NCL, a central lab, proposes use of DME as indigenous substitute for LPG

The National Chemical Laboratory here is trying to scale up its recently set up pilot plant for dimethyl ether (DME) as an indigenous alternative to the LPG amid shortages caused by the US-Israel-Iran war in West Asia.

Substituting LPG with DME does not require any change in cylinder, gaskets, regulators, hose and burners and it can save forex, said the scientists at NCL. DME can also be used fully, with stoves specially designed for it.

LPG, a widely used cooking fuel, has seen a sharp price escalation due to the recent disruption in supply chains.


DME, a synthetic fuel, is produced from methanol, which can be obtained from dry biomass, coal and captured carbon dioxide. It has similar properties to LPG.

DME can be blended with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) over a wide range. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has established standards for blending of DME with LPG for domestic, commercial, and industrial use.

“Substituting LPG with DME does not require any change in the existing infrastructure such as the cylinders, gaskets, regulators, hose and burners,” said Ashish Lele, director, NCL.

A substitution of LPG with DME would result in annual forex savings.

“Domestic production of DME from methanol is the fastest way to reduce dependence on imported LPG. Methanol supply chains are already diversified and hence more resilient than LPG,” said Raja.

“In the near future, we can harness our massive coal reserves and the dry biomass like agricultural residues to produce methanol through gasification and subsequent conversion into DME. This offers a pathway towards achieving complete self-reliance on cooking as well as transportation fuels,” said Thirumalaiswamy Raja, Chief Scientist, Catalysis Division, NCL.

Invention of the appropriate catalyst was the main factor, which has hindered exploitation of this technology.

“China and some European countries had refused to give their catalyst technology to India,” said Rajesh Date, director, Atrium Innovations.

His company is setting up the pilot with the NCL’s technology.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and NCL has developed a patent protected DME production process technology that utilizes an indigenously invented highly active, selective and cost-effective catalyst, ensuring efficient conversion of methanol to DME under Raja.

NCL developed a burner prototype that can work on flex mode, from LPG to DME, and all the compositions in between, which has been tested for its efficiency at the LPG Equipment Research Centre (LERC), Bengaluru.

“NCL, in collaboration with a processing engineering partner, is ready to scale up the technology to an industrial scale demonstration plant, which would clear the way for setting up commercial plants,” said Lele.