India's growing Ethanol Blending Program and implications of scalable and sustainable Methanol Blending Program for transport sector

The government of India is exploring the possibility of introducing indigenous fuels into the transport sector to reduce petroleum imports. Considering this, an Ethanol Blending Program was launched. The government of India also outlined a vision for a methanol economy, and vehicle trials were performed to understand the challenges of introducing the Methanol Blending Program in India. A review of the Ethanol Blending Program vs. Methanol Blending Program is done in this study by systematically analysing various aspects such as production, the requirement of critical resources such as water, fuel storage issues, and the ‘food vs. fuel’ debate. India's struggle towards providing Indigenous feedstocks for ethanol production can be easily tackled by producing methanol from various abundant feedstocks such as high-ash coal, biomass, and municipal solid waste. However, coal-based methanol (brown methanol) may lead to a larger carbon footprint involving coal extraction and methanol conversion. Green methanol can be a game-changer for India's economy and greenhouse gas emissions. Ethanol has an edge over methanol since methanol has a wider flammability range and higher toxicity. Significant use of food and water stresses for the national ethanol blending program could be the main bottleneck for extending it further for a longer time in India.