The New Nation - Internet Edition

IT was reported some time ago that the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) was taking steps to produce ethanol from molasses in all sugar mills under it. The progress in this project is not known. But it certainly needs to be expedited. The ethanol to be produced would be used as alternative fuel for vehicles. The project sounded commendable and if its utility gains are proved, then it could be considered for implementation.

Bangladesh presently spends a great deal of resources on imported petroleum-based fuels. If dependence on these imports can be decreased, then that would mean a worthwhile saving. At a time when prices of petroleum products are found to be continually rising in the international market, alternative fuels can turn out to be notable savers of precious resources.

There is a scope for producing ethanol also from other sources such as agricultural and municipal wastes. Ethanol is considered an ideal fuel in many cases. It is renewable, for it can be produced from plant materials. It burns cleanly, producing virtually none of the pollutants associated with gasoline or diesel oil. There is also the potential of producing diesel for use in automotive vehicles in Bangladesh from jatrofa plants. The seeds of the plants are crushed to make a liquid similar to diesel called bio-diesel. Bio-diesel from jatrofa plants is significantly meeting requirements of fuels for transporters in India.

However, a key question has been raised by environmentalists about the suitability of turning lands from agricultural use to one producing bio-fuels, especially at a time of food grains crisis being faced worldwide. They say that production of bio-fuels would hit hard the poor who depend on cheap food items. Instead, energy planners in Bangladesh should opt for solar and bio-gas energy and develop the coalmines instead of increasing the pressure on precious agricultural lands.