Fuel Ethanol Market Catering to Gasoline Demand as Biofuel Additive

A recently published business publication by IndustryARC has projected profitable progression in the global Fuel ethanol market, attributing most of the prosperity to the consistent demand for gasoline with ecofriendly additives. The analyst of the report highlights that across the world, the trend is to reduce greenhouse gas emission, with vehicular pollution identified as key culprit. Ethanol or anhydrous ethyl alcohol derived from plant material is known as bio-ethanol. It is used as a blend stock for gasoline such as petrol and alternative source of fuel in many countries. Ethanol molecules contain oxygen, which helps in initializing the complete combustion of the fuel, resulting in low emission, and thereby reducing the environmental pollution. 

The IndustryARC report, titled “Fuel Ethanol Market: By Vehicle type (Passenger car, light and heavy commercial vehicle); By End-Use Industry (Automotive, Pharmaceuticals, Chemical and Others) & By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, RoW) – Forecast (2018 - 2023),” projects the demand to increment at a notable CAGR through to 2023.

In the U.S., 70% of gasoline at the pump contains ethanol. Most of the ethanol is sold in a gasoline blend of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline known as E10 gasoline. Further, ethanol is blended with gasoline in various amounts for use in vehicles such as E15 and E85. The E15 is a low-level blend composed of 15% of ethanol in gasoline, whereas E85 is a high-level blend with 85% of ethanol in gasoline. The E85 in the U.S. is used in small proportions to make gasoline for flexible fuel vehicles. 

 

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that 142.85 billion gallons of finished motor gasoline was consumed in the U.S. in 2017, which contained about 14.39 billion gallons of fuel ethanol. The fuel ethanol contains a denaturant, which is added to ethanol making it unfit for human consumption. In the U.S., the gasoline contains ethanol composed of ethanol-gasoline blends such as E10, E15, and E85 to meet the requirement of the 1990 Clean Air Act and the Renewable Fuel Standard set forth in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Further, the U.S. EIA states that fuel ethanol production in the U. S. has reached more than 16 billion gallons per year at the beginning of 2018. Most of the ethanol consumed in the U.S. is corn-based ethanol, which is produced domestically, and about 7% is sugarcane-based ethanol. 

In Canada, ethanol is presently made from corn and wheat. The Government of Canada and some provincial governments have supported the development and use of ethanol fuel in R&D programs. As Canada has the forest resources and cropland needed to support the production of ethanol feedstocks, it will contribute to the region’s economic growth, mainly to the rural communities and towards the development of substantial ethanol industry.

The two population giants, India and China, extensively need fuel to meet their energy requirements. The rise in population has led to an increase in consumption of many goods and services, from automobile to electronic component, leading to environmental imbalance in terms of pollution. Hence, both the countries are on the lookout for alternative sources of energy to restore the environmental condition back to its original form. In 2003, the Government of India launched Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) to promote the use of alternative and environment-friendly fuels. In 2016, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, permitted oil and marketing companies to sell ethanol blended petrol with the percentage of ethanol up to 10% as per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specification.

 

Furthermore, to boost the domestic production of ethanol, the Union Food Ministry, Government of India, has amended the Sugar Control Order, 1966, to allow sugar mills to manufacture ethanol directly from sugarcane juice. These steps will reduce dependency on import, generate employment, facilitate infrastructural investment in rural areas and be the source of additional income for farmers, as well as improve the environmental condition.

In 2000, China implemented fuel ethanol programs but switched its course in 2010 due to increased concerns over food for fuel. The grain-based ethanol is banned due to food security concerns. China is looking into second generation biomass and biofuel production, including cellulosic and algae-based biofuels. The restrictions on grain-based ethanol and challenges in producing commercial cellulosic biofuel has resulted in supporting a type of biofuel called “Generation 1.5”. The Generation 1.5 biofuel is produced by non-grain based feedstock’s, such as sweet sorghum and cassava. These crops can be grown on marginal land and require fewer inputs; however, supply is insufficient for large scale production of ethanol. 

Ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emission as the grain used to produce ethanol absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows. Greenhouse gas emission is reduced by 3% to 4% during the production of low blend ethanol from corn. This results in reducing the environmental pollution as countries are seeking alternate source to counter the emission impact through investment in R&D. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office funded a project to assess the potential of High Octane Fuel (HOF) to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, has come up with a National Policy on Biofuels in 2018. The policy focuses on biofuels generated from feedstock and on advanced biofuels, such as 2G ethanol and Bio-CNG, drop in fuel, and increase in R&D investments. The Government of Canada in partnership with private firms plans to invest a huge capital in R&D to convert biomass fibers to ethanol using the enzyme technology.

Bioethanol Market: By Feed Stock (Conventional, New Feedstock and others); By Blend (E15, E15, E25, E30, E40 and others); By Production Technology (Dry mill, Wet mill); By End user industry (Aerospace, automotive, power generation, residential and commercial heating, consumer products, industrial, beverage, pharmaceuticals) & Geographic Analysis - Forecast (2018-2023)

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