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The timeline for blending of ethanol in automotive fuel up to 20% has been moved to 2025, from 2030. And this year’s target is 8.5%. The way forward is to step up usage of biomass, agricultural residue and municipal solid waste as feedstock for ethanol, so as to gainfully reduce crude oil imports, cut down on tailpipe emissions and also boost our energy security in the bargain.
However, there is an ongoing change in the technoeconomic paradigm in transport and mobility away from the internal combustion engine, and towards electric vehicles, which can only accelerate. So, while 20% blending of ethanol with petrol can make economic and ecological sense in the here and now, it cannot really be a long-term solution to shore up energy supply.
Yet, it is notable that ethanol blending has picked up speed lately. Back in 2019, the blending rate was about 5.8%, up from less than 1% in 2014, against a target of 5%. The aim now is to go for 10% blending by 2022, by using damaged broken grain, rice straw and biomass generally as ethanol feedstock, although the bulk of ethanol production today is very much a by-product of the sugar industry.
And, sugarcane is hugely water-intensive; stepping up cane output is clearly avoidable in water-stressed India. Hence the need to innovate and use new enzymes to produce syngas from biomass that can then be used to make ethanol, or produce hydrogen, the promising new sustainable, green, non-polluting energy source of the future. Bioethanol can be a huge economic opportunity.
For 20% ethanol blending by 2025, 1,000 crore litres would be needed, which, at current prices, would be worth Rs 60,000-65,000 crore. It also has the potential to put paid to crop residue burning, a source of air pollution.
Courtesy - The Economic Times.
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