Context:
India is progressing towards its ambitious goal of blending 20% of petrol with ethanol by 2025-26, aiming to enhance energy security and reduce carbon emissions. However, this initiative is not without its challenges. Concerns persist regarding the fuel efficiency of existing vehicles when using blended fuel, which could potentially impact performance and maintenance.
Relevance:
GS III: Environment and Ecology
Dimensions of the Article:
- Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme (EBP)
- Overview of Ethanol Production Expansion in India
- Challenges Impacting India’s Ethanol Sector
- Regional Variations in Ethanol Use and Policy
What is Ethanol fuel?
- Ethanol fuel is ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, used as fuel.
- It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline.
- Ethanol is commonly made from biomass such as corn or sugarcane.
- Bioethanol is a form of renewable energy that can be produced from agricultural feedstocks.
- It can be made from very common crops such as hemp, sugarcane, potato, cassava and corn.
- There has been considerable debate about how useful bioethanol is in replacing gasoline.
- Concerns about its production and use relate to increased food prices due to the large amount of arable land required for crops, as well as the energy and pollution balance of the whole cycle of ethanol production, especially from corn.
Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme (EBP)
- Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme was launched in 2003- and this initiative is pursued aggressively in the last 4 to 5 years to reduce import dependence of crude oil as well as mitigate environmental pollution.
- The Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) seeks to achieve blending of Ethanol with motor sprit with a view to reducing pollution, conserve foreign exchange and increase value addition in the sugar industry enabling them to clear cane price arrears of farmers.
- Although the Government of India decided to launch EBP programme in 2003 for supply of 5% ethanol blended Petrol, it later scaled up blending targets from 5% to 10% under the Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP).
- The Government of India has also advanced the target for 20% ethanol blending in petrol (also called E20) to 2025 from 2030.
- Currently, 8.5% of ethanol is blended with petrol in India.
Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India by 2025
- The central government has released an expert committee report on the Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India by 2025 that proposes a gradual rollout of ethanol-blended fuel to achieve E10 fuel supply by April 2022 and phased rollout of E20 from April 2023 to April 2025.
- The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoP&NG) had instituted an Expert Group to study the issues such as pricing of ethanol, matching pace of the automobile industry to manufacture vehicles with new engines with the supply of ethanol, pricing of such vehicles, fuel efficiency of different engines etc.
Advantages of Ethanol Blending
- Use of ethanol-blended petrol decreases emissions such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).
- The unregulated carbonyl emissions, such as acetaldehyde emission were, however, higher with E10 and E20 compared to normal petrol. However, these emissions were relatively lower.
- Increased use of ethanol can help reduce the oil import bill. India’s net import cost stands at USD 551 billion in 2020-21. The E20 program can save the country USD 4 billion (Rs 30,000 crore) per annum.
- The oil companies procure ethanol from farmers that benefits the sugarcane farmers.
- Further, the government plans to encourage use of water-saving crops, such as maize, to produce ethanol, and production of ethanol from non-food feedstock.
Overview of Ethanol Production Expansion in India:
- Niti Aayog’s Plan: It has been projected that the production capacity for sugarcane-based distilleries is set to rise from 426 crore litres in 2021 to 760 crore litres by 2026, and grain-based distilleries are expected to increase capacity from 258 crore litres to 740 crore litres.
- Supportive Measures: The implementation of two interest subvention programs has significantly contributed to enhancing ethanol production capacities across the country.
Challenges Impacting India’s Ethanol Sector:
- Focus on First-Generation Ethanol: Predominantly, ethanol in India is produced directly from food grains and sugarcane. Notably, sugarcane processing yields sugarcane juice and syrup, along with B-heavy and C-heavy molasses, with the latter being utilized for ethanol production.
- Shift in Crop Utilization: There has been a governmental push to reallocate resources from sugar production to boost ethanol output, using the first two byproducts of sugarcane.
- Agricultural Sustainability Concerns: The expansion of sugarcane cultivation for ethanol production is diverting essential irrigation resources away from food grain cultivation, raising sustainability issues. Moreover, to offset the limitation on sugarcane utilization, there has been an increased reliance on maize for ethanol production, leading to a significant rise in maize imports, which totaled $103 million from April to June 2024.
- Maize Cultivation Expansion: To achieve the set target of 20% ethanol blending, an additional 4.8 million hectares of maize cultivation will be necessary, which constitutes about half of the current cultivation area.
- Impact on Fuel Efficiency: It has been observed that the use of ethanol has reduced the fuel efficiency of vehicles not specifically adapted for ethanol usage by an average of 6%.
Regional Variations in Ethanol Use and Policy:
- Uniform Ethanol Pricing: Across India, the pricing of fuel ethanol remains uniform, whereas the pricing for Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA), used in beverages and other applications, varies by state.
- State-Specific Approaches:
- In Uttar Pradesh (UP), the state government reserves approximately 25% of its ethanol production for ENA, aligning closely with the central government’s ethanol objectives.
- Conversely, in Tamil Nadu, the adoption of fuel ethanol is less pronounced due to the lucrative nature of the liquor market within the state.
-Source: The Hindu
