Ethanol from maize: an entrepreneurial opportunity in agrobusiness

ABSTRACT

India is a developing economy, and an energy-hungry state. With its ever increasing demand for fuel, India is the fourth largest consumer of crude oil in the world and imports 70% of its total demand. Also, to reduce the carbon footprint, the search is on for eco-friendly and renewable sources of energy. In India, one such unconventional fuel is ethanol produced from sugarcane molasses and blended with gasoline for use as biofuel. In this paper, the authors propose an entrepreneurial project to produce ethanol from maize, with an objective to develop a clean & green source of energy and to give a boost to the agricultural economy. Maize is the third most important crop in India, with approximate 85% of areal coverage. It has applications in adhesives, food industry, beverages and breweries for producing ethanol. Ethanol produced from maize has advantages over sugarcane, as the fibrous byproduct makes an excellent animal feedstock and can be further processed for the production of corn starch and syrup, to maximize the profit. The present paper suggests an entrepreneurial opportunity for commercial production of ethanol from maize directly purchased from farmers, creating a win–win scenario for farmers as well as the enterprise.

KEYWORDS:

• Maize
• ethanol
• biofuel
• agriculture
• entrepreneurship

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.