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Ethanol blending in India has reached the first time more than 7.2 per cent in the first four months of the ethanol supply year 2020-21 (December to November), putting the country on course to meet the target of 10 per cent blending by 2022.
Key Points
- According to industry sources, if oil-marketing companies (OMCs) lift the ethanol they had contracted for, in the next few months, all-India average blending could be even near 8 per cent by the time the season ends in November.
- So far, the best ever ethanol blend with petrol has been around 5.2 per cent at the all-India level.
- In states such as Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh (and Daman and Diu, a Union Territory), 9.5-10 percent ethanol is being blended with petrol.
- This means these states are close to the 2022 target.
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What is ethanol?
- It is the organic compound Ethyl Alcohol which is produced from biomass.
- It is also an ingredient in alcoholic beverages. It has a higher octane number than gasoline, hence improves the petrol octane number. Ethanol has an insignificant amount of water in it.
- In India, ethanol is mainly produced from sugarcane molasses by the fermentation process. Ethanol can be mixed with the gasoline to form different blends.
Benefits of Ethanol Blending
- It is cost-effective.
- Helps in reducing Global warming by lowering the emission of carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide.
- Minimizes dependence on fossil fuels
- Contributes to creation of employment in the country
- Import reduction of Fuel.
- Helps farmers in supplementing their incomes.
Steps were taken by the government
- Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme: It aims at blending ethanol with petrol, thereby bringing it under the category of biofuels and saving millions of dollars by cutting fuel imports.
- Under this program, the availability of ethanol will increase due to the higher price for C heavy molasses-based ethanol and enabling procurement of ethanol from B heavy molasses and sugarcane juice for the first time.
- National Biofuel Policy 2018: It categorises biofuels as “Basic Biofuels” viz. First Generation (1G) ,Second Generation (2G) and Third Generation (3G) biofuels,
- It expands the scope of raw material for ethanol production by allowing the use of sugarcane juice, sugar-containing materials like sugar beet, sweet sorghum etc unfit for human consumption for ethanol production.
- It allows the use of surplus food grains for production of ethanol for blending with petrol with the approval of the National Biofuel Coordination Committee.
Fig: Classification based on their raw materials
- E20 Fuel: India notified the use of E20, a blend of 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent petrol, as fuel for compatible vehicles
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways notified the use of E20 and issued mass emission standards for the same
