Question : Ethanol Blending in Petrol

(a) whether the Government proposes to make ethanol blending compulsory in the entire country particularly in Purnia of Bihar, Ambedkar Nagar of Uttar Pradesh and Hooghly of West Bengal and if so, the details thereof along with the current rate of ethanol blending in the country and the success achieved so far in blending of bio-ethanol and the reaction of the Government thereto, State/UT-wise;
(b) whether the Government has set any target for production of bio-diesel in the country including Chhattisgarh during the last three years and if so, the extent to which the said target has been achieved so far along with reasons for not achieving the desired target and the reaction of the Government thereto;
(c) the number of bio-diesel producing units in the country and percentage of bio-diesel produced/used and exported along with efforts made/remedial measures taken by the Government in the field of bio-diesel production, Country/State-wise;
(d) whether the Government proposes to start 15 industries for second generation ethanol and if so, the details thereof;
(e) whether ethanol can be easily produced from cotton straw, wheat straw, rice straw, bagasse and bamboo and if so, the details thereof; and
(f) whether the ethanol is an alternative fuel which is import substitute, cost effective and pollution free and if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
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(a) : The Government, through Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), is implementing the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme under which, OMCs sell ethanol blended petrol with percentage of ethanol upto 10% subject to its availability. Since its inception, the scope of EBP Programme has been progressively widened to 21 States and 4 Union Territories, which includes states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Ethanol supply has improved from 38 crore litres during ethanol supply year 2013-14 to 111 crore litres in 2015-16. Though the supply reduced to 66.5 crore litres in 2016-17 due to lower cane, molasses availability because of drought in Maharashtra and Karnataka, the allocated quantity in ethanol supply year 2017-18 has increased to 139.5 crore litre.
(b) & (c): To encourage production of Biodiesel in the country, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas announced a Biodiesel Purchase Policy, in October, 2005, which became effective from 1st January 2006. This Policy inter-alia envisages blending of bio-diesel with Diesel to the extent of five per cent.
The Government, vide notification dated 29th June, 2017, has allowed for direct sale of Biodiesel (B-100) for blending with High Speed Diesel to all consumers, in accordance with the specified blending limits and the standards specified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
As per Chhattisgarh Biofuel Development Authority (CBDA) they have produced more than 1,87,195 kg of semi finished / finished Biofuel from Jatropha seeds during April 2015 till January 2018 at CBDA Biodiesel plant (for demonstration purpose only).
Details regarding number of biodiesel producing units in the country, along with production capacity and biodiesel produced during 2017-18 (upto December 2017), as provided by Biodiesel Association of India (BDAI), is given at Annexure.
(d) & (e) : In December, 2014, the Government allowed Second Generation (2G) route for procurement of ethanol. Oil PSUs have entered into Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with State Governments and Technology Providers for setting up five 2G ethanol bio-refineries. On 25.12.2016, foundation stone of the first 2G ethanol bio-refinery to be set up by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited in Bathinda, Punjab, has been laid. Ethanol can also be produced from cellulosic and lignocellulosic feedstock such as cotton straw, wheat straw, rice straw, bagasse and bamboo.
(f): Ethanol has higher octane than petrol, burns slowly and completely, and its blending with Petrol as per BIS specifications helps in reducing emissions. The quantity so blended helps in substituting import.
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