India To Boost Methanol Economy As A Move To Lessen Its Dependence On Petrol

India has decided to boost the methanol economy as a move to reduce the nation’s dependence on petrol and limit the alarmingly high import situation of crude oil. According to the latest revelation from Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister, the methanol consumption is expected to be increased by multiple times as it is now, and in the next five years, the methanol economy will reach up to Rs 2 lakh crore, instead of Rs 11,000 crore at present.

When participating in an electric vehicle exposition, the transport minister had an inaugural address regarding the national development strategy of methanol economy in five years since now. In it, the economy of methanol fuel will be expanded to Rs 1.5-2 lakh crore from Rs 11,000 crore. The price of methanol per liter is now about Rs 22 in the Indian market, and consumers should consider using this kind of fuel as an alternative to diesel or petrol.

The import of crude oil leads to the massive drain of foreign exchange; as a result, the country had to look for a solution to reduce its expense on the fuel. That was what the minister put an emphasis on in his address. Besides, among the five task forces given by the government, there is one regarding that the oil products originates from high ash coal.

Instead of petrol, methanol is now chosen as a substitute for vehicles. The kind of fuel is combined with fuel distilled from petroleum in a percentage 10-15%. In recent times, Niti Aayog has unveiled its intention to run a test on petrol cars which are charged 15% methanol. If the government approve this plan, petrol bills per month will possibly reduce by 10%.

Compared to petrol-based fuel, methanol is said to be more economical and much ‘greener’. Through the use of this fuel, the Indian government will take another step to approach the target of the electric vehicles’ coverage across the nation. As per safety against flammability, methanol is also appreciated higher than petrol.

During the period of 2016-2017, there was 212.7 million ton of crude oil imported to India. A 15% methanol mixture can be used as a substitute for approximately 31.9 million ton of crude oil. Besides, because these fuel products can hail from feedstocks from carbon, like natural gas or coal, it is provided at a smaller cost than other fuels.

It’s clear that the increase of the methanol economy will help to reduce the import volume of crude oil. The government is not the only one who gains the benefits from this. With the lower petrol prices, consumers, as well as end users, must satisfy with the broad coverage of methanol.

As per autonomous technology, Nitin Gadkari has confirmed that India wouldn’t approve the circulation of driverless cars and he said sorry to his citizens.