Abstract
The fossil fuels have a 98% share in the energy consumption in the Indian transport sector. The Indian transport sector contributes to 13.2% of CO2 emissions in India. In the quest for cleaner fuels for the surface transport sector, a number of transportation energy sources fueling the vehicles (based on Internal Combustion Engines) have emerged as suitable alternatives in the 21st Century through decades of continued research and development efforts. Fuels such as natural gas (Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) or Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)), Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), hydrogen, and biofuels have been the front runners as potential alternatives to crude oil-based gasoline and diesel. These alternative fuels for cleaner transport in India are detailed and compared on the basis of their physico-chemical properties, ignition characteristics, storage requirements, and safety parameters. The technical ‘availability’ of these fuels in the context of the Indian road transport is discussed as a segment of the broader analysis of these fuels under the 4A framework of Energy Security (Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability, and Affordability). These alternative fuels are characterized from two perspectives, i.e., fuel mix for the short to medium term use (during the energy transition in transport sector) and fuel mix for the long-term use (after the energy transition has taken place). These fuels driving the transport sector are also analyzed based on their use by two contrasting yet complementary segments, viz. passenger and freight. CNG and LPG are identified to be useful in the fuel mix for the passenger segment in the short to medium term future, while biodiesel is identified as a potential freight segment fuel in the similar timeframe. For the long-term future, ethanol is identified as a potential candidate for passenger segment, while LNG and Hydrogen are found to be suitable for the freight segment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- CNG:
-
Compressed natural gas
- CO2:
-
Carbon dioxide
- EBP:
-
Ethanol blended petrol
- EV:
-
Electric vehicle
- FC:
-
Fuel cell
- FCEV:
-
Fuel cell electric vehicle
- FCV:
-
Fuel cell vehicle
- FFE:
-
Flex-fuel engine
- FY:
-
Fiscal year
- GDP:
-
Gross domestic product
- GGE:
-
Gasoline gallon equivalency
- GHG:
-
Green house gas
- H-CNG:
-
Hydrogen–compressed natural gas
- HHV:
-
Higher heating value
- HP:
-
Horsepower
- HTE:
-
High temperature electrolysis
- ICE:
-
Internal combustion engine
- LHV:
-
Lower heating value
- LNG:
-
Liquefied natural gas
- LPG:
-
Liquefied petroleum gas
- MIE:
-
Minimum ignition energy
- NTP:
-
Normal temperature and pressure
- R&D:
-
Research and development
- RON:
-
Research octane number
- SDG:
-
Sustainable development goal
- SI:
-
Spark ignition
- TTW:
-
Tank to wheel
- WHTM:
-
Wheel to miles
- WTM:
-
Well to miles
- WTT:
-
Well to tank
- WTW:
-
Well to wheel
- Atm:
-
Atmosphere
- cm:
-
Centimetre
- cm/s:
-
Centimetre/second
- cm2/s:
-
Centimetre squared/second
- CO2eq/MJ:
-
Carbon dioxide equivalent/Mega Joule
- g/mol:
-
Gram/mole
- K:
-
Kelvin
- kg/m3:
-
Kilogram/metre cubed
- kJ/kg:
-
Kilo Joule/kilogram
- km:
-
Kilo metre
- kPa:
-
Kilo Pascal
- mJ:
-
Milli-Joule
- mm2/s:
-
Millimetre squared/second
- MJ/kg:
-
Mega Joule/kilogram
- MJ/l:
-
Mega Joule/litre
- MJ/m3:
-
Mega Joule/metre cubed
- Wh/kg:
-
Watt-hour/kilogram
- Wh/l:
-
Watt-hour/litre
- vol%:
-
Volume percentage
References
Akhil AG, Mohammed PK, Akhilesh S, Muhammad ACA, Khan S, Kanna R (2017) Determination of cloud and pour point of various petroleum products. Int Refereed J Eng Sci (IRJES) 6(9):1–4. http://www.irjes.com/Papers/vol6-issue9/A6910104.pdf
Allegrini F, Olivieri AC (2011) A new and efficient variable selection algorithm based on ant colony optimization. Applications to near infrared spectroscopy/partial least-squares analysis. Anal Chimica Acta 699(1):18–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2011.04.061
Alternative Fuels Data Centre Homepage (2021a). https://bit.ly/3ymZQaB. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Alternative Fuels Data Centre Homepage (2021b). https://bit.ly/36ibxmI. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Alvarez RA, Pacala SW, Winebrake JJ, Chameides WL, Hamburg SP (2012) Greater focus needed on methane leakage from natural gas infrastructure. Proc Natl Acad Sci 109(17):6435–6440. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1202407109
Ang BW, Choong WL, Ng TS (2015) Energy security: definitions, dimensions and indexes. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 42:1077–1093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.10.064
Anstrom JR, Collier K (2016) Blended hydrogen–natural gas-fueled internal combustion engines and fueling infrastructure. In: Compendium of hydrogen energy. Woodhead Publishing, pp 219–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-78242-363-8.00008-6
