Introduction Diminishing world petroleum reserves and the impact of environmental pollution of increasing exhaust emissions have led to the search for suitable alternative fuels. Recent scorching prices of petroleum based fuel (before global economic recession) and reduced biofuel cost due to advanced technological breakthrough, made biofuel competitive with conventional petro-fuel. Biofuels like SVO, second generation biofuel, etc. help to curb Green House Gas (GHG) emission, depending on how they are produced. Among other economic benefits, a biofuel industry could revitalize struggling rural economies. Bioenergy crops and agricultural residues can provide farmers with an important new source of revenue and reduce reliance on government funds for agricultural support. Practically, world bioenergy sector is experiencing flood wave of research and development initiated from both public and private sector. But rising world food prices and growing biofuel interest are expected to evoke the famous ‘food-Vs-fuel’ debate more critically. |
India is faced with rising challenges of meeting energy demand, national energy security and addressing environmental pollution. Any strategy to reduce India's reliance on imported oil will involve a mix of energy technologies including conservation. Biofuels are an attractive option to be part of that mix because biomass is a domestic, secure, and abundant feedstock. In addition, fuels from biomass are the only renewable liquid-fuel alternatives to today's petroleum-based transportation fuels. Global availability of biomass feedstocks also would provide an international alternative to dependence on an increasingly strained oil-distribution system as well as a ready market for biofuel-production technologies. |
In addressing its rapidly expanding demand for fuel, India, as the world's 2nd fastest growing economy, has the opportunity to become a global leader in promoting and applying sustainable energy technologies and strategies, including the production and use of cellulosic ethanol. A detailed discussions of conventional biofuel and second generation biofuel, ligno-cellulosic ethanol has been presented in this paper. The scientific analysis presented here, may serve as interesting basis for future energy policy formulation in this area. |
Top Energy Trends of India Today India is dependent on oil for transportation. Developing domestic sources of renewable energy is essential to ensuring national security. India is fifth in the world in terms of primary energy consumption, accounting for 3.5% of world commercial energy demand. Rapid economic expansion will continue to drive up India's energy needs. For increase in energy demand, Growth of GDP is always the prime driver. India will require importing of 6 mb/day oil by 2030. Since India has only 0.4% of world crude oil, alternatives need to be found [1]. About 60% of known oil reserves are found in sensitive and volatile regions of the globe. Increasing strain on world oil supply is expected as developing countries become more industrialized and use more energy. To maintain the growth rate, India needs to invest a staggering 1.25 trillion US$ (reference year 2006), cumulatively by 2030 [2]. |
Petro-Fuel Trends of India India is the 4th largest consumer of Oil, which is 3.3% of world's total oil consumption, whereas, India has only 0.4% of world crude oil reserves [3]. India's petroleum consumption over last decade increased at CAGR of 4.2% against the world CAGR of 1.4% and the China CAGR of 6.6% (Figure 1). India consumed 128.50 MMT of petroleum products during 2008, of which 73 MMT was on road fuel consumption. Because of steady growth in the economy, India by 2025 will be third in the world of oil import after US & China. It is expected that during 2035, India's total on-road fuel consumption will be 371 MMT, up from 58 MMT in year 2005, which reflects a larger growth than China (6.4 times for India Vs. 3.5 times for China) [4, 5]. Top Biofuel and Climate Change Over the last two and half decades world Carbon emission grew by 1.6% whereas energy demand grew by 1.8%. But for a projection of upto 2030 for reference condition, world Carbon emission will grow by 1.7% whereas energy growth demand will increase by 1.6% [6]. This demands serious attention from policy makers and scientists. It is a well-known fact that CO2 released by petroleum diesel was fixed from the atmosphere during the formative years of the earth. But CO2 released by vegetable oils gets continuously fixed by plants and may be recycled by the next generation of crops. The carbon cycle time for fixation of CO2 and its release after combustion of petroleum-based fuel can be a few million years, whereas that for biofuel is claimed to be only a few years. Concerning the environmental aspect, rational and efficient end-use technologies are identified as key options for achieving the Kyoto targets of GHG emissions reduction. |
