HYDERABAD: Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, have published their research on understanding factors and impediments in incorporating biofuels into the fuel sector in India using computational methods.
According to the computational model developed by the institute's researchers, the major factors that lead to high costs of bioethanol integration into mainstream fuel use are high production cost (43 per cent), import (25 per cent), transport (17 per cent), infrastructure (15 per cent) and inventory (0.43 per cent). The model also showed that feed availability to the tune of at least 40 per cent of the capacity is needed to meet the projected demands.
The research was led by Dr Kishalay Mitra, Associate Professor at the department of chemical engineering, along with research scholar Kapil Gumte. Results of the work were recently published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.
Dr Mitra said, "The techno- economic-environmental analysis on country- wide multi-layered supply chain network and the use of machine learning techniques have helped us capture the uncertainty in forecasting demands and other supply chain parameters, and their effects on the operational and design decisions in the long run."
It is mandatory in India to blend fuel grade bioethanol with petrol to reduce the burden on crude oil import and also to make the fuel more environment friendly.