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India moves towards green fuels for automobiles
Tuesday, 10 December 2002, 20:30 IST
NEW DELHI: Come New Year and India will begin a major shift towards green fuels, starting with five percent ethanol in petrol.
The move comes decades after countries like Brazil and the U.S. began using ethanol, an alcohol-based alternative fuel produced by fermenting and distilling high starch content agriculture crops like sugarcane, beetroot and corn.
Industry bigwigs have hailed the move as a step in the right direction that will see a thrust towards alternative bio-fuels.
India, which depends on imports for 70 percent of its hydrocarbon requirements, is working on strategies to boost indigenous production. These include stepping up exploration and seeking alternative sources of environment-friendly fuels.
Piloting this move towards bio-fuels is state-owned petroleum major Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil), which has a separate research division studying various sources of transport fuel.
"We are looking to produce bio-fuels that can be derived from renewable sources within the country. The thrust is to have fuels that will not add to ground level vehicular pollution or greenhouse gas emissions leading to climate change," N.R. Raje, director designate of IndianOil's research and development division in Faridabad, on the outskirts of New Delhi, told IANS.
Apart from working on promoting five percent ethanol blended petrol in the first phase of introduction from January in nine major sugar-producing states, IndianOil is studying the feasibility of a higher 10 percent mix in petrol as well as the blending of ethanol with diesel.
IndianOil is mulling mixing other non-edible oils in diesel as a move towards promoting bio-fuels and reducing crude oil imports that are currently at around 78 million tonnes.
Among the non-edible oils being tested for transport fuel are seeds from wild plants and sturdy trees that are found abundantly in some pockets of the country and are currently being used by local communities to source fuel.
These include Jatropha curcus, a drought-resistant perennial plant that can be used to manufacture candles and soap, domestic fuel or as a substitute for diesel. The seed cake is high in nitrogen and can be used as fertiliser, say agro-scientists.
Another variety is the karanjiya seed of sturdy oil bearing trees found in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
"The oil from these seeds is blended with ethylene and methylene ester to derive fuel that resembles diesel in properties," said Raje.
Bio-diesels from different natural sources like soyabean are already in use in Europe, the U.S. and Japan, with a blend of five percent for passenger vehicles and up to 20 percent in heavy vehicles and trains.
IndianOil is joining hands with Indian Railways to look into the possibility of producing bio-fuels with up to 20 percent blends to power trains.
"We plan to sign a memorandum of understanding by next month to set up a model plantation, probably in Rajasthan, on about 500 hectares of surplus railway land to grow Jatropha curcus for sourcing ready supplies," Raje said.
On a small scale, non-edible oils are not economically viable as they cost anywhere between 
20 and 25 per kilogram.
The idea is to test their viability and go in for large-scale production of non-edible seeds that would boost the rural economy and also help the country reduce its oil import bill, petroleum ministry officials said.
The pilot plantation will take three to four years to start producing sufficient oil seeds to make production economically viable.
On a national scale, it may well take another couple of years before bio-fuels other than ethanol can become part of vehicular fuels because a sufficient quantity of non-edible oil seeds would have to be available for collection, crushing and manufacturing low-cost fuel.
IndianOil is already half-way through its programme for studying the feasibility of blending ethanol with diesel for transport vehicles, even as it is fine-tuning plans to introduce 10 percent ethanol blended petrol by 2004.
"We have found no problems in running passenger vehicles on ethanol blended diesel for up to 35,000-45,000 km. But more work needs to be done as vehicle manufacturers still have reservations about the stabilisation agent and the modifications that may be required," said Raje.
Source: IANS
20 and 25 per kilogram.
The idea is to test their viability and go in for large-scale production of non-edible seeds that would boost the rural economy and also help the country reduce its oil import bill, petroleum ministry officials said.
The pilot plantation will take three to four years to start producing sufficient oil seeds to make production economically viable.
On a national scale, it may well take another couple of years before bio-fuels other than ethanol can become part of vehicular fuels because a sufficient quantity of non-edible oil seeds would have to be available for collection, crushing and manufacturing low-cost fuel.
IndianOil is already half-way through its programme for studying the feasibility of blending ethanol with diesel for transport vehicles, even as it is fine-tuning plans to introduce 10 percent ethanol blended petrol by 2004.
"We have found no problems in running passenger vehicles on ethanol blended diesel for up to 35,000-45,000 km. But more work needs to be done as vehicle manufacturers still have reservations about the stabilisation agent and the modifications that may be required," said Raje.
Source: IANS