India'S Role in Climate Change Climatic change impacts are long term with irreversible changes, therefore an urgent and coordinated effort in all sectors of economy are needed. Moreover, the effort to reduce CO2 should start as early as possible, since CO2 is stable in the environment and builds up over a given period of time. From environmental pollution point of view, India is projected to be the third largest producer of CO2 by 2015 from its present fifth position [6]. The growth of road transport in India is expected to play a very crucial role in supporting the development of our economy. About 20% of global CO2 emission is contributed from the road transport sector. In India, it is responsible for 8.8% of the total CO2 emissions [7]. An estimate of about 145 MMT of CO2 appears more realistic in current times considering the current level of fuel consumption in transport sector in India. India's share on account of transport is 2% of the total transport CO2 in the world as compared to about 35% of US, 20% of EU and about 5% of Japan. It is estimated that CO2 from transport sector under normal growth scenario will be about 600 Million Metric tonnes per year in 2020 for India. Although it is not alarming in comparison to even the current CO2 levels in developed countries, India shouldn't remain complacent and take timely measures. Top World Biofuel Scenario In last five years, global production of biofuel has been doubled and expected to be doubled again in next four years. Production of biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) exceeded an estimated 53 billion liters in 2007, up 43 percent from 2005 [8]. In 2005, global production of Biofuel was 20 Mtoe or 643 thousand barrel per day, which was 1% of global road transport fuel consumption. Many countries world over has recently introduced biofuel friendly policy like Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Columbia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia, etc. Brazil and USA together produce more than 80% of the total global production. Top 15 countries in Biofuel production with the present production status are given in below Table 1[6]. |
Fuel Ethanol Scenario of the World According to the International Energy Agency, the growth of ethanol production worldwide has led to a 1 million barrel per day decrease in global world oil demand. Ethanol production in 2007 represented about 4 percent of the 1,300 billion litres of gasoline consumed globally. Most of the increased production occurred in the United States, with significant increases also in Brazil, France, Germany, and Spain. The United States became the leading fuel ethanol producer in 2006, producing over 18 billion liters and jumping ahead of longstanding leader Brazil [9]. A List of major fuel ethanol producer countries is given in Table 2. Brazilian ethanol production increased to almost 18 billion liters in 2006, nearly half the world's total. All fueling stations in Brazil sell both pure ethanol and gasohol, a 25 percent ethanol/75 percent gasoline blend. Demand for ethanol fuels, compared to gasoline, was very strong in 2007, due to the introduction of so-called “flexible-fuel” cars by automakers in Brazil over the past several years. Such cars are able to use either blend and have been widely embraced by drivers, with an 85 percent share of all auto sales in Brazil. In recent years, significant global trade in fuel ethanol has emerged, with Brazil being the leading exporter [9]. Biodiesel Scenario of the World Biodiesel production jumped 50 percent in 2006, to over 6 billion liters globally. Half of world biodiesel production continued to be in Germany. Significant production increases also took place in Italy and the United States (where production more than tripled). In Europe, supported by new policies, biodiesel gained broader acceptance and market share. Aggressive expansion of biodiesel production was also occurring in Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and China), Latin America (Argentina and Brazil). Malaysia's ambition is to capture 10 percent of the global biodiesel market by 2010 based on its palm oil plantations [9]. Biofuel and Price Barrier Production of biofuels is often not competitive with oil unless subsidized or benefiting from tax credits. Brazil is the least-cost producer of ethanol and can compete with oil at oil prices of about US$30–35 a barrel, but ethanol produced in the United States and European Union (EU) can compete with oil only at prices of about US$55 and US$80 a barrel, respectively. Improvements in the productivity and chemical content of feedstock have been important, and there is still potential for further gains [10]. The current production cost of biofuels is typically $60–120/barrel of oil equivalent. Influential factors include the cost of the biomass at the plant gate, the conversion efficiency, the scale of the process and the value of the product (e.g. fuel, electricity or chemicals) [11]. Present and projected future price ranges of different biofuels are presented in figure 3. World Over Biofuel Policies Mandates for blending biofuels into vehicle fuels have been enacted in 17 countries at the national level. Brazil has been the world leader in mandated blending of biofuels for 30 years under its “ProAlcool” program. The blending shares are adjusted occasionally, but have remained in the range of 20–25 percent. Most of the other countries mandates require blending 10–15 percent ethanol with gasoline or blending 2–5 percent biodiesel with diesel fuel. Most mandates are fairly recent, enacted over the past 2–3 years. Mandates can now be found in India, 9 Chinese provinces, 9 U.S. states, 3 Canadian provinces, 2 Australian states, and at least 9 developing countries at the national level. Among the most recently enacted are