Ethanol as Green fuel with Oxygenate properties replacing chemical additives is the policy of NDA govt in India.

1. Ethanol
Why ethanol - Ethanol production generates capital investment, saves Foreign
exchange, brings economic development and job creation in Rural economies.
Ethanol reduces tailpipe carbon monoxide emissions by as much as 30%.
Ethanol reduces exhaust VOC emissions by 12%.
Ethanol reduces toxic emissions by 30%.
Ethanol reduces particulate emissions, especially fine-particulates that pose a health
threat to children, senior citizens, and those with respiratory ailments.
Ethanol reduces carbon dioxide greenhouse gases by over 35% compared to gasoline.

2. Ethanol impact on Economy
 the direct employment potential is likely to be at least 50 times that of a
petroleum refinery
 the ethanol requirement for 10% blend of each of these products would
mean around 6 billion liters (1 billion + 5 billion liters) per year. This in
turn, means a requirement of nearly 90 to 100 million tones of
additional sugarcane to be converted to ethanol, which is only around
30% of total sugarcane grown in the country as against 55% used in
Brazil for ethanol program. This in turn would provide an additional
income per year to the tune of Rs 6500 Cr.(65,000 million) at an
average price of Rs. 650 per tone. This would also involve a cultivation
of nearly 1.4 million hectares out of the total cultivable area 184 million
hectares and involve supporting an estimated 1 crore farmers (and
their families)
 A 6 billion liters ethanol production, could save an estimated around
US$1 billion in foreign exchange in diesel / petrol equivalent. The value
would be much higher if MTBE equivalent is worked out. The value to
be attached to enhanced energy security of the Nation has to be
considered

3. Facts for Policy makers
 Ethanol is a renewable energy source with positive energy balance
 Ethanol is more environmental friendly than gasoline
 Large scale ethanol usage can promote more jobs while considering the loss of jobs in the oil
refineries
 Viability of ethanol as a alternate fuel is decided by its cogeneration potential
 Government subsidies are required for the promotion of ethanol as fuel
 Sugar based ethanol production are more economical than the corn based ethanol production
 Only minimal changes are required to convert both the engine and fuel distribution sides to accept
ethanol as fuel
 Controlled Ethanol production option from sugarcane and food grains may not affect the sugar and
food grain supply in the consumer markets
 Cellulosic biomass to ethanol conversion technique can be made cost effective in the near future
 Flexible fuel vehicles are more appropriate than introducing E100(ethanol only) vehicles
 Advancements in biotechnology can significantly change the cost economics of fuel ethanol
production
 Simultaneous Sacharification and Fermentation technique can give higher ethanol yield from the
feedstock
 Molecular sieve technology is a highly efficient dehydration technology for producing fuel ethanol
 Ethanol as a fuel for the Fuel cells is more viable (Technically & Economically) compared to other
fuels
 Agricultural country like India can meet the whole ethanol fuel requirement by means of sugar and
starch feedstock
 Countries like India and China which are having a vast area of cultivable land & cheap labor can
gain competitive advantage over other countries in ethanol production

4. Kyoto protocol
 The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty designed
to limit global greenhouse gas emissions. Many
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC), have signed the
Protocol.
 The Kyoto Protocol provides for three mechanisms
that enable the developed countries to meet the
emission limitation and reduction commitments.
Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM),
developed countries would take up Green House Gas
reduction activities in developing countries.

5. Advantages of Kyoto for India
 In terms of reduction of carbon emission, the
nation can save nearly 5 to 6 million tones of
carbon equivalent per year including carbon
substitution by bagasse. This can mean
additional income from international carbon
trading estimated to be to the tune of $ 100
million. More importantly, the program will
assist in promoting sustainable development,
slowing down climate change and reducing
medi-care bills in thousands of crores.

