Sri Lanka has the capability to produce sufficient bio fuel locally to meet the entire demand of petrol driven vehicles in the country and thus bring about massive foreign exchange savings as the need to import petrol will be almost unnecessary. According to a proposal submitted by Pelwatte Sugar Industries Ltd (PSIL) the country can be self-sufficient in bio fuel as a substitute for petrol, by cultivating 65,000 hectares of sugarcane, which will be used to produce Ethanol. "Brazil is using sugarcane ethanol to run almost 100 percent of its vehicles. Sri Lanka too has the capacity and capability to do the same. The President has already been appraised about the uses of ethanol as a substitute for petrol and we have even presented him with an ethanol sample we had produced. He expressed a keenness about the project but as usual the policy makers a dragging their feet," said A. Wickramanayake, Director, PSIL. He pointed out that India had saved almost 20 percent on its annual expenditure on petrol because the country runs its vehicles on a bio fuel petrol mixture. "Why should we as a country spend so much on imported oil when we can produce our own fuel?" he said. Wickramanayake said that ethanol can either be mixed with petrol or can be used on its own without having to modify the vehicles. But this cannot be used for vehicles running on diesel. PSIL has proposed two possible scenarios, and each has been further analysed on the impact a fertiliser subsidy and an incentive scheme for farmers will have on the proposals. The first is to produce 520,000 MT of sugar for consumption from 5.2 million MT of sugarcane from 65,000 hectares. This will create 234,000 MT of molasses which can be used to produce about 74 million litres of ethanol. This will save the government almost Rs.33 billion a year. Under this proposal, even if the government was to provide fertiliser subsidies it would amount to only 8 percent of the above savings and the net saving would be Rs. 30.5 billion. PSIL proposes that if farmers were given an incentive Rs.100,000 per hectare instead, it would cost the government 24.56 percent of Rs.33 billion and will save Rs.26.5 billion. Under the second proposal, PSIL suggests that if all the sugarcane produced in the 65,000 hectares was to go for the production of ethanol alone, it would result in about 374 million litres of ethanol and save the government almost Rs.41 billion a year. A fertiliser subsidy is calculated to cost the government 6.45 percent of the savings resulting in a net saving of Rs.38.2 billion while an incentive of Rs.100,000 per hectare to farmers will result in a net saving of Rs. 34.1 billion. The above proposals also accounts for a saving of Rs.4.3 billion on diesel because PSIL points out that 150 MW of electricity can be produced in the process as well. PSIL presently produces about 10 million litres of ethanol a year for the local alcohol industry and in the process its plants provide their own electricity which has cut costs by almost 30 percent. "We are heavily taxed by the government. PSIL generates around Rs.7 billion in revenue to the government by way of excise duty every year. If these proposals are to be implemented, and they should be, the government will have to consider handing out incentives to attract farmers to cultivate sugarcane. "Sixty percent of our teas come from smallholders, likewise, if we are to grow sugarcane to the extent that is required, which is about 65,000 hectares then the government will have to think of ways to attract smallholders and others to establish sugarcane plantations. "And then they could generate their own electricity and should be made to contribute 25 percent or so to the national grid," Wickramanayake said. Wickramanayake believes that there is enough land available in uncultivated paddy fields, marginal lands and unused state land to be put to good use. The PSIL proposal said that that the 374 million litres of ethanol which can be produced from 65,000 hectares of sugarcane is adequate to cover the country’s demand for petrol and an official of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation said that although the country’s petrol requirement is about 1.5 million litres a day, which amounts to about 548 million litres a year, the PSIL estimate is close to the actual requirement as the refineries do not operate every day of the year and are subject to closures for maintenance. What ever the figures may be, however, a saving is a saving. And a saving of Rs.26 to 34 billion is a worthwhile saving indeed. Senior Lecturer and former Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Moratuwa, said that now was the right time for Sri Lanka to explore ways in which bio fuels can be used as a substitute to fossil fuels. "The world is moving into bio fuels and the use of ethanol as a substitute for petrol has been proved in many parts of the world, like in Brazil. But we have to be mindful of considering the local context before embarking in any large scale changes," said Dr. A. G. T. Sugathapala. "Ethanol can be used, as proven, but the vehicles will have to undergo minor adjustments. We will need competent mechanics to handle this procedure and to take care of maintenance and repairs, "The water content of ethanol is too high to be used as fuel, so refineries will have to be established to dehydrate ethanol. This will be a substantial cost and it must be noted that the refined ethanol must be consistent in quality. Distribution will have to be looked into as well," he said. Dr. Sugathapala said the problem with bio fuels is that it conflicts with the interest of keeping food prices within reasonable and fair limits. World food prices have soared because bio fuel has emerged as a substitute for fossil fuels. But the PSIL proposal does not bring this conflict to Sri Lanka. "We will not only be able to produce the sugar we need, but produce bio fuel and electricity as well," Wickramanayake said. He pointed out that the proposals were based on estimates of the sugarcane yield from 65,000 hectares and an increase in that the number of hectares needed to be cultivated can depend on what the requirement would be. |
