Skip to main content

Flex fuel policy of government to curb pollution worries automakers

India can soon expect a policy on flexible-fuel cars, cars that can run on bio-ethanol and petrol, or a blend of both.

The move to flex-fuels will decrease pollution and encourage a diversion in the sugar industry’s output away from sugar and towards ethanol.

Biofuel production would help farmers by supporting the diversification of agriculture into energy, power and bio-plastics.

Flexible-fuel vehicle:

A flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or dual-fuel vehicle (called a flex-fuel vehicle) is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol fuel, and both fuels are stored in the same common tank.

Flex-fuel vehicles are distinguished from bi-fuel vehicles, where two fuels are stored in separate tanks and the engine runs on one fuel at a time, for example, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or hydrogen.

The most common commercially available FFV in the world market is the ethanol flexible-fuel vehicle.

Flex-fuels are widely used in several countries,Brazil (29.5 million by mid 2015), the United States (17.4 million by the end of 2014), Canada (more than 600,000), and Europe, led by Sweden (243,100).

Impacts:

  • A policy on flex-fuel vehicles is likely to affect the automotive industry in several ways.

  • Policy will give manufacturers who are already in flex-fuel markets an advantage over indigenous producers.

  • A regular vehicle not especially made for biofuels could run on these fuels for a few years, this is not a feasible strategy in the medium to long-term for several reasons.

  • Ethanol, unlike petrol, is prone to oxidation and this can cause gum-like sediments to accumulate in various engine parts.

  • Ethanol also reacts with other materials in the car, such as rubber, and this causes degradation.

  • If flex fuels are to be rolled out, engines will have to be built for them and this will mean an additional variant for manufacturers’ production plants.

  • The most obvious and reliable source of bio-ethanol in India is sugarcane. The world’s second largest sugar market, India produces some Rs.800 billion of sugar and supports approximately 40 million people.

  • Ethanol Blending Policy mandates five per cent blending of ethanol with petrol, though in reality the average ethanol blending achieved has been just two per cent. The government wishes to achieve 10 per cent blending.

  • The sugar industry has an excess supply problem and consequently sugar prices are depressed. Mills are mired in debt to cane farmers.

  • They are cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels.

  • An increase in bio-ethanol production has also raised concerns about food security, farmers’ livelihoods and the environment, including water usage.

Sugarcane farms constitute 6 per cent of land use but consume 70 per cent of the irrigation water in the State.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inland Waterways in India

Here are some key points you need to know: The bill seeks to add 106 inland waterways to the existing six National Waterways on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture and comments of several state governments The bill will also look after the renovation and maintenance of the existing waterways Out of the 106 new waterways, 18 have already been identified. These include five waterways each from Karnataka and Meghalaya, three each from Maharashtra and Kerala, one each from Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan The bill also aims to help the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to develop the feasible stretches for Shipping and Navigation. Let us look at the six existing National Waterways in India: National Waterway 1 (NW1) The National Waterway No. 1 uses a 1,620-kilometre stretch of the Ganges River. It was declared a national waterway in the year 1986 and runs from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal....
Post a Comment
Read more

INS Kadmatt commissioned at Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam

INS Kadmatt commissioned at Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam  INS Kadmatt, the second ship of Project 28 class ,anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvettes, was commissioned at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam. INS  Kadmatt  is the second of four anti-submarine warfare corvettes built for the Indian Navy by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers of Kolkata under Project 28. INS Kadmatt has been named after the Kadmat Island of India’s Lakshadweep Islands. The primary role of the INS  Kadmatt  is in anti submarine warfare – to protect ships in convoys and ports from enemy submarine attacks. What is anti submarine warfare? Anti-submarine warfare    is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines. Successful anti-submarine warfare depends on a mix of sensor and weapon technology, training, experience and luck. Soph...
Post a Comment
Read more

Environment Ministry notifies revised standards for Common Effluent Treatment Plants

Environment Ministry notifies revised standards for Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) Across industrial clusters-PIB CETP • The concept of common effluent treatment plant has been accepted as a  solution for collecting, conveying, treating, and disposing of the effluents  from the industrial estates. • The effluent include industrial wastewaters and domestic sewage generated  from the estate. • This CETP concept helps small and medium scale industries to dispose of  their effluents. Otherwise it may not be economical for these industries to  treat their wastewaters or there may be space constraints. • Some of these industries may require to give preliminary treatment (for  removal of solids) so that the receiving sewers can be maintained free  flowing. • It may be required to correct pH or removal of specific pollutant before the  industry discharges in CETP. CETP • CETP is designed on the basis of: – Quality and flow rate of the wastewa...
Post a Comment
Read more