6. Subsidies for EU ethanol
 Europe: A global positive environmental impact
Public concern about health effects due to urban air pollution in the late 1980's and early
l990's, has became more significant, pushing European governments into the implementation
of drastic legislation (on cars and fuel qualities). Recent years have seen many pressures on
vehicle and fuel performance to meet increasingly stringent emissions regulations and
improve fuel consumption. The driving force for using biodiesel and ETBE/Ethanol as
alternative fuel is a desire to reduce global CO 2. Thus, it is generally claimed that alternative
fuels will reduce both regulated (carbon monoxide, total hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides,
particulates) and unregulated exhausts (aromatic compounds, benzene), emissions while
reducing drastically sulphur emissions. Although much information have been collected on
the environmental impacts of biofuels, a complete assessment of these impacts at European
and international levels is still very difficult. Therefore, The European EPEFE programme, set
up in 1994, was mainly aimed at establishing common European assessments of positive
environmental impacts of liquid biofuels.
 Use of oxygenates in addition with premium fuels in France
Updated tests undertaken in France on catalyst and non-catalyst vehicles revealed
interesting positive impacts of using oxygenates fuels (e. g gasoline in addition with added
oxygenates such as ETBE produced from sugar beet). Adding ETBE to gasoline leads to a
decrease of CO, unburned HC and aromatic compounds such as benzene.
 Use of reformulated gasoline in Finland
Reformulated gasoline in Finland contains less sulphur and benzene than conventional
gasoline. Its lower vapour pressure means lower volatility and less volatile organic
compounds into the air than from conventional gasoline. Reformulated gasoline is unleaded
and has an oxygen content of around 2%. MTBE and TAME gasoline components provide
the oxygen. The emission benefits with reformulated gasoline are significant. Biomass based
ethanol or methanol can be utilised as raw material for ETBE / MTBE production when the
price will be competitive with natural gas based components.
 Use of mixed biodiesel in France
The absence of sulphur in FAME gives to this product a real environmental advantage in
comparison to diesel fuel. As a matter of consequence, according to several European
studies (Austria, Germany, France), the mutagenic power of exhaust gas of pure ester is

7. US Ethanol
 USA :The US ethanol industry has been
supported by clean air legislation, which
mandates petrol additives, since 1990.
Ethanol's prospects have been boosted by
moves to outlaw one of its competitors in the
biofuels market, MTBE. The US has enacted
legislation that will almost double US ethanol
production to 7.5 million gallons in 2012. That
was driven by pollution concerns and the
need to boost self-sufficiency in fuel supplies.

8. Price mechanism
 Price of MTBE : Global Prices of MTBE fob
on Asian ports is above 600USD and is
higher in EU.
 Ethanol Procurement : Oil companies are
buying at Rs21/lt.
 With weak Dollar and strong rupee this has
brought down value difference, but for a
period of 2-3 years difference between MTBE
and Indian blending was around
Rs.10/lt,meaning Rs.30/lt was appropriate.

9. EU subsidies
 Financial incentives and tax system policy
In order to be able to compete with fossil fuels routes, renewable energies routes and possibly liquid
biofuels should be financially supported, through a tax relief policy or though direct aid granted to the
channel (direct support to farmers, industries; tax relief on green energy. Considering the future
development of ETBE and methyl ester in Europe, it would appear that in the short and medium term, tax
relief is the most effective way to ensure that biofuels are competitive. This already applies without any
problem to other fossil fuel (GPL) and to other forms of energy used in transport (electricity). For tax
legislation to be adopted at Community level, the members states will have to be unanimous, and at
present this appears to be unlikely. Finally, the current discussion on Agenda 2000 will influence decisions
on possible support of non food outlets for agricultural production. Tax relief and other financial incentives
in favour of liquid biofuels in Europe are as follows:
 Austria Tax relief (95%) adopted for pure biodiesel used as an engine fuel.
 Belgium Tax relief (100%) adopted for experimental projects using plants with a capacity under 5 000
tons/year, from 1994 to 1996.
 Finland Tax incentive for reformulated diesel fuel (0,025 ECU/L) and for reformulated gasoline (0,008
ECU/L).
 France Tax incentive adopted for VOME mixed with diesel (0,35 ECU/L) and for ETBE mixed with gasoline
(0,22 ECU/L).
 Germany No excise tax for biodiesel substituting standard fuels, either unblended or blended with fossil
diesel in the vehicle tank.
 Greece No tax relief and no financial incentives.
 Ireland No tax relief and no financial incentives.
 Italy Tax relief adopted on a maximum quantity of 125 000 tons of pure biodiesel operating for a limited
time
 Spain Tax relief on methyl ester used in experimental project and no financial incentives.
 The Netherlands No financial incentives, but tax relief on bioethanol is requested.

10. ETBE
 Life Cycle analysis of ETBE from sugar beet Ethanol
Life Cycle Analysis has been used to estimate the consumption of
primary energy related to all steps in the production of ETBE, MTBE
and ethanol. The method dissociates renewable and fossil energies.
The energy balance, for which only non renewable energy is taken into
account, has been established as the ratio of biofuel energy produced
divided by total fossil primary energy used. This ratio has been
estimated for several products using the Life Cycle Analysis Method.
Results have been calculated as follows:
 Gasoline - 0 74-0.84
MTBE (from fossil fuel) - 0.73
ETBE (from sugar beet ethanol)- 0.93
Ethanol (from sugar beet) - 1.18, where ethanol is obtained 50% from
green juice, 50% from GS2 (Green syrup after the second cycle).
 As indicated the energy balance for ETBE is slightly below 1, as the
synthesis of ETBE requires the consumption of isobutylene, of fossil
origin. However, Ethanol and ETBE are the products having the best
energy balances.

