Abasket of fuel options has emerged in India ~ ethanol, Biodiesel, Bio-CNG, methanol and Green Hydrogen ~ that can help address the challenge of energy security. As alternatives to conventional energy sources, they will play a huge role in taking us to the net zero goal.

However, their role as mainstream alternative fuels towards the 2070 net-zero emissions target remains to be evaluated. The objective is to push future fuels into the mainstream narrative for energy security and low carbon mobility, which is required to drive towards netzero targets.

While India is a net exporter of petroleum products, the dependency on the import of crude oil and natural gas creates a persistent sense of vulnerability. Many oil companies have been investing in biofuels for decades, especially through research efforts and venture capital spending. In recent times, they have also entered into green hydrogen and have committed to huge investments.

Much of this in current times is being driven by the need to remain relevant in a post energy transition scenario and also to address concerns of environmentally-conscious large shareholding groups. Let us evaluate each of these. Bioethanol : First Generation Feedstock: Sugarcane Juice, Sugar B-Molasses, Sugar C-Molasses, Sugar beet, Cassava, Sorghum, Corn, Sweet Potato, Grains, Petrochemical route. Second Generation Feedstock: Lignocellulose, cellulose, forestry residues, agro-waste, wood residues, other organic wastes rich in sucrose content can be used to produce ethanol.

Such feedstock is typically rich in cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Energy crops are also counted as second generation feedstock as they don’t compete with food, and are typically cultivated on wastelands. Third Generation Feedstock: Ethanol can also be produced from algae, but it is currently not considered economically viable. India relies on sugarcane as the primary feedstock for its ethanol plants.

Sugarcane farming is increasingly tilting towards catering to ethanol production, thanks to aggressive fuel-blending mandates from the government. Supply chain mechanism is relatively more organised and centralised with participation from large refineries, with them entering into contracts with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to support national level fuel blending programmes and demand from the medical, liquor and cosmetic industry.

Feedstock is supplied by farmers to the ethanol refineries in trucks and tractors against a minimum procurement price. India produced 500 million metric tonnes of sugarcane in 2021-22. Major sugarcane producing states are UP, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand. Currently, around six million metric tonnes of sugar is utilised to produce ethanol.

This is sourced from the surplus sugar production. India produced an estimated 23.1 million tonnes of corn in the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2022- 23. Major corn producing states in India are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.

Another grain in consideration is rice. 130 Million metric tonnes of rice was produced in 2021-22 in India. Currently, the government intends to utilise around 17 million tonnes of surplus foodgrains, particularly surplus rice and corn apart from sugarcane molasses, for manufacturing ethanol to achieve the target of 20 per cent blending with petrol by 2025.

This is necessary because the amount of sugar that can be diverted remains limited. Bio-CNG : The organic fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), representing roughly 40-50 per cent of total mixed waste, is a suitable feedstock. Organic waste is biodegradable, therefore can be broken down into simpler gaseous and solid compounds. Other than MSW, the feedstock could also include sewage water sludge and industrial organic waste.

Non-woody agricultural waste (like paddy straw, wheat straw, bagasse, etc), animal waste (cow dung, faecal waste) and more such feedstock options exist. Cow dung, in particular, is considered a good feedstock making a rich culture for digesters in biogas/bio-CNG plants.

Urban Local Bodies collect MSW from households, hotels and industries. In a favourable case, waste goes through primary segregation, where recyclable inorganic fraction is separated by ragpickers (who mostly belong to the informal economy).

The remaining portion, consisting of non-recyclable inorganic and decomposable organic fraction, gets transported to a storagecum-segregation facility where the inorganic fraction is removed and sent to landfills for dumping. The remaining part is almost fully organic in nature and is ready to be sent to the digestor of a bio-methanation plant.

Usually stored by farmers in fallow lands, cellulose-rich agrowaste is typically harder to digest, and therefore has a lower gas yield. In India, the waste is transported to the bio-methanation plant either by the farmer or the plant agency, as per the decided contract, against a minimum price. Sewage water waste sludge is supplied by the ULBs through a wide distribution of piping networks to Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs).

A co-located biogas plant is a resourceful way to dispose of the sludge. Organic solid waste is found across all human settlements – rural and urban. In cities, MSW is the dominant form of waste, growing rapidly. According to World Bank estimates, 277.1 MMT of MSW is generated in India annually.

