Today ethanol has found its way into a range of applications from its original application as a beverage (wine and beer). It is used as a fuel, a chemical solvent, a disinfectant (hand sanitizer), in pharmaceuticals, cleaning, production of renewable hydrogen, cosmetics, perfumes, and as a feedstock for the production of chemicals. The blending of ethanol into gasoline got its foothold in both the United Staes and Brazil, and both countries are no longer net importers of crude oil. In Brazil E100 sells for a lower price than gasoline and in the United States, both E15 and E85 sell for less than E10 and both have higher-octane numbers than E10.

(E10 is the conventional gasoline sold in the United States.) In the United States, the blending of ethanol into gasoline for use as an automotive fuel began in the 1970s due to high petroleum prices, and growing health and environmental concerns over the use of lead in gasoline created a need for a new source of “octane”. The value of ethanol as a “fuel oxygenate”to control carbon monoxide emissions was recognized, which resulted in increased production in the 1980s and the 1990s. Ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline and is currently blended into fuel in many countries around the globe, including India. India started blending ethanol in a pilot programme in 2001. In the U.S., the majority of gasoline sold today has a minimum of 10 per cent ethanol.

Today in Brazil all gasoline has a mandatory ethanol blend requirement of 27 per cent (soon to be 30 per cent). Cars in Brazil can switch between any gasoline-ethanol blend up to 100 per cent ethanol. Blending ethanol into fuel produces a range of benefits. By displacing hydrocarbons like aromatics in gasoline, ethanol reduces toxic air emissions, particulate matter PM2.5, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, and exhaust hydrocarbons. In many countries, including India, using domestically produced ethanol will reduce imports of the price volatile crude oil.

In addition producing ethanol from corn produces lowcost protein in the form of DDGS. In general, the cost per unit of protein in DDGS is only 30 per cent of the cost per unit of protein in the grain itself. Lastly, production of ethanol creates jobs in the agricultural and other sectors of the economy. Ethanol provides the foundation for decarbonization of a large portion of the chemicals industry. The benefits obtained by blending ethanol in fuel are even greater by using E100, 100 per cent ethanol, as an automotive fuel. All of the previously stated benefits of blending ethanol would be multiplied several times over by using E100.

The history of the use of E100 in Brazil has proven that it is an effective and costefficient fuel. As demonstrated in Brazil, E100 can be used with some design modifications to the engine to account for the higher oxygen content in the fuel and the slightly higher volume of fuel that must be supplied to the engine. An engine that is properly modified to capitalize on the higher octane of E100, can deliver high power and good milage. E100 is a clean burning fuel that does not add any net CO2 to the atmosphere as it is effectively recycling the CO2 present in the atmosphere. Use of clean burning E100 will reduce pollution, including OM 2.5 particulates that choke the lungs of children living in India’s cities. Switching to E100 will be faster and easier than switching to both hydrogen-fuelled vehicles and EVs.

The main reason is that the current gasoline supply chain and infrastructure can be used for E100. Brazil serves as a good example as the path to making E100 availble in India. However, it will not happen on its own. Making E100 available will only happen if driven by government regulations and enforcement. India must make it mandatory that all cars sold beginning from 2030 are capable of running on E100. In many area of the world, traditional biomass fuels like wood, charcoal, dung and crop residues are used for cooking. These fuels generate harmful smoke particles, especially when used indoors. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 1.3 million persons annually die prematurely due to health conditions that arise from exposure to indoor air pollutants from traditional fuels. Ethanol is a proven alternative to these fuels.

Ethanol is an effective clean-burning cooking fuel that reduces emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and other pollutants. Ethanol is safer and easier to use, store and transport than biomass fuels. It does not produce smoke, sparks, or ash, and does not require chopping or drying of wood or charcoal. Bioethanol is one of the cooking fuels considered to be clean based on the 2014 WHO guidelines. The aviation sector creates 13.9 per cent of the emissions from transport, making it the second largest source of transport GHG emissions. Through both government regulations and voluntary commitment, the sector has set ambitious goals to reduce its GHG emissions.

The use of growing proportions of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is absolutely required to meet the targets. SAF can be produced from several feedstocks, some of which including used cooking oil are in very limited supply and are insufficient to meet the growing demand for SAF in India and globally. According to some estimates the global annual demand for SAF is expected to exceed 18 billion liters by 2030. Ethanolbased SAF can meet the growing demand. Using proven technologies, ethanol can be converted to SAF and renewable diesel in a process referred to as ATJ or alcohol-to-jet. In general, it requires 1.7 liters of ethanol to produce 1 liter of SAF. The production of SAF via the ATJ process will be a driving force in creating new ethanol demand both in India and globally. Corn-based ethanol provides versatility and flexibility combined with the potential for nearly unlimited feedstocks at a cost-effective price.

When it comes to producing chemicals, ethanol is a foundation chemical for producing a range of renewable chemicals having low carbon intensities. Just as petroleum can be used to produce ethylene from which a range of many important chemicals and polymers are produced, ethanol can be used to produce ethylenein world-scale plants. Ethylene is the heart of today’s trillion-dollar global petrochemicals market. Petron Scientech’s technology for the conversion of ethanol to ethylene has been in commercial use for over thirty years and provides very efficientenergy utilization, low CAPEX, and low OPEX while offering low carbon intensity. As a general rule-of-thumb, each metric ton of ethylene produced from ethanol saves three metric tons of GHG emissions.

The ethylene produced from ethanol is a drop-in replacement for petrochemical ethylene with no changes to the downstream process being required. Renewable ethylene can also be used as a refrigerant and as a ripening agent for fruits and vegetables. Known to exist for over 10,000 plus years, ethanol is a molecule whose true value and growing versatility has only been demonstrated over past the few decades. The versatility of ethanol is similar to that of crude oil except for some significant and important differences. Ethanol is sustainable, renewable, and does not depend on imports from volatile areas of the world. Ethanol can be used to produce vehicle and jet fuels, along with a range of value-added chemicals and polymers. Unlike sugar cane ethanol, corn ethanol production also produces a valuable cost-effective high protein co-product for use as feed. Ethanol must be a foundational component of India’s drive to reduce it GHG emissions with the need to develop need technologies. Use of E100 would help achieve that goal faster. ‘Corn Ethanol’ will lead to energy security, food security and decarbonization.

(The writer is Chair, Environment & Green Hydrogen Committee, PHDCCI and Managing Director, Greenstat Hydrogen India Pvt. Ltd. He can be reached at jpglobalconsultinggroup@gmail.com)