Arefin MA, Nabi MN, Akram MW, Islam MT, Chowdhury MW (2020) A review on liquefied natural gas as fuels for dual fuel engines: opportunities, challenges and responses. Energies 13(22):6127. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13226127
Ashok B, Ashok SD, Kumar CR (2015) LPG diesel dual fuel engine–A critical review. Alex Eng J 54(2):105–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2015.03.002
Balat M (2006) Fuel characteristics and the use of biodiesel as a transportation fuel. Energy Sources, Part A 28(9):855–864. https://doi.org/10.1080/009083190951474
Bethoux O (2020) Hydrogen fuel cell road vehicles and their infrastructure: an option towards an environmentally friendly energy transition. Energies 13(22):6132. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13226132
Bio-diesel Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3dLDRSW. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Boretti A (2020) Advances in diesel-LNG internal combustion engines. Appl Sci 10(4):1296. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10041296
Cameo Chemicals NOAA Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3wcHAz3. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Chupka GM, Christensen E, Fouts L, Alleman TL, Ratcliff MA, McCormick RL (2015) Heat of vaporization measurements for ethanol blends up to 50 volume percent in several hydrocarbon blendstocks and implications for knock in SI engines. SAE Int J Fuels Lubr 8(2):251–263. https://doi.org/10.4271/2015-01-0763
Clarke Energy (2021). https://bit.ly/3dI14Fm. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Clarke-Energy Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3dGytAs. Last accessed 30 June 2021
CTCN Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3hx1z6t. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Dagaut P (2019) Experiments for kinetic mechanism assessment. In: Computer aided chemical engineering, vol 45. Elsevier, pp 445–471. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-64087-1.00008-5
DBpedia Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3hyJXam. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Elgas Homepage (2021a). https://bit.ly/36emgi8. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Elgas Homepage (2021b). https://bit.ly/3qPXw9E. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Energy.gov Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3dGPJ8s. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Fluid Switch Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/36aAwZ9. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Goyal P, Sharma SK (2014) Review on opportunities and difficulties with HCNG as a future fuel for internal combustion engine. Adv Aerosp Sci Appl. http://www.ripublication.com/aasa-spl/aasav4n1spl_13.pdf
Green Gas Limited Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3jGZhEi. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Gupta S, Patil V, Himabindu M, Ravikrishna RV (2016) Life-cycle analysis of energy and greenhouse gas emissions of automotive fuels in India: part 1–tank-to-wheel analysis. Energy 96:684–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2015.11.031
Hanby VI (2012) Combustion and pollution control in heating systems. Springer Science & Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2071-1
Hänggi S, Elbert P, Bütler T, Cabalzar U, Teske S, Bach C, Onder C (2019) A review of synthetic fuels for passenger vehicles. Energy Rep 5:555–569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2019.04.007
Hasan MM, Rahman MM (2017) Performance and emission characteristics of biodiesel–diesel blend and environmental and economic impacts of biodiesel production: a review. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 74:938–948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.03.045
Hosseini SE, Butler B (2020) An overview of development and challenges in hydrogen powered vehicles. Int J Green Energy 17(1):13–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/15435075.2019.1685999
Hydrogen Tools Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/2Uk6EHe. Last accessed 30 June 2021
HyResponse Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3yt1uaR. Last accessed 30 June 2021
HySafe Hydrogen Fundamentals Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3qJMYJ3. Last accessed 30 June 2021
India Auto-Gas Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3hGfuHw. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Indian Oil Corporation Limited Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3hyzdsy. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/36cotdZ. Last accessed 30 June 2021
International Energy Agency (IEA) (2021a) Data and statistics–total final consumption (TFC) by sector: India 1990–2018. https://bit.ly/3hesFjK. Last accessed 30 June 2021
International Energy Agency (IEA) (2021b) India energy outlook–2021. https://bit.ly/3jEUcMX. Last accessed 30 June 2021
