The Hindu : Business : `Safe petroleum gas' from Suhita Fuels

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 14, 2004

Business

Business

`Safe petroleum gas' from Suhita Fuels

By P. Vikram Reddy

HYDERABAD, NOV. 13. Suhita Fuels, based in Hyderabad, is coming out with an alternative fuel, which could cost 40 per cent lesser than even subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The search for alternative, cheap and sustainable fuel took Suhita to what it calls "SPG-Safe Petroleum Gas', derived from petroleum wash with some additives.

Simple to use, it comes with a small 2 kg cylinder (5 kg also planned) which could cost as little as Rs. 50 per refill, when it hits the market in nine months.

The process is simple. Petroleum wash is refined by distillation and converted to SPG, using additives to give a flammable liquid which is lighter than kerosene. This liquid is put into `non-pressurised gas cylinders' as against pressurised cylinders of LPG. You can even open the cylinder's cap and close it.

Once air is pumped through an electronic device into the cylinder, the liquid gets converted into gas. This is done at the consumer end and by the consumer.

The consumer kit, likely to be priced around Rs. 1,200 each, comprises a cylinder, UPS with 0.5V battery capacity, and a small motor pump (within UPS box) which pumps in air and serves as the `trigger' for conversion to gas. The kit comes with a single stove (optional two stoves) and carries a lifetime guarantee (except stove). A double stove kit could cost around Rs. 1,500. The company claims experiments showed it to be more efficient than LPG in terms of fuel consumption and time taken to cook or heat.

It seems a comparable fuel is in use in the U.S., but in pressurised cylinders. The SPG requires a trigger, instead of pressurised cylinders.

The company has applied for patenting process, and expects it soon, as also the clearances from the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Petroleum.

`Safe to invest, carry and use', says M. M. Reddy, Managing Director of Fluid Checkvalve and Maks Castings, and the man behind Suhita. Even grocery stores can store and sell it as they do not require a licence to store up to 200 kg, he says.

Besides Mr. Reddy, the team that worked on the concept include Dhar, former scientist in NMDC, and Bal Reddy, a chemical engineer. The project is likely to come up at Kurnool in the first phase.

But urbanites will have to wait. The company is planning to target only the rural market, particularly coastal districts with higher purchasing power.

The company feels it cannot take on IOC and HPCL in urban areas, but can survive in rural areas even if it attracts 5 per cent or 25 households in a typical village environment.

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