Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme

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India is on its way to achieve its target of blending 20% of petrol with ethanol by 2025-26.

Ethanol is an agricultural by-product that’s specially obtained from the processing of sugar from sugarcane, but also from other sources including rice husk or maize.
Since ethanol is made out of plants that harness the power of the solar, it is also considered as renewable gas.
In India, ethanol is in particular made from sugarcane molasses by fermentation method.
Ethanol is 99.9% pure alcohol that is blended with petrol.
To supplement ethanol materials, the Government of India has accepted the procurement of ethanol produced from sources other than molasses, which is known as 1st generation ethanol or 1G.
Aside from molasses, ethanol is derived from rice straw, wheat straw, corn stover, bagasse, bamboo and forest biomass, which are referred to as 2nd generation ethanol resources or 2G.

It was launched by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in 2003 to promote the use of opportunity and environment friendly fuels.
This programme has been extended to the entire of India (except UTs of Andaman Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands) with effect from 1st April, 2019 in which Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) promote petrol combined with ethanol up to 10%.
The all-India common blending of ethanol with petrol has risen from 1.6% in 2013-14 to 11.8% in 2022-23.
India’s intention is to grow this ratio to 20% by 2030, but when the NITI Aayog released the ethanol roadmap in 2021, that deadline was advanced to 2025.
20% by 2025-26 would imply producing some 1,000 crore litres of ethanol for mixing with petrol.

Ethanol burns absolutely emitting nil CO2. However, it does not reduce the emission of any other key pollutant – nitrous oxide.
Another source of rivalry is inefficient land utilization in ethanol production and the amount of water required to cultivate crops for ethanol.
Food safety concerns, given the uncertainties environment future output.

The Niti Aayog’s roadmap had laid down that
- The ability of sugarcane-primarily based distilleries would need to increase from 426 crore litres in 2021 to 760 crore litres in 2026.
While grain- based distilleries’ potential have to increase from 258 to 740 crore litres.

- - In India, all the emphasis has been on first technology (1G) ethanol that is without delay made from foodgrains and sugarcane.
  - For instance, sugarcane gives rise to three fundamental related merchandise – sugarcane juice and syrup, B-heavy molasses and C-heavy molasses, within the order of lowering sugar content material.
  - The first two would usually visit making sugar even as the 1/3 is used for ethanol production.
  - In a bid to up fuel ethanol production, the government had begun permitting the diversion of the first away from sugar production to gas ethanol.
- Concerns about agricultural sustainability: Expanding sugarcane cultivation could redirect irrigation water from vital food-grain crops, exacerbating concerns about agricultural sustainability.

Rising import bill:
- India ranks as a chief maize producer globally, however domestic intake constantly outpaces manufacturing.
- This is also due to the fact maize has been used to produce greater gas ethanol to compensate for regulations on using sugarcane products.
- As a result, maize import has accelerated (from April to June 2024, the import is already worth $103 million) compared to ultimate yr.
More cultivation regions to satisfy the 20% goal: As in keeping with NITI Aayog’s estimates, a few 4.8 million hectares will have to be introduced to maize cultivation area to meet the 20% target, which is almost half of the maize cultivation area.
Fuel performance in present motors: The NITI Aayog record notes that ethanol delivered down gas efficiency in motors now not desirable for ethanol by average of 6%.

While the fuel ethanol pricing is the same throughout India, States determine the pricing of Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) that goes into making liquor for intake and other uses.
In UP, the government is fully aligned with the significant government’s venture on ethanol and reserves ~25% of the ethanol for ENA.
In Tamil Nadu, in which liquor is a rather rewarding market for distilleries, gas ethanol has not but caught on as a good deal.

The government needs to diversify and move to 2G and 3G ethanol that have much less damaging impact on India’s food protection.
Existing cars may need to cross for an engine returning and change over to E20 supported fabric.
As liquor sales paperwork a big bite of revenue of most state governments, many across the industry demand an increase in ethanol pricing.

Source: The Hindu

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