States and four Union territories.
The content of
ethanol blending would be increased to 10 per cent in the third
phase of the programme scheduled in 2005. The Government has decided
to implement another three pilot projects for this purpose after
necessary amendments to specifications of petrol made by the Bureau
of Industrial Standards (BIS).
The Research
and Development (R & D) studies have already begun to evaluate
blending of ethanol with diesel. Diesel alone constitutes about
80 per cent of the automobile fuels consumed in the country. Therefore,
the Government plans to supply ethanol-blended diesel in the fourth
phase of the programme. The Government has already sanctioned
Rs. 4 crore for R & D studies which are at an advanced stage
of completion.
India has also
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Brazil in April
2002 for transfer of technology in the fields of blending ethanol
with petrol and diesel at higher proportions. Brazil is the only
country in the world to have successfully adopted 100 per cent
sugarcane-based ethanol as fuel for its automobiles. The current
Brazilian legislation mandates blending of ethanol in gasoline
in the range of 24 to 26 per cent.
In the USA, blending
of ethanol in gasoline is done on environmental considerations.
Ethanol blending is 10 per cent in gasoline for cities requiring
control on carbon monoxide emissions during winter months. The
USA provides tax break of about $ 0.54 per gallon (about Rs. 6.20
per litre) to promote ethanol blending in gasoline.
Benefits
Doping of ethanol
with petrol supplies extra oxygen for complete combustion which
reduces carbon monoxide levels in auto emissions and, therefore,
it is considered more environment-friendly as it lessens air pollution.
The main motive for use of ethanol in petrol is to improve air
quality. Compared to motor gasoline vehicles, the ethanol-doped
motor gasoline vehicle produces lower hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide
and dioxide emissions.
For now, its
biggest advantages are claimed for the macro economy. When fully
implemented in all the designated States (and in course of time
all over the country), the programme can confer tangible benefits
on the economy confronted by a great uncertainty on the energy
front. International oil prices, currently at a new high on fears
of a war over Iraq, have tended to be erratic in recent times.
For the country, which imports nearly 70 per cent of its petroleum
requirements, any method of import substitution should be welcome.
More so when the import substitute – ethanol – is a renewable
source of energy available indigenously.
A wealth of data
from countries across the globe that have successfully experimented
with a similar mixed fuel ought to be reassuring. Tried out in
the U.S. and Europe during the Second World War and currently
strongly advocated across the European Union, it is, however,
the Brazilian experience with its "gasohol" that is
cited to buttress its case in India. There is, in fact, a striking
similarity between Brazil and India. Like in Brazil, ethanol would
be sourced almost entirely from sugar mills in India. The ethanol
alternative is actually regarded as a way out for the beleaguered
sugar industry faced with mounting stocks and high cost of production.
Since ethanol will be produced from molasses, an important byproduct
of the industry, the economics of the sugar industry will improve
once the blended fuel scheme takes off. Sugar mills, in the recent
past, have experimented with co-generation (using bagasse) to
produce electricity, often with mixed results. They hope to do
better by selling ethanol as a fuel additive.
Bio-fuels are
now being seriously viewed from the multi-dimensional perspective
of depleting fossil fuels, resources, environmental health, energy
security and agrarian economy. The coming years will witness enhanced
activities and investments in new technologies and infrastructure
for cost-effective production. Efficient utilization of bio-fuels
is expected to put both oil industry and agriculture on a strong
footing apart from benefiting the environment.
*
Freelance Writer
