Using Damaged Grains to Make Ethanol: Oil Retailers Await Norms
by Richa Mishra, TV Jayan (The Hindu Business Line) Commitment to EBP scheme gives sugar industry confidence to set up distilleries — To ensure that the country does not miss any opportunity to generate its own fuel and bring down import dependence, the government proposes to use surplus foodgrains for ethanol production. Public sector oil refining-cum-marketing companies are awaiting formal guidelines, which are expected any time soon.
The decision to use damaged foodgrains for making ethanol shows the government’s commitment to promoting the ethanol blended petrol (EBP) programme even when crude oil prices are down, and sends a message that the programme does not depend solely on sugarcane supply, said an industry source.
The indicative target laid down in the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 is to achieve 20 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol in the country by 2030. The policy also envisages use of damaged foodgrains, rotten potato, corn and sugar beet.
A senior executive from a public sector oil company said: “The guidelines will outline from where the procurement will be done, how much procurement and the pricing mechanism. The oil companies will not be directly procuring foodgrains but they will take ethanol produced from it through a tendering process.”
Using surplus rice in godowns
Last month, the National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC), under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, had decided that the surplus rice available with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) may be converted to ethanol and used for making alcohol-based hand-sanitisers and in blending for the EBP programme.
The Nationa(l Policy on Biofuels also allows production of ethanol from damaged foodgrains such as wheat and broken rice, which are unfit for human consumption. READ MORE
Surplus rice at FCI to make your drive greener (AutoCar Professional)
Allow use of maize for ethanol production, says CACP (The Hindu Business Line)
Govt unlikely to divert excess rice to make ethanol (Cogenicis)
Bio-fuel boost: Govt to allow ethanol production from surplus rice, says MSME minister Nitin Gadkari (Financial Express)
