„h Trial test on 133 buses in Bangalore successful

„h With this, annual savings can be around Rs. 6 crore

BANGALORE: Amidst vociferous campaign for oil conservation by various agencies, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is poised to achieve the goal in letter and "spirit".

The method ¡X blending ethanol with diesel ¡X which KSRTC has adopted to reduce air pollution is unprecedented in South Asia, according to the technology provider.

KSRTC plans to use the blended diesel in 2,500 buses in the coming days after the successful trial test on 133 buses in the city.

Though blending ethanol with petrol is in practice in India, its blending with diesel has not been easy. The technology was innovated in the United States and the blended fuel is used in school buses. Energenics, a Singapore-based company and the sole technology licencee for Asia Pacific is lending the technology free of cost to KSRTC to work the concept.

Ethanol and diesel were blended through an agent called solubiliser, a biomass product, said G. Santosh Kumar, Environment Engineering Coordinator of Energenics, who is overseeing the pilot project. Mr. Kumar told The Hindu that Energenics was also providing solubiliser free of cost for the pilot project.

The combination ¡X Enerdiesel ¡X comprises 91.8 per cent diesel, 7.7 per cent ethanol and 0.5 per cent solubiliser. The ingredients are simultaneously blended in a fully controlled and computerised environment. When the operator switches on the pump, ethanol and solubiliser get mixed in the required proportion at the "downing equipment" before joining the delivery pipe where the required quantity of diesel is pumped out.

The whole system is fully automated and in future could be remotely controlled. Mr. Kumar said there was no need to modify the engine to use Enerdiesel nor was there any loss of torque or horsepower.

Cost-benefit factor

While diesel costs Rs. 36.39 a litre, ethanol costs Rs. 23. KSRTC could save 25 paisa a litre of diesel by using Enerdiesel. When Enerdiesel is used for all 5,162 buses, the annual savings could be around Rs. 6 crore. Besides, the World Bank buys KSRTC's carbon credit (around 24,000 tonnes annually) and pays around $11 per tonne under the Clean Development Mechanism Project. Apart from monetary gains, the significant outcome of Enerdiesel use is a large reduction in air pollution. "The smoke density, which is around 60 ppm when normal diesel is used, comes down by 50 per cent on Enerdiesel," Mr. Kumar pointed out.