Pune, March 13 Amid concerns over supply disruptions triggered by the West Asia crisis, researchers at CSIR-NCL have highlighted dimethyl ether (DME) as a potential indigenous alternative to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), particularly for domestic cooking fuel.
In a release, the Pune-based CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory said its researchers have developed a patent-protected DME production technology using an indigenously developed catalyst that enables efficient conversion of methanol to DME.
CSIR NCL, in collaboration with a processing engineering partner, is ready to scale up the technology to an industrial-scale demonstration plant of 2.5 tonnes per day within 6-9 months, it added.
The technology allows production of DME at around 10 bar pressure, enabling it to be directly filled into LPG cylinders. It has already been scaled up to a pilot capacity of 250 kg per day.
Such a demonstration plant could pave the way for commercial facilities with capacities ranging from 100 to 500 tonnes per day, it said, adding the laboratory is exploring partnerships with oil public sector undertakings and bioenergy companies for large-scale production.
"India imports more than 80 per cent of its fossil energy requirements, making the country vulnerable to global supply shocks. LPG, widely used as a cooking fuel and promoted in rural households through Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, has recently witnessed price pressures due to supply chain disruptions linked to tensions in West Asia, a key region for global energy supplies," it said.
Against this backdrop, Dimethyl Ether (DME), a synthetic clean-burning fuel, could serve as a viable and eco-friendly substitute for LPG while strengthening India's energy security, the CSIR-NCL statement said.
"DME burns cleaner than conventional fuels, emitting minimal amounts of soot, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulate matter. It also offers thermal efficiency comparable to traditional fuels, making it suitable for household and industrial applications," the release added.
The Bureau of Indian Standards has established the standard IS 18698:2024, allowing blending of up to 20 per cent DME with LPG for domestic, commercial and industrial use.
According to researchers, replacing up to 8 per cent LPG with DME does not require any modification in existing infrastructure such as cylinders, regulators, hoses or burners.
"India imported around 21 million tonnes of LPG in 2024. Scientists estimate that substituting 8 per cent of LPG consumption with DME could lead to annual foreign exchange savings of about Rs 9,500 crore. Replacing 8 per cent LPG with DME for roughly 10.5 crore LPG connections under Ujjwala scheme would require a production capacity of about 1,300 tonnes of DME per day," the release informed.
Beyond cooking fuel, DME also has several industrial uses, it added.
It can function as an automotive fuel under IS 16704:2018, replace ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as an aerosol propellant, and act as a chemical intermediate for producing lower olefins, dimethyl sulfate and methyl acetate.
"Domestic production of DME from methanol could help reduce India's dependence on imported LPG. Methanol supply chains are considered more diversified and resilient than LPG supplies," the release said.
In the future, methanol required for DME production could be derived from India's coal reserves and biomass through gasification. Scientists also pointed to the possibility of producing DME from captured carbon dioxide, which could contribute to climate mitigation efforts.
"The research was led by Thirumalaiswamy Raja, Chief Scientist in the Catalysis Division. The laboratory has also developed a prototype burner capable of operating in a flexible mode- from 100 per cent LPG to 100 per cent DME and intermediate blends. The burner has been tested for efficiency at the LPG Equipment Research Centre in Bengaluru," it said.