Canada's blending mandates, E5 by 2010 and B2 by 2012, Australia's first state-level blending mandate for ethanol, which began in 2007 in New South Wales [9]. A list of countries with summary of ethanol blending policies is given in table 3. Government of India started BioFuel mission in 2003, and BioFuel Policy is on the process. National Biofuel Policy drafted by the Ministry For New and Renewable Energy Sources (MNRE), assures that bio-fuel programme would not compete with food security and the fertile farm lands would not be diverted for plantation of bio-fuel crops. The policy deals with a number of issues like minimum support prices (MSPs) for bio-fuel crops, subsidies for growers of bio-fuel crops, marketing of oil-bearing seeds, subsidies and fiscal concessions for the bio-fuel industry, R&D, mandatory blending of auto-fuel with bio-fuel, quality norms, testing and certification of bio-fuels. An indicative target of 20% by 2017 for the blending of biofuels – bioethanol and bio-diesel has been proposed in the National Biofuel Policy. Future Biofuel Targets Different countries world over set future targets for Biofuels. New U.S. renewable fuels standard requires fuel distributors to increase the annual volume of biofuels blended to 36 billion gallons (136 billion liters) by 2022. The new standard implies that 20 percent of gasoline for road transport would be biofuels by 2022. The United Kingdom has a similar renewable fuels obligation, targeting 5 percent by 2010. Japan's new strategy for long-term ethanol production targets 6 billion liters/year by 2030, representing 5 percent of transport energy. China finalized targets for the equivalent of 13 billion liters of ethanol and 2.3 billion liters of biodiesel per year by 2020. European Commission established a new EU-wide target of 10 percent of transport energy by 2020, extending the previous EU-wide target of 5.75 percent by 2010 [9]. In 2008, India announced an indicative target of 20% by 2017 for the blending of biofuels – bioethanol and biodiesel in the ambitious national Biofuel policy. Biofuel Tax Incentive and Subsidies Different countries world over are providing Tax incentive and subsidies to promote biofuel, strengthen related industry and to make biofuel competitive with petro-fuel. The largest production subsidies exist in the United States, where the federal government provides a 14 cents/liter tax credit for ethanol blending through 2010, and a 12 cents/liter tax credit for biodiesel through 2008. Canada also recently enacted federal biofuels production subsidies of CAD 10 cents/liter (10 cents/liter) for ethanol and CAD 20 cents/liter (20 cents/liter) for biodiesel. Other countries with tax incentives for production include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Paraguay. Biofuels tax exemptions exist in at least 10 EU countries, including Belgium, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Germany had an exemption but rescinded it in 2007. Fuel-tax exemptions also exist in a number of developing countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and South Africa [9]. Top Biofuel and Developing Economics Many developing countries may be able to leapfrog first-generation bioenergy technologies, particularly in developing their electricity and transport systems. They may also want to choose scales and technologies for biomass production and processing that can promote pro-poor and employment-intensive patterns of growth. The major drivers for biofuel in developing countries like India are identified as: a. Saving foreign exchange; b. Promoting energy security in the country; c. Promoting environmental security; d. Meeting climate change commitments; e. Promoting renewable energy sources; and f. Generating rural employment opportunities [12]. Biofuel like SVOs are produced easily in rural areas where there is an acute need for modern forms of energy. In the case of agricultural applications, fuels that can be produced in rural areas in a decentralized manner, near the consumption points will be favored. For agricultural applications where small amounts of fuel are consumed in every engine, the use of neat vegetable oil is likely to be more attractive than the transesterified oil (biodiesel) which requires chemical processing [13]. Small-farm production of cellulose-rich or non-edible oil crops that can be grown in less fertile and low-rainfall areas would also help some of the poorest people improve their livelihoods. Small farmers may need to be organized into producer groups for marketing their feedstock to large-scale processors [10]. Conservative projections of future growth estimate the addition of 10,000 to 20,000 jobs for every billion gallons of ethanol production [14]. |
