GS Paper III

News Excerpt:

The Indian government has directed sugar mills to avoid using sugarcane juice or syrup for making ethanol this year, as sugar production is expected to decrease in the 2023-24 season.

About the news:

• In the 2022-23 Ethanol Supply Year (ESY started in November) -

• • Total production: 4.94 billion litres of ethanol

• 1.26 billion litres of ethanol produced in the country came from sugarcane juice or syrup
• 2.33 billion litres (around 47%) came from B-heavy molasses
• Around 1.3 billion litres, came from grain-based sources.
• When ethanol is produced from sugarcane juice or syrup directly, the maximum amount of actual sugar is diverted for making ethanol.
• Over 2 million tonnes of sugar could be ploughed back into total supplies by this order to stop sugar companies from producing ethanol from cane juice and syrup.
• After stopping imports and expanding the monthly release quota, the government has decided to stop mills from producing ethanol through a process that consumes most actual sugar.

Products used for Ethanol production:

• A-molasses (first molasses):
• An intermediate by-product from initial sugar crystal extraction, containing 80-85% dry matter. It should be inverted to prevent crystallization if stored.
• B-molasses (second molasses):
• Similar dry matter content as A-molasses but with less sugar and no spontaneous crystallization.
• C-molasses (final molasses, blackstrap molasses, treacle):
• The end by-product of sugar processing, containing significant amounts of sucrose (about 32 to 42%). It does not crystallize and is used as a commercial feed ingredient in liquid or dried form.
• Syrup-off (liquor-off, jett):
• It is the end by-product from the centrifugation of the final refined masecuite in a raw sugar refinery.
• Normally, syrup-off is sent to the raw sugar section of the refinery where it is further processed in order to recover more sucrose.
• Grain-based sources:
• Barley, Corn, Rye, Wheat, etc.

Ethanol blending and its significance:

• It is a process where ethanol is mixed with petrol in different proportions, such as E10 (10% ethanol, 90% petrol) and E20 (20% ethanol, 80% petrol).
• The transportation sector is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants, which is why ethanol is an excellent alternative to gasoline.
• The Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) is aimed at reducing the country's dependence on crude oil imports, cutting carbon emissions, boosting farmers' incomes, and reducing air pollutants.
• India achieved 10% ethanol blending in 2022.
• The Government of India has set a target of achieving 20% ethanol blending in petrol (E20) by 2025.
• The Ethanol Blending Programme, 2003 is a crucial step towards promoting the use of renewable and sustainable biofuels like ethanol.

Initiatives to promote Ethanol blending:

• National Policy on Biofuels 2018, amended in 2022
• Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana 2019
• E27 Fuel and Ethanol Blended Diesel Fuel:
• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has successfully launched a pilot study on vehicles using E27 fuel and Ethanol Blended Diesel Fuel. 

Issues with Ethanol blending:

• Currently, most of the ethanol being produced uses either sugarcane or rice as its raw material. Both these crops are water intensive.
• Large amounts of water are needed to adequately irrigate biofuel crops and to produce ethanol, putting the burden on water supplies.
• Distilleries are purchasing food grains intended for the underprivileged at a lower cost than what the states pay for their public distribution systems.
• The rural impoverished suffer as a result of the competition between the distilleries and the public distribution system, which might increase the risk of famine.
• A revision to the National Policy on Biofuel in 2022 placed a greater emphasis on feedstocks derived from food.
• This is different from the 2018 National Policy on Biofuels, which gave priority to items like straw from rice, wheat, and corn; cellulosic material like bagasse; and grasses and algae.

Way forward:

• Agricultural economists have advocated relying on maize for ethanol production instead of water-guzzling rice and sugarcane.
• R&D is necessary to develop methods for producing ethanol from waste products.
• This would result in significant benefits for both the climate and air quality, as these waste products are often burned and dumped.
• Meanwhile, there is also a need to push for the acceptance of electric vehicles in order to further reduce the use of crude oil.

Prelims PYQ

Q. According to India’s National Policy on Biofuels, which of the following can be used as raw materials for the production of biofuels? (UPSC 2020)

1. Cassava
2. Damaged wheat grains
3. Groundnut seeds
4. Horse gram
5. Rotten potatoes
6. Sugar beet

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 2, 5 and 6 only

(b) 1, 3, 4 and 6 only

(c) 2, 3, 4 and 5 only

(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6