MULTAN, Sept 12: Local industrialists have suggested that a study should be carried out whether mixing of ethyl alcohol in petrol is a cost effective option to run vehicles, as a viable fuel alternative.

Pakistan can capitalize on its molasses production potential to replicate the Brazilian experience to make petrol, as a cost-effective fuel option, said Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry former president Muhammad Khan Saddozai.

Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) member and NFC Institute of Engineering and Technological training director Dr Saeed Khan said: “Soaring oil prices have prompted the world to step up efforts to look for cost-effective alternate energy resources.”

He said a study should be launched to evaluate whether it was price-wise beneficial to mix ethanol extracted from molasses, a byproduct of sugar industry, with petrol.

“There is an agricultural link to the problem found in Brazil some time after 1975, where experiments of running motors by using fuel mixed with ethyl alcohol, were reported to be successful,” he added.

“Mixing of ethyl alcohol in petrol by 30 per cent can run motors without requiring alterations in the engines,” said Dr Saeed, quoting reports from Brazil.

Ethanol or industrial alcohol is also used to manufacture medicines.

He said a few people knew that Pakistan has been a leading exporter of molasses from 1988 to 2003. “Today the local industry finds itself at a crossroads, deciding whether to keep exporting molasses, in the raw form, or to extract industrial alcohol from it to earn three times more foreign exchange through exports.”

Earlier, Engr Abdul Waheed in an article observed that molasses could be used effectively to produce petrol, the good news being that this ethanol fuel is renewable and more efficient.

Mr Saddozai said Pakistan could earn more foreign exchange by exporting industrial alcohol rather than just molasses, adding that fuel production from it would make it a win-win scheme.

A medicine importer and manufacturer, Saadat Ali Ghauri, said Pakistan imported 95 per cent of the raw material for its medicine manufacture. The production of ethanol within the country will also help in greatly reducing our import bill.

Pakistan has been oscillating between top two positions from 1988 to 2003 among the leading 20 molasses exporting countries. It was positioned at 18th back in 1976 with export of 111,563 metric tons of molasses. It rose to second position in 1985 after Thailand by exporting 683,185 metric tons of molasses. Though drifted to fourth position in 1986 after Indonesia, Thailand and the Netherlands, and further three step back to seventh in 1987, Pakistan never looked back grabbing the top position only after a year in 1988 and kept holding first or second position till 2003, according to UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s molasses export statistics of top 20 countries.

Engineer Abdul Waheed’s published paper suggests that average ethanol recovery from molasses is estimated at 240 to 270 litres per ton depending on its quality thus processing entire two million ton Molasses that Pakistan produce approximately can yield 500 million litres (0.4 million tons) of ethyl alcohol which can bring $144 million if exported at an average price of $360 per ton. And, most importantly can produce additional 160,000 tons fuel by mixing 10 per cent of ethanol in petrol without loosing additional dollars on import.

Dr Saeed Khan says the country has almost 80 sugar mills but only a few of them have allied facilities to extract industrial alcohol or ethanol. Being an agriculture country and producing sugarcane in good quantity, Pakistan was better placed to capitalize on molasses.—APP