What Is Ethanol Blending And How Can It Reduce Imports Of Petroleum?

PM Modi informed that India has achieved the target of 10% ethanol blending, 5 months ahead of schedule. In 2014, ethanol blending was at 1.5 per cent.

Talking about its benefit, he said, ¡°First, it has led to a reduction of 27 lakh tonnes of carbon emission. Second, it has saved foreign exchange worth Rs 41,000 crore and thirdly, farmers of the country have earned Rs 40,600 crore in the last eight years due to increase in ethanol blending.¡±

In India, The average carbon footprint of the world is over 4 tonnes per person per annum compared to just about 0.5 tonne per person per annum.

What is Ethanol Blending?

In ethanol blending, a blended motor fuel containing ethyl alcohol derived from agricultural products is blended with petrol specifically.

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Ethanol is a biofuel, naturally produced by the fermentation of sugars by yeasts or by petrochemical processes like ethylene hydration. Ethanol is high in oxygen content, allowing an engine to more thoroughly combust fuel. It is used for other purposes as well such as antiseptic, disinfectant, and chemical and solvent synthesis of organic compounds.

How does ethanol produce in India?

In India, the nodal department for the promotion of fuel-grade ethanol-producing distilleries is the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD).

Ethanol is produced or procured from sugarcane-based raw materials which are. C & B heavy molasses, sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, surplus rice with Food Corporation of India (FCI) and maize.

A paper released by the NITI Aayog stated, that in 2019, over 110 billion litres of ethanol fuel was produced globally. The US and Brazil account for 84 %t of the global production followed by the European Union, China, India, Canada and Thailand.

What are the benefits of ethanol blending?

Presently, India imports over 85 per cent of its oil requirement and ethanol blending could help in reducing dependency on petroleum. In 2020-21, the net import of petroleum in India was 185 million tonnes at USD 551 billion. Thus, ethanol blending can help in saving billions of dollars for the country.

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Significantly, ethanol is a less polluting fuel and equally efficient at a lower cost than petrol. ethanol is considered renewable as it is a plant-based fuel.

Mixing 20 per cent ethanol in petrol can potentially reduce the auto fuel import bill by a yearly Rs 30,000 crore.

What is Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme?

Launched in 2003, the Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme promotes the use of renewable and eco-friendly fuels and focuses on reducing India¡¯s imports of fuel. It is implemented in accordance with the National Policy on Biofuels.

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Under this programme, a target was set up by the government i.e. 10% ethanol blending by 2022 and 20% blending (E20) by 2030. Further, the procurement price of ethanol by oil marketing companies (OMCs) is fixed by the government and OMCs can procure it from domestic sources.

Earlier, only sugarcane was used to produce ethanol but foodgrains like maize, bajra, fruit and vegetable waste, etc. are also allowed to produce ethanol. It was allowed to help farmers earn extra income.

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