PRODUCTION of bio-ethanol has been permitted in Myanmar’s private sector since 1989 and the environmentally-friendly fuel is now used widely in vehicles and generators, according to industry experts.

Rising petrol and diesel prices have contributed greatly to the uptake of bio-ethanol in Myanmar and it is now particularly popular for use in taxis and farm machinery, according to U Thoung Win, the chairman of Yangon Division Renewable Energy Research and Development Committee.

“Some taxis are driving with bio-ethanol in Yangon and there are factories in Mandalay and Shan State that install the carburetor required to run vehicles on bio-fuel,” U Thoung Win said.

He said many vehicle owners are now willing to pay the K10,000 to convert their car to bio-ethanol, but added that at this stage only petrol cars can be converted.

“We are trying to increase the use of bio-ethanol in Myanmar and to increase people’s confidence in using it – there is really no disadvantage to using it. Bio-ethanol is cheaper than other fuels, it costs only K2500 per gallon in Yangon,” said U Thoung Win.

While the price of bio-ethanol is lower than petrol in the market, it’s less efficient and consumes 20 percent more fuel.

Still, bio-ethanol is popular and is also widely-used in farm machinery in Yangon, Ayeyarwady and Mandalay Divisions, U Thoung Win said.

“Water pumps and other generators can also use bio-fuel so now some people are running their water pumps and generators on bio-ethanol, especially in Ayeyarwady Division,” U Thoung Win said.

U Nyan Htun Oo, an executive committee member of the Myanmar Engineers Society, said greater public awareness about the advantages and disadvantages of using bio-ethanol was needed.

“We are trying to educate the public and increase their knowledge about bio-fuels, which are an environmentally friendly, renewable energy source,” he said.

He said, for example, that while cars needed to be converted, water pumps and generators did not need to be altered to run on bio-ethanol and he runs his own generator using the fuel.

U Khin Maung Win, managing director of UD Vehicles Production Company said while he runs his own car on bio-ethanol, there were some downsides.

“When we drive the car with bio-ethanol, the fuel tank can become rusted. To enable the car to run with bio-ethanol, I think we will need to change the iron fuel tanks,” he said. “Still, we use bio-ethanol to drive our jeeps, light trucks and motorbikes in Mandalay and we buy the fuel from the alcohol manufacturing factory. But the bio-ethanol in Mandalay is K2,500 per gallon.”

He said that if bio-ethanol could be bought widely in the market, it would be more convenient and increase the fuel’s popularity among vehicle owners. The bio-ethanol’s potential was evident, he said, following the cyclone, when fuel was difficult to source.

“We used bio-ethanol for water pumps in the storm-hit areas of Ayeyarwady Division to pump the salt water from ponds. The fuel costs were reduced by about 60 percent because we didn’t need to use petrol,” said U Khin Maung Win.

U Thoung Win said the government was realising the importance of bio-fuels and was in the process of drafting legislation to govern the production of bio-fuels, which in Myanmar are usually made from either sugar cane, nipa palm, potato, sorghum, cassava or palmyara.

He said that while there were global concerns the production of bio-fuels was reducing food production and contributing to the global food crisis, this was unlikely to be a problem in Myanmar.

“There are many unused areas of Myanmar that can be used to grow crops, so we don’t need to worry about that aspect of food security.”