Ethanol Blending in Petrol Reaches 19.68% in Feb: Govt

New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) The blending of ethanol with petrol by public-sector oil marketing companies touched 19.68 per cent in February, the government said on Wednesday.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya said, "Currently, ethanol for blending in petrol is majorly produced from a variety of sugarcane-based feedstock i.e. sugarcane juice/sugar syrup/ sugar including sugar by-products (B-heavy Molasses and C-heavy Molasses) and grain-based feedstock i.e. Maize, Damaged foodgrains and Rice".

Ethanol is being used for blending in petrol and other industrial uses.

The production of ethanol for petrol blending is determined through demand from oil marketing companies (OMCs). Feedstock-wise tenders are allotted by OMCs to ethanol distilleries, the minister said.

The National Policy on Biofuels – 2018, as amended in 2022, advanced the target of 20 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol to Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025-26 from year 2030. The ethanol supply year runs from November to October.

"Public Sector OMCs have achieved the target of 10 per cent ethanol blending in petrol in June 2022 i.e. five months ahead of the target during ESY 2021-22. The blending of ethanol further increased to 12.06 per cent in ESY 2022-23, 14.60 per cent in ESY 2023-24 and 17.98 per cent in ESY 2024-25 up to 28th February 2025. For the month of February 2025, ethanol blending of 19.68 per cent was achieved by Public Sector OMCs," the minister said.

Till February of the current 2024-25 ESY, 278.88 crore litres of ethanol have been supplied to OMCs. In the 2023-24 ESY, 672.49 crore litres were supplied.