Diesel-isobutanol blending mandate likely this year: What it means and how it affects India’s energy security – explained | Today’s news
India is expected to introduce a mandate for blending isobutanol with diesel as early as this year. According to Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Secretary V Umashankar, this initiative could have a greater impact on the country’s energy security than blending ethanol into petrol, as diesel consumption is almost double that of petrol.
MORTH Minister V Umashankar on Friday said the proposed measure will boost efforts to decarbonise highways and transport while reducing dependence on conventional fossil fuels.
Read also | This year, India will mandate the blending of isobutanol and diesel to reduce emissions
Addressing the ‘CII Multimodal Transportation and Logistics Summit’, Umashankar further said that the Ministry of Highways may soon come up with a draft notification on truck-trailer interchangeability to build an ecosystem that requires battery swapping and charging of electric heavy-duty vehicles.
“Diesel blending has been looked into with great seriousness. Bharat Petroleum is already doing strategic research on isobutanol blending with diesel. And the results are very encouraging,” PTI quoted the official as saying.
Read also | E20, E25, E30: India plans ethanol fuel choice at supermarket-style petrol pumps
“It’s quite likely that the blending mandate will start coming sometime later this year,” he said.
Umashankar said that since diesel consumption is almost twice that of petrol, the impact of diesel blending on India’s energy security will be much greater than even blending petrol.
The transport minister said the blending program, which has been in place for the past 10-12 years, is being expanded further, and the ministry has issued a draft notice for vehicle production requirements for E85 (a blend of 85 percent ethanol with gasoline) and E100 (which would allow vehicles to run on near-pure ethanol).
“There was some concern about blending at the lower level (E20), but here it’s a bit different because the vehicle is made differently. It will have a separate dispenser even at petrol pumps to dispense E85 or E100 fuel, as opposed to conventional blended petrol which is done through a common dispenser,” Umashankar said.
What is Isobutanol? What you need to know
Isobutanol is a four-carbon alcohol (C₄H₁₀O), which makes it a higher alcohol compared to ethanol, which contains only two carbon atoms. It can be produced from renewable sources such as biomass, agricultural waste, or through processes associated with the production of ethanol or sugar cane.
In addition to its use as an industrial solvent in products such as paints and coatings, it is increasingly being explored as a potential transportation biofuel.
It is considered suitable for blending with diesel because ethanol faces several limitations when blended with diesel, including phase separation, a low flash point that raises safety concerns, corrosion problems, and poor engine compatibility.
Read also | India should aim to achieve 100% ethanol blending in near future: Gadkari
Isobutanol helps overcome many of these problems. It mixes more evenly with diesel without the need for additional additives, has a higher energy content closer to diesel, offers a higher flash point that makes it safer and less volatile, and is less corrosive, making it more compatible with existing engines and fuel infrastructure.
Diesel is a chemically different fuel from gasoline, and blending additives into it requires careful consideration of engine tolerance and compatibility.
While gasoline engines have been running on ethanol-laced fuel for years with relatively few problems, diesel engines, especially older models, can be much more sensitive to changes in fuel composition.
This is mainly because diesel engines rely on compression ignition, unlike petrol engines which use spark ignition. As a result, diesel fuel chemistry has a more direct impact on combustion timing, efficiency and overall engine performance.
Research currently underway at Bharat Petroleum is aimed at ensuring that isobutanol-diesel blends meet the standards of combustion behavior and lubricity required for existing diesel engines used in vehicles on Indian roads, reports the Hindustan Times.
