Biofuels: Meeting India’s Energy Needs
An All-India Seminar on ‘National Policy on Non-Edible Vegetable Oils as Biofuels’ was held at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore on 1-2 February 2003. Organized by SuTRA (Sustainable Transformation of Rural Areas) of IISc in association with the Samagra Vikas Trust, Bangalore, the Seminar was inaugurated by Shri Ram Naik, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas. The following is an excerpt of his Inaugural Address.
Shri Ram Naik delivering his Inaugural Address at the Seminar in Bangalore
Biofuels, derived from renewable plant sources, hold immense potential for meeting India’s future energy needs. In this world of uncertainty of regular availability and constant flow of traditional fuels, it is a welcome augury that biofuels are being given serious consideration as potential sources of energy in the future, particularly in countries with very tight foreign exchange positions and insufficient availability of traditional fuels within their own geographical boundaries. We, in India, produce only 30% of our annual crude oil requirement of about 105 million tons (MT). For the remaining 70% we rely on costly imports that cost us Rs 78,000 crores in 2001-02.
Ethanol for the Indian Transport Sector
It is quite a welcome change that today biofuels are being seriously viewed from the multidimensional perspective of depleting fossil fuel resources, environmental health, energy security, agrarian economy and new avenues of gainful employment. This means that the coming years will witness greatly enhanced activities and investments in new technologies and infrastructure for cost-effective production and efficient utilization of biofuels, which will put this industry on a strong footing.
Six technical committees and four study groups have examined the issue of blending ethanol with petrol since 1977. However, it gained momentum only in the year 2000 when the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas decided to take up pilot projects at three locations in the major sugar-producing states of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh to study the related aspects of blending ethanol with petrol and its use. These pilot projects were commissioned at Miraj and Manmad in Maharashtra and at Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh during the year 2001. Ethanol-blended petrol, supplied through more than 300 retail outlets under these pilot projects, proved successful. Six more projects were commissioned in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh during the year 2002. Simultaneously, R&D studies were also undertaken on the use of ethanol-blended petrol in automobiles.
Encouraged by the success of the pilot projects and R&D studies, and after discussions with all the concerned authorities, including State Governments, the Government of India issued a notification on 12 September 2002 mandating supply of 5% ethanol-blended petrol in nine States - Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, and four Union Territories - Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Pondicherry with effect from 1 January 2003.
In view of supply constraints from the sugar industry, the Government of India has now decided to supply 5% ethanol-blended petrol in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh beginning 1 January 2003, and the entire areas of these States would be completed by 30 June 2003. The States of Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and the Union territories of Chandigarh, Daman Diu, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Pondicherry would also be covered entirely with the supply of 5% ethanol-blended petrol by 30 June 2003.
As the current total consumption of gasoline in these 9 States and 4 Union Territories amount to about 4.6 MT per year, the requirement of ethanol at a 5% blend ratio works out to around 320-350 million liters.
In the next phase, supply of 5% ethanol-blended petrol will be extended to the whole country. Subsequently the percentage of ethanol mixture in petrol will be increased to 10%.
About 80% of the automobile fuels consumed in our country constitutes diesel alone. Therefore, the Government of India has also decided to supply ethanol-blended diesel in the third phase, and sanctioned Rs 4 crores for R&D studies which are at advanced stages of completion. We have also signed an MoU with Brazil in April 2002, which would facilitate transfer of technology in the fields of blending ethanol with petrol and diesel at higher proportions.
The Potential for Biodiesel in India
For blending with diesel, biodiesel provides a viable solution. Biodiesel, based on edible and non-edible oils, has already made much headway in the US, major European countries, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, etc., where regular production plants are already in operation. Major automobile manufacturers have also approved the use of 10-20% biodiesel blended in mineral diesel in their vehicles.
In developed countries like the US, Australia, Germany, France, etc., biodiesel is being extracted from saffola, sunflower, soybean, etc., which are essentially edible in India. But India has vast resources of non-edible/wild seeds from which oil can be derived to develop biodiesel depending upon the potential of specific seeds in the locality. Experiments have shown that biodiesel derived from non-edible oil seeds can be used in existing designs of diesel vehicles without any substantial modification. Secondly, there is a shortage of edible oils in India and as such, our concentration is going to be on development of biodiesel from non-edible oils only. For this purpose the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has already taken initiatives in planning field trials through pilot projects.
It has been learned from the representatives of the State Governments that there is ample scope for cultivation of non-edible oil seeds plants in most States. The plants which can normally be cultivated for this purpose are neem, mahua, karanja, kusum, palm, linseed, Jatropha, etc. Some of these plants, especially Jatropha, can be grown in areas with low availability of water and even in deserts. It is for this reason that the Planning Commission is also thinking of starting a National Mission on Jatropha curcas, which includes large scale plantation, collection of seeds and setting up of transesterification plants for producing biodiesel.
Benefits
Both ethanol and biodiesel, in addition to being renewable and indigenously available, also help in improving the environment. So far as biodiesel extracted from non-edible oils is concerned, it also enhances the lubricity of diesel, and thus improves the efficiency and durability of the engine. Biofuels are non toxic, biodegradable and nonflammable with very high flash points.
Apart from the above benefits, the program on biofuel will result in employment generation, particularly in rural areas, greening of waste land, drought proofing, energy security for the country and promotion of organic farming. It will also result in utilization of waste and fallow land in addition to the land on agricultural field boundaries, along public roads and railway tracks.
Changing Mindsets
The problem with the commercialization and widespread cultivation of non-edible oilseeds for production of biodiesel all these years has been the absence of a ready market in the oil sector. The petroleum industry has had a mindset of using only fossil fuels. However, I can assure you that with the successful implementation of the ethanol program, the mindset has changed. The oil sector is looking for indigenous sources to reduce its dependence on imported crude oil and there can be no better source than ethanol and biodiesel in a country where a majority of the population depends on agriculture.
Conclusion
Voluntary organizations, in association with scientific institutions, have taken the lead in organizing farmers in rural areas to cultivate non-edible oilseed crops. I can assure you that they will not find the oil sector lagging in providing a ready market and all necessary support for the biodiesel so produced. A National Policy on biofuels will have to be evolved with the participation of all the stakeholders such as the farmers cooperatives, NGOs, panchayat raj institutions and State Governments. The Ministry of Rural Development is coordinating these efforts.
For further information, please contact:
Samagra Vikas Trust, 326, 8th Main, 4th Phase, Basaveshwaranagar, Bangalore 560 079
Tel: (+91) (80) 359 2295; Fax: +91-80-359 2278
Email: samagra_vikas@yahoo.co.in
SuTRA, Dept of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012
Telefax: +91-80-360 0080
Email: udipi@sutra.iisc.ernet.in