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India's shift to 'gasohol' could
backfire
By T V Padma
NEW
DELHI - The Indian government's latest move to get
automobile owners to drive greener - by using "gasohol"
- comes many years too late, but many hope that it will
lead to cleaner air and relief on the country's huge oil
import bills.
For two weeks now, the use of
gasohol - a mix of petrol and ethyl alcohol - has been
mandatory in nine states and four centrally administered
union territories. The government plans to widen the
scope of the program later in the year.
Debate
in India on whether gasohol should be used or not has
been a subject of debate and indecision for 30 years,
which is why skeptics claim that the announcement that
took effect January 1 has more to do with economic
compulsions and domestic politics than just
environmental concerns.
"Gasohol is a step in
the right direction and should be welcomed, even if it
has taken long to arrive," said Professor H S Mukunda,
an expert on biomass-based renewable energy systems at
the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.
Studies have shown that a blend containing 5 to
10 percent of ethyl alcohol can reduce carbon monoxide
and carbon dioxide by 10 to 30 percent. Among the states
listed in the first phase are the commercially
significant and populous states of Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Haryana.
All are major sugarcane producers, where huge
mounds of unused molasses are piling up by the tonne.
This is significant because sugarcane molasses is the
raw material usually used in producing fuel-grade
ethanol, a high-octane water-free alcohol.
This
is also why many see India's powerful sugar lobby behind
the decision to introduce gasohol. "Scientists have been
working on ethanol and advocating it for years. Yet the
government showed no interest until now," pointed out
Anumita Mazumdar, coordinator of the air pollution unit
at the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), which
has been advocating the blending of alcohol with petrol
for almost five years. Be that as it may, "This is one
case where politics helped the environment," Mazumdar
said.
Skepticism about the government's motives
also appears to stem from the fact that Petroleum
Minister Ram Naik is from the sugar-surplus state of
Maharashtra. At the launch of gasohol, Naik said, "This
move will also greatly benefit sugarcane farmers in the
country."
Sweeteners have been lined up to boost
the gasohol effort. For instance, the Maharasthra state
government has announced a small rebate in excise duty
and the waiver of sales tax for gasohol manufacturers.
These may go some way toward closing the large
gap between supply and demand. According to the
country's Ministry of Petroleum, India produces
two-thirds of its requirements of the blended fuel - 200
million liters against an estimated demand of 320
million liters.
Some of the estimated demand may
also be met through the efforts of public sector giant
Indian Oil. The company is researching plant-derived
non-edible oils - like that produced by the Jatropha
tree - and plans to launch a blended fuel that contains
10 percent alcohol by 2004. An Indian Oil scientist said
that the company hopes biodiesel "may hit the market in
four years".
Gasohol is actually the second
green fuel that India has adopted. Last year, after a
spirited campaign led by the CSE, the Supreme Court
issued a directive that led to the Delhi state
government's banning of use of diesel by buses, which
now use compressed natural gas. Air pollution has since
decreased.
The switch to alcohol-blended petrol
is also expected to help bring down India's huge crude
oil import bill. In the last financial year 2001-02, the
country imported 78 million tonnes of crude - 70 percent
of its needs - at a cost of US$16 billion. To put that
in perspective, over the same period, India's foreign
exchange reserves grew by just $11 billion.
"Even this 5 percent blend will make a
substantial difference to our foreign exchange
reserves," a petroleum ministry official said. Five
percent of a liter of gasohol will be ethyl alcohol in
this first phase of the program, with the blend rising
to a proposed 10 percent from October 2003.
Those in India who must now tank up with the new
fuel blend will find that it is slightly cheaper than
regular petrol, by one rupee (about 2 US cents) per
liter - if motorists can find the blend.
"I knew
nothing about this. I do not even know how many gas
stations actually have the fuel," said Venkat
Subramaniam, a Hyderabad-based engineer. Indeed, some
states said they were caught unawares by the
introduction of gasohol, although finance ministry
officials point out that mention of gasohol use is in
India's 2002 budget, announced in February last year.
Happily for motorists like Subramaniam, the 5
percent blend requires no modification to vehicle
engines - but a blend containing more than 10 percent
ethyl alcohol will. Brazil, whose efforts to develop
environment-friendly fuel served as a role model for
India, uses a 22 percent alcohol mix in its blended
fuel.
The petrol-ethyl alcohol blend is
promising, but the challenge lies in the use of diesel,
which, despite the ban on buses' use of diesel last
year, accounts for almost four-fifths of Indian
automobile fuels. A blend with diesel, which is under
research, will mark a real breakthrough.
For
now, all the states in the first phase of the use of
gasohol, except Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, have
asked for more time to implement the fuel switch. Even
so, reports from Maharashtra indicate that not all
petrol pump owners have gasohol ready to pump.
(Inter Press Service)
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