International Energy Agency (IEA), NITI-Aayog, Government of India (GoI) (2020) India 2020–in-depth energy policy review. https://bit.ly/3dJeAsx. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Jha SK, Fernando SD, To SF (2007) Flame temperature analysis of biodiesel blends and components. In: 2007 ASAE annual meeting. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, p 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2007.10.026
Kalamaras CM, Efstathiou AM (2013) Hydrogen production technologies: current state and future developments. In: Conference papers in science, vol 2013. Hindawi. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/690627
Kelly M (2014) A more potent greenhouse gas than CO2, methane emissions will leap as Earth warms (Nature). Princeton Research. https://blogs.princeton.edu/research/2014/03/26/a-more-potent-greenhouse-gas-than-co2-methane-emissions-will-leap-as-earth-warms-nature
Khan MI, Yasmin T, Shakoor A (2015) Technical overview of compressed natural gas (CNG) as a transportation fuel. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 51:785–797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.06.053
Kheiralla AF, El-Awad MM, Hassan MY, Hussen MA, Osman HI (2012) Experimental determination of fuel properties of ethanol/gasoline blends as biofuel for SI engines. In: International conference on mechanical, automobile and robotics engineering, Penang, Malaysia. http://psrcentre.org/images/extraimages/24.%20212181.pdf. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Kook S, Pickett LM (2010) Effect of fuel volatility and ignition quality on combustion and soot formation at fixed premixing conditions. SAE Int J Engines 2(2):11–23. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26275403
Kosky P, Balmer R, Keat W, Wise G (2013) Exploring engineering. Academic Press, Boston, MA, USA, pp 317–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815073-3.00007-7
Le Anh T, Nguyen DK, Tuan PM (2011) Investigation of motorcycle engine’s characteristics fueled with ethanol-gasoline blends. In: The 4th AUN/SEED–net regional conference on new and renewable energy
Lee RA, Lavoie JM (2013) From first-to third-generation biofuels: challenges of producing a commodity from a biomass of increasing complexity. Anim Front 3(2):6–11. https://doi.org/10.2527/af.2013-0010
Ludwig EE (1999) Chapter 7—Process safety and pressure-relieving devices. In: Applied process design for chemical and petrochemical plants, vol 1. Gulf Professional Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1874-8635(99)80008-9
Mabanaft Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/2V82YJ9. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Methanol Institute Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3Atj14o. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India (GoI) (2020) Indian petroleum and natural gas statistics 2018–19. https://bit.ly/3dI8aKh. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India (GoI) (2019) Road transport year book (FY 2016–17). https://bit.ly/369w0KA. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, Government of India (GoI) (2020) Sector-wise GDP of India (2020). https://bit.ly/3jF4zQG. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Morrison GM, Kumar R, Chugh S, Puri SK, Tuli DK, Malhotra RK (2012) Hydrogen transportation in Delhi? Investigating the hydrogen-compressed natural gas (H-CNG) option. Int J Hydrogen Energy 37(1):644–654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.09.090
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3qJ4q0g. Last accessed 30 June 2021
NITI-Aayog, Government of India (GoI) (2021a) Fast tracking freight in India—a roadmap for clean and cost-effective goods transport. https://bit.ly/2UX8huG. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Niti-Aayog, Government of India (GoI) (2021b) Ethanol blending in India 2020–25. https://bit.ly/3hcZPQJ. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Paczuski M, Marchwiany M, Puławski R, Pankowski A, Kurpiel K, Przedlacki M (2016) Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a fuel for internal combustion engines. In: Alternative fuels, technical and environmental conditions, pp 105–136. https://doi.org/10.5772/61736
Panchasara H, Ashwath N (2021) Effects of pyrolysis bio-oils on fuel atomisation—a review. Energies 14(4):794. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14040794
Paratherm Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3ylPCXR. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Paravantis JA, Kontoulis N (2020) Energy security and renewable energy: a geopolitical perspective. In: Renewable energy-resources, challenges and applications. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91848
Pearson RJ, Turner JWG (2014) Using alternative and renewable liquid fuels to improve the environmental performance of internal combustion engines: key challenges and blending technologies. In: Alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies for improved environmental performance. Woodhead Publishing, pp 52–89. https://doi.org/10.1533/9780857097422.1.52