‘Food-Vs-Fuel’ Debate The steep rise in food prices in recent years in concerning policy-makers and has raised the old ‘food vs fuel’ debate. Trend of prices of world main food grain and oil of last eight years are given in figure 4. It is true that more and more cropland will be required to feed the ever-increasing human population. About 14 million hectares of land are currently used for the production of biofuels and by-products, equal to about 1% of the world's available arable land. The share of the world's arable land used to grow biomass for biofuels is projected to rise from 1% to 2.5% in 2030 in the Reference Scenario [6]. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), scenarios developed for the USA and the EU indicate that near-term targets of up to 6% displacement of petroleum fuels with biofuels are feasible using conventional biofuels. A 5% displacement of diesel requires 13% of USA cropland, 15% in the EU [13]. Land requirements for ‘developing Asia’ region in 2030 are 10.2 to 11.5 Mha for Alternative Policy and 2nd generation biofuel cases, respectively [6]. India requires 450 Million tons (Mt) of food grain by 2050, which is a 1.95 times increment from the present 230.67 Mt production in 2007–08 [15]. Since India presently imports edible oil, its conversion into bio-diesel is not feasible. Therefore, India has to develop its non-edible oil sector around marginal lands with efficient use of technologies including biotechnology [1]. Therefore, to meet the sustainable and integrated ‘food-fuel security’ for India is gigantic work and needs balanced and judicious use of limited land and natural resources with proper interventions of modern technology. Large-scale use of first generation biofuels will probably not be possible unless second-generation technologies based on lignocellulosic biomass that requires less arable land can be developed commercially. Top Importance of 2ND Generation Biofuel A first generation of fuels and chemicals is presently produced from sugars, starches and vegetable oils. While instrumental in growing the market, these biofuels are not long-term solutions (Lange, 2007). First, they compete with food for their feedstock and/or fertile land and are already affecting the price of food. Second, their potential availability is limited by the amount of fertile soil and the yield per hectare. Finally, the effective savings of CO2 emission and fossil fuel consumption are limited by the energy needed to grow the crop and convert it to biofuel. In the case of corn ethanol, 60–75% of the energy content of ethanol is consumed during its production, 20–25% to grow and harvest the corn and 40–50% to convert it to ethanol. The latter contribution can be reduced very significantly by using the crop residue as process fuel [11, 16, 1718]. A potential solution for above said three typical problems of first generation biofuel is lignocellulosic ethanol, which is a second generation biofuel. The ratio of energy output to fossil energy input is favorable (>4) for production of cellulosic ethanol, and can be expected to improve further as the technology matures. Several detailed life cycle studies have concluded that greenhouse gas emissions accompanying use of cellulosic ethanol are less than 10% accompanying use of gasoline, and zero or negative net greenhouse gas emissions have been estimated for some scenarios [19]. If second-generation technologies based on ligno-cellulosic biomass were widely commercialized before 2030, arable land requirements could be much less per unit of biofuels output. In a Second-Generation Biofuels Case, ligno-cellulosic based technologies are assumed to be introduced on a large scale, pushing the share of biofuels in transport demand globally to 10% in 2030 compared with 3% in reference scenario [6]. |
Cellulosic Ethanol: Sustainable Biofuel of the Future Lignocellulose can be grown in combination with food (e.g. as crop residue) or on non-agricultural lands. The world production (3–5 Gt/year) of these residues could provide 50–85 EJ/year of energy [11, 16, 20, 21] which represents 10–20% of today's world energy demand. The net savings in energy and CO2 emission are increased by requiring less fertilizer (i.e. less fossil fuels to produce them), fixing CO2 in the soil (e.g. perennial energy crops) and providing the process fuel as well. The agriculture residues used to make cellulosic ethanol also contain lignin - a material that can be burned to generate power to run the cellulosic ethanol facility. Because of this ability to produce both fuel and energy, the US Department of Energy life-cycle analysis states that ethanol from cellulose reduces greenhouse gases by 90% compared to gasoline. The Canadian government estimates that, “If 35% of gasoline in Canada contained ten percent ethanol, GHG emissions would be reduced by 1.8 megatonnes per year (1.8 million tonnes), which is the equivalent of removing more than 4,00,000 vehicles from the road” [14]. Cellulose conversion technologies will open up enormous potential for broadening the kinds of feedstocks that can be used for bioenergy to include trees and grasses that produce large amounts of usable biomass per hectare and that can be grown in areas where bioenergy is less likely to compete with agricultural production. These technologies will enable greater use of existing agricultural waste and crop by-products and will also encourage growth of dedicated feedstock plantations, including fast-growing trees like willow and eucalyptus, tall grasses like switchgrass and Miscanthus, and plants rich in non-edible oils like Jatropha and Pongamia that grow in low-rainfall areas and on poor soils. Lignocellulose can be converted via three major routes:
Pyrolysis to a complex and unstable oil with some gas and char; Gasification and subsequent conversion to electricity or to liquid products, such as alkanes or methanol; Hydrolysis to sugars with subsequent transformation to fuels and chemicals via chemical conversion or fermentation [11].
