petroleum Companies on Tuesday called on industry leaders to develop ethanol as a clean cooking fuel for Indian families. Petroleum companies believe that this will strengthen efforts to reduce dependence on imported LPG and promote the use of biofuels. Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI) Director (Downstream) R. S. Ravi made this appeal while addressing the conference of All India Distillers Association (AIDA).
Work is going on on kitchen stove running on ethanol
R. S. Highlighting the ongoing research on ethanol based kitchen stoves, Ravi said that a lot of work is being done in this direction at the LPG Equipment Research Center and different Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and its prototype is likely to be ready soon. Ravi sought active cooperation from the All India Distillers Association and its members in this regard on two major fronts. He stressed on tying up with manufacturers to scale up the production of these stoves and most importantly on developing a viable supply chain to deliver ethanol directly to homes.
Ravi clarified that till now the industry has been supplying in bulk to petroleum companies, but now there is a need to change this model and consider effective forms of distribution. His remarks came in the backdrop of successful implementation of 20 percent ethanol blending (E-20) in petrol.
Need to reduce dependence on LPG
Let us tell you that amid the ongoing tension in the Middle East, there is a shortage of LPG gas in India. However, the circumstances are largely under control. The ongoing war in West Asia has also encouraged the country to consider the need to reduce dependence on LPG. Domestic consumers are being given priority for LPG supply. Whereas, the supply of commercial LPG has also been increased to 50 percent. However, factories dependent on gas are facing a lot of problems. Due to preference being given to commercial LPG after domestic consumers, factories are not getting sufficient gas.