Petro Online Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/2SNcHnn. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Polytechnic University of Madrid Spain Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3hgAyFl. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Poulton ML (1994) Alternative fuels for road vehicles. https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/biblio/575115. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Purdue University Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3qM8RYj. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Raslavičius L, Keršys A, Mockus S, Keršienė N, Starevičius M (2014) Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a medium-term option in the transition to sustainable fuels and transport. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 32:513–525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.01.052
Raza A, Mehboob H, Miran S, Arif W, Rizvi SFJ (2020) Investigation on the characteristics of biodiesel droplets in the engine cylinder. Energies 13(14):3637. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13143637
Ren J, Sovacool BK (2014) Quantifying, measuring, and strategizing energy security: determining the most meaningful dimensions and metrics. Energy 76:838–849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.08.083
Sakthivel P, Subramanian KA, Mathai R (2018) Indian scenario of ethanol fuel and its utilization in automotive transportation sector. Resour Conserv Recycl 132:102–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.01.012
Sarıkoç S (2020) Fuels of the diesel-gasoline engines and their properties. Diesel Gasoline Engines 31. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89044
Schuchard R, Springer N, Grant S (2015) The sustainability impacts of fuel. In: A BSR future of fuels initiative publication. https://bit.ly/3hz14st. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Shalaby EA (2013) Biofuel: sources, extraction and determination. In: Liquid, gaseous and solid biofuels-conversion techniques. InTech, Croatia, pp 451–478. https://doi.org/10.5772/51943
Sharma S, Ghoshal SK (2015) Hydrogen the future transportation fuel: from production to applications. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 43:1151–1158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.11.093
Sholes KR, Odaka M, Goto Y, Ishii H, Suzuki H (2002) Study of the effect of boiling point on combustion and PM emissions in a compression ignition engine using two-component n-paraffin fuels (No. 2002-01-0871). SAE Technical Paper. https://doi.org/10.4271/2002-01-0871
SHV Energy Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3dLh8q5. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Sims R et al (2014) Transport. In: Climate change 2014: mitigation of climate change. contribution of working group III to the fifth assessment report of the IPCC. https://bit.ly/3jKmRA6. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Smajla I, Karasalihović Sedlar D, Drljača B, Jukić L (2019) Fuel switch to LNG in heavy truck traffic. Energies 12(3), 515.https://doi.org/10.3390/en12030515
Speight JG (2018) Natural gas—a basic handbook. Gulf Professional Publishing.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809570-6.00005-9
Srikanth R (2018) Role of electric mobility in a sustainable, and energy-secure future for India. Curr Sci 114(4):732–739. http://eprints.nias.res.in/1458/
UNSDG Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/2UqQewA. Last accessed 30 June 2021
USEIA Homepage (2021). https://bit.ly/3jKOKIu. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Veziro TN, Barbir F (1992) Hydrogen: the wonder fuel. Int J Hydrogen Energy 17(6):391–404. https://doi.org/10.1016/0360-3199(92)90183-W
Wilkinson J et al. (2013) Biofuels and food security, A report by the high level panel of experts (HLPE Report 5), Committee on World Food Security (CFS), Rome 2013. https://www.fao.org/3/i2952e/i2952e.pdf. Last accessed 30 June 2021
Winzer (2012) Conceptualizing energy security. Energy Policy 46, 36–48.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.02.067
Yang C, Ogden J (2007) Determining the lowest-cost hydrogen delivery mode. Int J Hydrogen Energy 32(2):268–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2006.05.009
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Saurabh, K., Majumdar, R. (2022). Fuels for Sustainable Transport in India. In: Di Blasio, G., Agarwal, A.K., Belgiorno, G., Shukla, P.C. (eds) Clean Fuels for Mobility . Energy, Environment, and Sustainability. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8747-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8747-1_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-8746-4
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-8747-1
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)