Challenges for Cellulosic Ethanol For the production of ethanol from ligno-cellulosic feedstocks to become commercially viable, significant technological challenges still need to be overcome. A key objective is to produce a fermented broth with a higher concentration of ethanol, in order to reduce the energy needs of the distillation process to fuel grade. The unit production cost is expected to be almost $1 per litre of gasoline equivalent, based on a biomass feedstock price of $3.60/GJ [22]. Significantly lower costs are believed to be achievable in the next one or two decades, through optimised pre-treatment, higher ethanol concentrations before distillation, enhanced enzymes and improved separation techniques. Integration of biomass gasification and combined-cycle technology to improve the efficiency of use of the unused portion of lignin to power the process may also help lower costs and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions [6]. Lignocellulose conversion processes are still expensive today, being competitive at crude oil prices between $50 and $100/bbl [11]. Lignocellulose might be a fairly cheap feedstock, cheaper than crude oil. However its conversion requires large investments. Cost reduction is imperative for lignocelluloses to play a role as feedstock for fuel and chemicals. It will require
Simpler and less energy-demanding processes; Improved infrastructure for collecting the biomass over a large area; Improved agricultural and forestry practices that provide residual biomass in significant amounts without deteriorating the soil over the long term.
Is There Enough Land for Cellulosic Ethanol Production? By considering 10 billion litres per annum of Gasoline consumption in 2006 for India multiplied by 6 times demand escalation by 2035 and with the assumption of 10% blending of ethanol, India requires around 6 billion liters of alcohol by 2035. According to some estimates, over 500 million tonnes of agricultural and agro-industrial residue (cellulose from crops and plantation) alone is generated every year. However, studies have indicated that at least 150–200 million tonnes of this biomass material does not find much productive use, and can be made available for alternative uses at an economical cost [12]. Therefore, in the best case scenario, from 500 million tons of biomass residues per annum 100 billion liters of cellulosic ethanol can be produced in India. Whereas in average case scenario, considering 150 million tones biomass availability, around 30 billion liters of cellulosic ethanol can be produced in India per annum. These estimations are based on the assumptions that average 200 litre alcohol can be produced per metric tonnes of biomass [23]. Considering switch grass as energy crop, to meet 6 billion litre of cellulosic ethanol by 2035, India requires nearly 1–1.2 million ha dedicated land for this purpose. Wastelands of several states can be used for biofuel production. A very vast land area (approx. 47.7 million ha) of India is classified as culturable waste land, fallow land and permanent pasture. These lands are presently not under regular farming[6, 14]. Judicious use of these lands for biofuel as well as food crop can be a potential solution. Stage wise substitution of conventional bio-fuel by lignocellulosic ethanol, when the second generation technology matures and becomes affordable, are critical from policy making point of view. This can help to achieve a balance between food and fuel requirements of growing Indian economy. Some Initiatives in India on Cellulosic Ethanol Though in small number, but some private sector initiatives are visible which is expected to strengthen the second generation biofuel sector of India. Tata Sons, India's largest business conglomerate, joined as a key investor in Praj, an India-based global engineering and biotech company specializing in cellulosic ethanol from sweet sorghum. Tata Chemicals recently announced that if the pilot plant at Nanded, Maharashtra for production of bioethanol from sweet sorghum, is successful it will pave way for larger investment in this area. The Nanded plant is scheduled to open in 2010 [24]. In collaboration with the National Chemical Laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Godavari Sugar Mills Ltd (GSML) is developing first Demonstration-Scale Cellulosic Ethanol Biorefinery in Sameerwadi, Karnataka. This biorefinery will use sugarcane bagasse to produce ethanol [25]. As per recent industry update, Mission New-Energy of Australia in a joint venture in India will produce ethanol from toxic jatropha waste, which could only be converted to animal feed after a complex process to extract toxins [24]. Top Conclusions Ultimately, total food crop supply will determine the maximum biofuel production capacity that can be achieved without causing food shortages and higher food prices. The critical challenge is not only to produce enough food to meet the increased demand from the population increase and the expansion of biofuel production, but