With India’s ethanol sector witnessing steady growth, industry leaders are now exploring ways to utilise surplus ethanol by converting it into isobutanol, a fuel that can be blended with diesel to reduce emissions.
Speaking at the ongoing India Sugar & Bio-Energy Conference, organised by the Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) in New Delhi, Dr. Reji Mathai, Director of the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), highlighted the potential of isobutanol as a next-step innovation.
“Surplus ethanol can be used to produce isobutanol, which can be blended with diesel. This will help in using excess ethanol and also check pollution,” said Dr. Mathai.
Addressing the conference a day earlier, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that India is actively working on a plan to blend diesel with isobutanol. The move comes after early trials of ethanol-diesel blends failed to yield satisfactory results.
Gadkari reiterated the government’s commitment to expanding biofuel use, not only to support cleaner energy but also to boost farmers’ income through increased demand for agricultural by-products like sugarcane.
A dedicated panel on “Decarbonisation of Road Transport with Ethanol” featured insights from key players in the automotive and bio-energy sectors:
Anoop Bhat, Executive Officer, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said, “Flex-fuel vehicles, if promoted, can help utilize excess ethanol without impacting the existing fleet of vehicles.”
Aditya Jhunjhunwala, MD, KM Sugar Mills Ltd, stated that there is a need for a roadmap beyond E20, which will help producers gain clarity.
Vedang Pittie, Executive, Harinagar Sugar Mills, said there is a need to increase ethanol production from molasses. “We should increase ethanol blending to E30 in a phased manner. The current controversy regarding E20 is just a roadblock. Brazil is a case in point of how well the programme is working.”
Sanjay Desai of Regreen Excel said that India will soon become a low-cost ethanol producer.
P.S. Ravi, Director (Downstream) at the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry, said, “To determine the price of FFVs, we need to develop a marker. For that, the market has to mature.”
