Ethanol as alternative source of energy
Syed Noor Hossain Uttara, Dhaka
According to a report published in The New York Times on 10 April 2006, Brazil has made a major breakthrough in meeting the domestic demand for energy by producing ethanol from sugarcane. Side by side with the use of gasoline, the motorists have the option to use ethanol to run their automobiles just as we are doing now with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). According to the report, by producing sugarcane-based ethanol to supplement their energy needs drawn from petroleum production, Brazil is heading towards self-sufficiency in energy. Bangladesh is a traditional producer of sugarcane and therefore it may consider following the Brazilian footsteps and borrow their technology on ethanol production from sugarcane. Jute has declined in the international market. Therefore, higher sugarcane production for energy needs could have been an attraction and a viable option both for the farmers and the government, which is hard pressed to meet the foreign exchange demand to import oil. Moreover, ethanol will benefit greatly the average motorists in Bangladesh for whom the use of petrol or octane is becoming nearly impossible because of the high price and who are increasingly switching over to CNG. Ethanol production will reduce the pressure on our natural gas as a source of energy.
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