Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi on August 15, 2022, while addressing the nation from Red Fort, New Delhi on the occasion of India’s 75th Independence Day made an announcement that the target of blending 10 % of ethanol in petrol has been achieved and that too ahead of its due date .He also said that Ethanol Blending and Flexi Fuel will greatly help in India’s development.

What is Ethanol? How Ethanol is extracted? What is Ethanol Blending?

Ethanol (C2H5Oh) or Ethyl Alcohol is an organic chemical compound from the alcohol family. It is a colorless volatile flammable liquid that is used in various products like alcoholic drinks, sanitizers, etc.

Ethanol is extracted through the fermentation process of grains, sugarcane, maize, etc. Yeast is used for the fermentation process. Carbon dioxide is the main by-product of this process as it is produced by yeast. It is often captured and used for other purposes like making carbonated drinks, dry ice, etc.

Ethanol Blending simply means mixing Ethanol in petrol. Blending ethanol with petrol will give rise to Flexi fuel which can be used in automobiles. Ethanol is rich in oxygen content, allowing an engine to more thoroughly combust fuel. The government of India is using this technique to decrease its dependency on petrol. 

Ethanol Bending and Flexi Fuel in India

India which is the third largest automobile sector in the world depends hugely on other countries for its fuel requirement. India nearly imports 80 % of its fuel in the form of Crude oil from other countries mainly from Gulf countries. As per official data, India spent nearly 65 billion dollars on Oil imports from Gulf countries.

Ethanol Blended Programme (EBP) launched in the year 2003 promotes the use of renewable and eco-friendly fuels and mainly focuses on the reduction of India’s dependence on Imported Fuel. Under this programme, a target was set up by the government which is to blend 10% ethanol in petrol by the year 2022(EBD10) and 20% blending by 2030(EBD20). This will save approximately Rs 30,000 crore for the Government of India on the import cost of crude oil. 

Pros of Ethanol Blending

There are many benefits of EBP. The most important is that it will decrease dependency on petrol to a huge extent so it will save billions of dollars for the country. It is also a green fuel which means it is eco-friendly and will cause less pollution. It will cost less than petrol. The government of India has decided to produce nearly 500 crore liters of Ethanol in the country, production of ethanol will generate employment. Farmers will also get benefitted from this.

Cons of Ethanol Blending

Many experts believe that the Ethanol Blending Programme will lead to the industrialization of food crops which means a large piece of land will be used only to produce grains for fermentation. The food security of the country will be at risk. Flexi fuel which is to be used in automobiles requires a special engine to process. As most automobiles which are currently running in the country are based on petrol/diesel engines and this will require huge upgradation in the engine. Although E10 requires no significant change in the current engine but in the future, engines and components need to be calibrated while using E20 as a fuel. So ultimately it will cost a fortune to replace currently running engines with Flexi engines.