Look beyond ethanol

The bold initiative to launch ethanol-doped petrol in nine states and four Union territories in 2002-03 was an environment-friendly, energy security-oriented step, but one that could not be sustained.

The efforts now to revive it are not making much headway, either. The genesis of the problem lies in the price and availability of ethanol produced by the sugar industry from its by-product, molasses.

Earlier, the petroleum-marketing companies were reluctant to pay the prices demanded by the sugar industry. Subsequently, even the supplies of ethanol became scarce because of a poor cane crop and the resulting decline in sugar, molasses and, hence, ethanol production.

Though the output of ethanol is now looking up, the sugar industry and the petroleum companies are still haggling over prices, thus delaying the re-introduction of alcohol-blended petrol.

Across the world, meanwhile, it is not just alcohol-doped fuels that are in increasing use; bio-fuels derived from even vegetable oils, grain and other organic sources are being used.

They replace fossil fuels with clean energy derived from renewable organic matter. The use of bio-diesel in conventional diesel engines has been found to result in a substantial reduction in unburnt hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particle matter.

This is not to say that there are no concerns, which revolve mainly round the sustainability and adequacy of organic material supplies.

The cultivation of these crops requires land, water, and energy, all of which are needed also to grow food, fibre and fodder.

This brings cost factors into play. In Europe, for instance, over 80 per cent of bio-fuel is normally produced from rapeseed oil, but high costs are inducing a switch to cheaper palm oil.

From this point of view, India has made the mistake of relying on a single source""molasses-based ethanol""for mixing with petrol.

It would be better to look for other alternatives as well, such as Jatropha curcas (Ratanjyot), Pongamia pinnata (Karanj) and Calophyllum inophyllum (Nagchampa), and others.

Their oil can be safely used in diesel-based compression engines without any design modification. But the economics of their collection from the wild and oil extraction is yet to be worked out.

Thus, while it may be premature to view bio-fuels as a key solution to some of the country's energy challenges, they surely merit serious attention.