In a bid to actualise the Union government’s vision to push ethanol as one of the alternatives to fossil fuels, India’s largest fuel retailer and Maharatna PSU, Indian Oil Corporation, launched the nation’s first-of-its-kind ethanol pump in the capital.
This new fuel called the “Ethanol 100” can turn out to be a trailblazer as it has the potential to transform the country’s transportation sector and reduce our holistic dependence on fossil fuels, as mentioned by the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri.
This new fuel shall cater to vehicles that can run on ethanol and is being made available at around 183 fuel outlets across five states – Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi and Tamil Nadu. The government plans to increase the availability of “Ethanol 100” across 400 outlets in India by April 15.
Ethanol is a biofuel (fairly sustainable by standards) that can be produced from domestic agricultural sources such as sugarcane. Nearly a quarter of ethanol used for blending is obtained from sugarcane juice and sugar syrup, while roughly half of it comes from B-heavy molasses – a byproduct of sugar processing rich in sugar content.
