Amendment to National Biofuel Policy 2018

Introduced in 2018, the National Biofuel Policy is aimed at reducing dependence on imports by encouraging fuel blending.

The Policy categorizes biofuels as –

• Basic Biofuels viz. First Generation (1G) bioethanol & biodiesel and
• Advanced Biofuels – Second Generation (2G) ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to drop-in fuels
• Third Generation (3G) biofuels, bio-CNG etc.

Recent Amendment

• The most important amendment has been advancing the 20% blending date by five years from Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2030 to 2025-26.
• There has been an introduction of more feedstock for production of biofuels.
• Further, production of biofuels under the ‘Make in India’ programme in Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Export Oriented Units (EOUs); Permission to allow export of biofuels in specific cases are some other changes.

Significance

• Reduce Import Bill: A successful 20% ethanol blending programme could save the country US$4 billion per annum. • Environment Benefits: Ethanol burns more completely than petrol, it avoids emissions such as carbon monoxide.
• Health Benefits: Used Cooking Oil is a potential feedstock for biodiesel and its use for making biodiesel will prevent diversion of used cooking oil in the food industry.
• MSW Management: It is estimated that, annually 62 MMT of Municipal Solid Waste gets generated in India. There are technologies available which can convert waste/ plastic, MSW to drop-in fuels.

Challenges

• Efficiency: It takes much more ethanol to power a vehicle’s engine than petrol, therefore blending leads to a loss of efficiency.
• Harmful Residual Products: It also leaves residual byproducts that can corrode and damage the vehicle.
• Environmental concerns: On average, a ton of sugarcane can produce 100 kg of sugar and 70 litres of ethanol but that would mean 1,600 to 2,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of sugar. Tests conducted in India have shown that there is no reduction in nitrous oxides, one of the major environmental pollutants.

Conclusion

The amended policy is expected to yield economic as well as environmental benefits. However, to realize the benefits, the policy must be implemented effectively and the prevailing bottlenecks should be removed.