New Alternative to Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) on cards in Assam

* A five-member family would need just Rs 300 worth of the canisters

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: An eco-friendly cooking gas is set to be introduced on a commercial basis in Assam. Besides being much lighter than the traditional LPG gas cylinders, it will be also the cheapest mode of cooking gas. Mentionably, it is for the maiden time in India that this gas has been used for domestic cooking purposes. This is the methanol gas. The mode is being visualized by the Assam Petrochemical Limited (APL) with the technical knowhow model taken from Sweden.

APL produces 100 tonne of methanol daily.

Talking to The Sentinel, APL Chairman Jagadish Bhuyan said, “This Swedish model comprises a canister (container) of 2 kg capacity. The gas stove will be different from the one used in the present LPG system.

“We have already started production of the canister and the gas stove locally. The focus is to maintain quality and also offer both the products at economical prices to the consumers. We are waiting for the approval of the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard). We expect to get the nod soon. We are targetting January 2020 to market both the products.”

He further stated, “There are a number of plus points with the methanol gas. Besides being eco-friendly, the possibility of any blast taking place is absolutely nil. Moreover, people can easily transport the filled-up 2 kg canister.”

Bhuyan added, “There will be a wide-spread distributorship network for the products. The process of getting a refilled canister is also rather simple. It can be simply exchanged at the counters.”

APL sources also informed that a five-member family would need filled-up canisters worth around Rs 300 only in a month.

It has also been learnt that the methanol gas has also been used for drying tea leaves in the gardens on a trial basis. Presently, the tea gardens are using diesel, coal, and natural gas for the leaf-drying process. The use of methanol gas for the process will be eco-friendly, and much more economical. Sources added that it has already been used in a Dibrugarh-based tea garden, and the results have been quite encouraging.

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