Estimates suggest that over 1.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of automotivegrade Bio-CNG can be generated by treating MSW alone in India. India produces upto 350 MMT of agricultural waste per year. This translates to 0.12 MTPA of automotive grade bio-CNG, depending on the type of stubble. India generates upto 1.7 MMT of faecal waste per annum, 78 per cent of which is left untreated. Biodiesel : Palm, Jatropha, Rapeseed, Soybean, Sunflower, Cottonseed, Safflower, Peanut Oil, Used Cooking Oil can be used. Biodiesel can also be prepared from hydrotreated Vegetable Oil, Animal Fat, Pongamia, and coal to oil.

Algae is another source now being seriously considered. Plant/ refinery operated collection systems use cooking oil from hotel industry and energy crops collected from farmers under National Biodiesel Mission. Jatropha plantations are spread across Telangana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh primarily. In 2018, it was reported that Jatropha occupied around 0.5 million hectares of low-quality wastelands across the country, of which 65-70 per cent were new plantations of less than three years.

Used cooking oil (UCO) is being promoted under RUCO programme of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). India produces 2,700 crore liters of UCO as per the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Palm stearin oil is currently being imported from Indonesia, primarily.

It is estimated that India’s annual demand for palm oil, mostly led by cooking medium requirements, is 9 million tonnes each year. Over 62 per cent of edible oil import in India constitutes palm oil. Methanol : Oil, Natural Gas, Agricultural Waste, Forestry Residues, Municipal Solid Waste, Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide. Natural Gas, Indian High Ash Coal, Biomass, MSW, Stranded and Flared Gases can be used.

Wood was one of the earlier feedstocks for the production of methanol. The destructive distillation of wood was the method adopted. However, this biomass type was abandoned long back in favour of fossil fuel-based production. The shift was also prompted by the large requirements of wood, leading to large scale deforestation.

Thanks to the shift to fossil fuel based technologies, coal and natural gas are the preferred mainstream sources, which are processed to first produce syngas and then methanol.

However, given the associated environment and carbon footprints, alternatives are being sought. Bio-methanol is methanol produced from biomass or solid waste. The production method is significantly different from that of conventional methanol. Also, renewable energy can be used to produce methanol from these sources.

As the demand for green methanol rises, this combination of biomass/ MSW and renewable energy can potentially lead to a shift in the methanol production method away from the present industry practice. e-methanol is another alternative where carbon dioxide is used to generate methanol with the help of electricity generated from renewable resources like wind and solar. India is a net importer of natural gas, importing 30,776 MMSCM of liquified natural gas (LNG) in 2021-22.

As per September data, natural gas was used primarily by fertiliser (32 per cent) followed by City Gas Distribution (cooking, transport etc. ~ 21%) and other uses liked creating petrochemicals (22%). Thus, its utilisation for methanol production remains unlikely. Abundant coal reserves in India (estimated at 319.02 billion tonnes) have driven interest towards adoption of methanol for a variety of industrial and mobility purposes. 4

However, the exact estimates of coal availability are contested. Biomass stocks, especially crop stubble, are an easy source for bio-methanol production. However, seasonal availability and logistical issues need to be sorted out to enable its utilisation. As noted for bio CNG, India produces up to 350 MMT of agricultural waste per year.

Municipal solid waste is another option. However, the technology around it is still considered expensive. Green Hydrogen : Water and Electricity are needed to produce Green Hydrogen. Water sourcing as feedstock would be necessary via pipelines since most plants related to green hydrogen are intended to be set up near green energy generation plants. India is officially listed as a water stressed nation.

Of course, the quantum of water needed still remains debatable, ranging between 22- 32 kg of water for every kilogram of hydrogen. Even desalinationbased strategy is not preferred due to the high cost implications. Green hydrogen is still a frontier in some respects, given its rather modest production figures.

By 2030, India estimates to produce 5MT of green hydrogen. Comparatively, India’s current grey hydrogen production from natural gas is 6MT per annum. The feedstock is essentially water and the cost of production is theoretically low thanks to cheap renewable energy. This has to be accompanied by a necessary fall in the cost of electrolysers.

Globally planned announcements have taken place on targets and promised investents. However, transport and storage issues still need to be addressed suitably to ensure a larger uptake across mobility. Water consumption is another area where concerns remain. Some pilots have started in India and announcements related to setting up of large scale production units have also been made.

Some states have also made policy announcements around green hydrogen, pre-empting significant investment opportunities in this space. However, actual ground level action will take time to show results.

The long distance trucking segment is emerging as a contender for deployment of hydrogen. Niche areas like shipping and aviation are other contenders.

(The writer is Chair, Environment & Green Hydrogen Committee, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry and can be reached at jpglobalconsultinggroup@gmail.com)