West Asia Crisis: CSIR-NCL Touts DME as Indigenous LPG Alternative for India

• CSIR-NCL proposes Dimethyl Ether (DME) as an indigenous alternative to LPG, crucial amid West Asia crisis and supply concerns.
• Developed patent-protected technology for DME production from methanol, scalable to 2.5 tonnes/day industrial plant within 6-9 months.
• DME offers cleaner burning, comparable thermal efficiency, and can be blended up to 20% with LPG; 8% blend requires no infrastructure changes.
• Substituting 8% of India's LPG consumption with DME could save Rs 9,500 crore annually in foreign exchange.
• DME production from methanol, coal, biomass, or captured CO2 enhances energy security and reduces import dependence.