to do so in an environmentally sound manner. Achieving these dual objectives in a relatively short time period will require a substantial increase in research and extension with an explicit focus on increasing the rate of gain in crop yields while protecting soil and water quality and reducing GHG emissions [26] It can be stated that depending on the entire socio-agricultural condition of any specific country, it is the duty of the policy-makers to take decisions on judicious proportionate diversification of cropland from food to fuel to have a proper balance among them. Conservation and other alternative carbon-neutral energy sources must be explored simultaneously which can ensure a sustainable balanced use of all these renewable resources [13] Judicious use of first generation biofuel and investment and development of second generation biofuel for future need may hold the key of meeting the complex sustainable and integrated ‘food-fuel security’ of India. A very vast land area (approx. 47.7 million ha) in India is classified as culturable waste land, fallow land and permanent pasture. These lands are presently not under regular farming. Judicious use of these lands for biofuel as well as food crop can be a potential solution of this problem. Present technologies for lignocellulosic ethanol do not make it price competitive with petro-fuel. Realizing the huge future potential of this second generation biofuel, developed countries are investing hugely in this area. India also needs to invest fund and research effort to timely develop this key area which is of paramount importance for future ‘food-fuel’ sustainability. Private enterprise and government agencies should adopt new second generation biofuel technology of for future ‘Green Fleets’, as the best way of ensuring the economic absorption of these environmental gains through applying for tax incentives and obtaining carbon credits through clean development mechanism (CDM) projects [13]. This approach would work toward ensuring the feasibility and possible introduction of this greener technology more widely, ushering in an alternative that is more friendly to mankind and to the environment.
Figures | Figure 1.: Petroleum consumption trend of India and China
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| | Figure 2.: International trend of energy related CO2 emission
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| | Figure 3.: Price trend of Biofuel
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| | Figure 4.: Price Trend of food grain and oil
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Tables | Table 1:: Top 15 countries in Biofuel Production
| | Country | Fuel ethanol | Blodlesel | | | billion liters | | 1. | United States | 18.3 | 0.85 | | 2. | Brazil | 17.5 | 0.07 | | 3. | Germany | 0.5 | 2.80 | | 4. | China | 1.0 | 0.07 | | 5. | France | 0.25 | 0.63 | | 6. | Italy | 0.13 | 0.57 | | 7. | Spain | 0.40 | 0.14 | | 8. | India | 0.30 | 0.03 | | 9. | Canada | 0.20 | 0.05 | | 10. | Poland | 0.12 | 0.13 | | 11. | Czech Republic | 0.02 | 0.15 | | 12. | Colombia | 0.20 | 0.06 | | 13. | Sweden | 0.14 | — | | 14. | Malaysia | — | 0.14 | | 15. | United Kingdom | — | 0.11 | | EU Total | 1.6 | 4.5 | | World Total | 39 | 6 |
| | | Table 2:: List of major fuel ethanol producer countries
| | U.S.A. | 9,000.0 | | Brazil | 6,472.2 | | European Union | 733.6 | | china | 501.9 | | Candada | 237.7 | | Other | 128.4 | | Thailand | 89.8 | | Colombia | 79.2 | | India | 66.0 | | Australia | 26.4 | | Total | 17,335.2 |
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| | | Table 3:: List of major fuel ethanol producer countries
| | Brazil | All gasoline must contain between 20 and 25% anhydrous ethanol. Currently, the mandate is 23%. | | Canada | By 2010, 5% of all motor vehical fuel must be ethanol or biodiesel. | | France | Set target rates for incorporation of biofuels into fassil fuels (by energy content). Calls for 5.75% in 2008. | | Germany | Mandates 8% energy content in motor fuels by 2010, 3.6% coming from ethanol. | | Lithuania | Gasoline must contain 7–15% ETBE. The ETBE must be 47% ethanol. | | Poland | Mandatory "National Biofuel Goal Indicators" calling for biofuels to represent a set percentage of total transporation fuel use. 2008′s standard is 3.45%, on an energy contant basis. | | Argentina | Requires the use of 5% ethanol blends by 2010. | | Thailand | Gasoline in Bangkok must be blended with 10% ethanol. | | India | Requires 5% ethanol in all gasoline. | | China | Five Chinese provinces require 10% ethanol blnds-Heilongjian, Jilin, Liaoning, Anhui, and Henan. | | The Philippines | Requires 5% ethanol blends in gasoline begining in 2008. The requirement expands to 10% in 2010. | | Balivia | Expanding ethanol blends to 25% over the next five years. Current blend levels are at 10% | | colombia | Requires 10% ethanol blends in cities with populations over 500,000 | | Venezuela | Phasing in 10% ethanol blending requirment |
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