11. Calorific value and its implications
 Unfortunately, ethanol has a comparatively low calorific value*
of only 28.6 MJ/kg compared to 43.5 MJ/kg of petrol which
means that it requires an additional 35% more ethanol to
release the same amount of energy as petrol.
This fact is clearly revealed by comparing the stoichiometric
air/fuel requirement of petrol (14.73:1) to that of ethanol (9.0:1).
However, this disparity is not born out in test results. In
general, the fuel economy of an engine using a 10%
ethanol/petrol blend is usually only 3% to 4% lower than the
same engine using 100% petrol as a fuel.

12. Effects of ethanol on fuel parameters
 The octane number is a measure of the resistance to the abnormal combustion phenomenon known as
'knock'. As previously stated, ethanol in petrol is known to enhance the octane number or rating of fuel,
and is recognised worldwide as a proven octane enhancer.
 The octane performance of a fuel is measured under two different operating conditions that provide the
'research' and 'motor' octane numbers (RON and MON) of the fuel. RON relates to low speed (lugging)
operation, and MON relates to high engine speed operation.
 The octane requirement of a particular engine type results from a number of design factors such as
compression ratio and the design of the combustion chamber. Engines and petrol octane numbers are
complementary; engines are designed to operate effectively on commercial fuel of specified octane
numbers and fuel suppliers must ensure petrol octane meets these market needs.25
 The difference between the RON and MON is called the 'sensitivity'. Petrol manufacturers try to maintain
this at about 8 to 10 units to prevent high speed knock and possible engine damage. The sensitivity of E10
is about 14 units, although this may vary somewhat depending on the composition of the base petrol.
 The oxygen content required for combustion in a motor vehicle running on non-oxygenated fuel is
sourced from the air. The oxygen content of a fuel has an effect on the Air-to-Fuel (A/F) ratio. The A/F ratio
required for complete combustion (the stoichiometric balance) is 14.6:1, that is 14.6 kilograms of air to one
kilogram of non-oxygenated fuel.
 Ethanol blended fuels have an increased oxygen content (ethanol at 10% equates to an oxygen content of
3.5%), which will alter the A/F ratio at which the engine is operating.
 Volatility refers to a fuel's ability to change from liquid to vapour. It is characterised by three
measurements - vapour pressure, flexible volatility index and distillation curve.
 Volatility is commonly measured by RVP (Reid Vapour Pressure), which is the fuel's vapour pressure at
37.8 degrees Celsius. This is a measure of the fuel's more volatile components which vaporise first, known
as 'front end volatility'. RVP is largely governed by the fuel's butane content, which has an RVP of around
350 kPa
 Although ethanol itself has an RVP less than that of petrol, its addition to petrol markedly increases the
RVP of the blend, which can lead to increased evaporative emissions. It is generally accepted that the
peak RVP of ethanol blends occurs at around 5-10% ethanol concentration, and is about 6.5% above the
RVP of neat petrol. At 20% ethanol concentration, the RVP is approximately 5% above that of neat petrol
 Recent life-cycle analysis work has revealed that about 4% more fuel is required in an E10 blend to
achieve the same MJ/L.52 On an energy content basis, it is estimated that for E20 fuel consumption will
increase by about 7%

13. Biofuel Trade
 Demand for biofuels set to rise As both developed and developing
countries attempt to carve out a place for themselves in the emerging
biofuels market, both supply and demand of these alternative fuels are
expected to rise dramatically. World production of ethanol increased
from less than 20 billion litres in 2000 to over 40 billion litres in 2005.
This represents around 3 per cent of global petrol use. Production of
biofuels is forecasted to almost double again by 2010.
 Opportunities and the role of international trade This budding
market presents many opportunities for developing countries where
biofuels may be produced most easily and cheaply, although different
countries will enjoy different opportunities and biofuels may not be the
most appropriate option for all of them. International trade in biofuels
and feedstocks may provide win-win solutions.For several importing
countries it is a necessary precondition for meeting the domestic
blending targets
 For exporting countries, especially small- and medium-sized developing
countries, export markets are necessary to augment local demand
while initiating their industries.