Biofuel under Compulsory BIS Certification
·
Indian Standards on Biofuel to Aid GBA’s
Clean Energy Goals
·
India’s Biofuel Standards Offer
Significant Support to Industry: DG, BIS
·
Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA), the
multilateral forum announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during G20
leaders’ summit held recently in New Delhi.
·
The ethanol blending program and the
objectives of the GBA, BIS has developed nine Indian standards on biofuels.
·
USA, Brazil, and India are the major
producers and consumers of biofuels.
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About 98% of the fuel requirement in India
for transportation sector is met by fossil fuels and the remaining 2% by
biofuels.
·
Indian Oil Manufacturing Companies (OMCs)
are working towards provisioning new distilleries for production of 1G and 2G
ethanol and Indian vehicle manufacturers are developing engines compliant with
ethanol blended fuel.
The
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the National Standards Body of India commits
to complement the green initiatives of the country through development of
relevant standards. Through an official release, BIS also announced that the
Indian Standards will significantly complement the objectives of Global Biofuel
Alliance (GBA), the multilateral forum announced by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi during G20 leaders’ summit held recently in New Delhi.
The
BIS release also quoted the Director General, BIS, Shri Pramod Kumar Tiwari
wherein he said, “the announcement of Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) by the
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 summit is a historic development in
global efforts towards achieving clean energy goals. We, at the Bureau of
Indian Standards (BIS), being the National Standards Body of India, are
committed to support this path breaking initiative of the Government of India
through development of relevant Indian Standards and necessary quality
parameters/performance specifications.”
The
release also highlighted the key standards that would aid stakeholders
including manufacturers, traders, and other entities dealing with biofuel or
related matters. The release stated that espousing the ethanol blending program
and the objectives of the GBA, BIS has developed the following nine Indian
standards on biofuels:
i.
IS 15464 : 2022 Anhydrous Ethanol for Use as Blending Component
in Motor Gasoline - Specification
ii.
IS 15607 : 2022 Biodiesel B-100 - Fatty Acid Methyl Esters FAME
– Specification
iii.
IS 16087 : 2016 Biogas (Biomethane) - Specification (First
Revision)
iv.
IS 16531 : 2022 Biodiesel Diesel Fuel Blend B8 to B20
Specification
v.
IS 16629 : 2017 Hydrous ethanol for use in ED95 automotive fuel
– Specification
vi.
IS 16634 : 2017 E85 fuel (Blend Of Anhydrous Ethanol And
Gasoline) – Specification
vii.
IS 17021 : 2018 E 20 fuel - Admixture of anhydrous ethanol and
gasoline - As fuel for spark ignited engine powered vehicles – Specification
viii.
IS 17081 : 2019 Aviation turbine fuel (Kerosene Type, Jet A -
1) containing synthesized hydrocarbons - Specification
ix.
IS 17821 : 2022 Ethanol as a Fuel for Use in Positive Ignition
Engine Powered Vehicles - Specification
It
is also informed by BIS that additionally, development of standard on
paraffinic (green) diesel, that is derived from 2G feedstock, is also under
progress. With the help of these set of standards, BIS believed, increased
capacity of biofuel production can be achieved and will provide multipronged
benefits. It was also added that ‘it will not only help in meeting the target
of net zero by 2070 and 50% energy through renewable sources, but will also contribute
in achieving several other objectives such as Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Waste to Wealth, and increasing
farmers’ income to name a few.
Notably,
during the 18th G20 Summit under the presidency of India at New Delhi, the G20
leaders launched the Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) – a forum of 30 countries
and international institutions to facilitate the adoption of biofuels. GBA is an India-led initiative towards the
goal of sustainability and clean energy. It aims at achieving worldwide
development and deployment of sustainable biofuels through formulation of
national policy, development of marketplace, evolution of technological
competency, and adoption and implementation of internationally recognized
standards and codes of practice.
Reportedly,
USA, Brazil, and India are the major producers and consumers of biofuels. These
three countries collectively contribute to 85% production and 81% consumption
of ethanol globally. The global ethanol market was valued at 99 billion USD in
2022 and is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 5% by 2032,
creating a huge opportunity for Indian industries and contributing to farmers’
income, job creation and overall development of the Indian ecosystem.
It
was estimated that currently, about 98% of the fuel requirement in India for
transportation sector is met by fossil fuels and the remaining 2% by biofuels.
India's import of petroleum in 2020-2021 costed about 55 billion dollars to the
exchequer. More recently, the Russia-Ukraine war has spiked global oil prices
and import of oil and gas with inflated prices has further burdened the Indian
economy. Blending of ethanol up to 20% with gasoline will lead to savings of
around 4 billion dollars.
Hence,
Indian Oil Manufacturing Companies (OMCs) are working towards provisioning new
distilleries for production of 1G and 2G ethanol and Indian vehicle
manufacturers are developing engines compliant with ethanol blended fuel.
Government has also started an interest subvention scheme for molasses and grain based distilleries to promote ethanol production. It
is also foreseen that flex fuel vehicles, which are capable of utilising
ethanol blended gasoline up to 85%, and are already operational in the USA and
Brazil, are soon to make an entry in India.