As a land-locked country without any significant deposits of crude oil, Armenia is 100 percent dependent upon fuel imports to meet a growing demand for gasoline. Increases in world crude oil prices are being passed on to and reflected at retail gasoline outlets, and prices for gasoline in Armenia are expected to increase at an even more rapid rate in the future, as long-term import contracts lapse and are renegotiated at higher market prices. Natural gas prices from Russia are expected to increase making compressed natural gas (CNG) more expensive and causing upward pressure on gasoline prices as well. Such trends will make alternative motor transport fuels such as ethanol more competitive in the market. Finally, ethanol for blending as a motor transport fuel has the potential to reduce imports of gasoline through displacement, reduce foreign exchange drains, increase energy security of supply in a traditionally unstable region of the world, create value from domestically grown ethanol feedstocks on surplus lands, create jobs in depressed rural areas, and improve local air quality particularly in congested urban areas.

Feedstocks
One of the key factors for determining the overall success of a biofuels program is the availability of appropriate feedstocks at attractive prices. Corn and sugarcane serve as the major feedstocks for current ethanol production throughout most of the world, but virtually any feedstock with high sugar or starch content can be utilized for ethanol production.

Armenia’s climatic conditions are not suitable for sugarcane production; however, there are several alternative crops suitable to Armenia’s climate for cultivation on available agricultural land that is not intended for the production of food crops. In particular, Jerusalem artichoke has been identified as a crop with great potential as a feedstock for ethanol production in Armenia in the near to midterm future. It can be cultivated on land that is currently fallow and it possesses relatively high carbohydrate content, especially in its root tuber, thereby making it extremely suitable for ethanol production. Farmers grow Jerusalem artichoke for their own use, but there is no large scale production due to the small
market for it.

Similarly, feed corn for livestock and poultry is a suitable crop for the soils and micro climates found in several parts of the country. Utilizing a dry mill corn fractionation process, feed corn can be processed in such a manner as to extract all of the starches contained in the feedstock corn for conversion into ethanol while at the same time producing important animal feed co-products. The byproduct will have a higher percentage of protein, fats and carbohydrates than that found in unprocessed dry corn, which is currently the principal animal feed used by livestock and poultry producers in Armenia. Similar byproducts can also be produced using Jerusalem artichoke.


SOURCE: AREG GHARABEGIAN

Presently there is no large scale feed corn production in Armenia, but the Ministry of Agriculture has developed a program of increasing production to reduce the import and to develop a local market for feeding livestock. The goal is to have 14,826 acres of corn production in Tavush Marz in northern Armenia. The program has seen limited success.

Where farmers use good techniques, the yields have been satisfactory, but in many cases the yields have been far below what would have been expected.

The preliminary feasibility study suggested developing two very different types of ethanol plants: one based on an inulin extraction process for Jerusalem artichoke to be situated in Syunik Marz; and a second plant based on a dry milling process with fractionation utilizing feed corn grown in Tavush Marz. These two regions have high rural unemployment rates and microclimates suitable for the production of the identified feedstocks.

There are a number of advantages and disadvantages that should be recognized from the outset when considering a decision on whether or not to implement a nationwide ethanol program. With respect to advantages, ethanol can be produced from domestic renewable feedstock sources, helps to stimulate agricultural employment in depressed rural areas, and can provide farmers and ethanol processing plant owners with a dependable revenue stream. In addition, ethanol can lower air emissions in major metropolitan areas when combusted as a motor transport fuel, can reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions, and can reduce foreign exchange drains on the Armenian economy.

On the other hand, a nationwide ethanol program could face several hurdles and challenges. Ethanol has a lower energy content value compared to gasoline and could face an initial public acceptance hurdle. In addition, ethanol blends greater than 10 percent are not compatible with existing non-flexible fuel vehicles, pipeline infrastructure, distribution systems, or tanks and pumps at retail outlets. If the imported gasoline is not of a high quality or contains moisture, there will be performance and maintenance problems with automobiles that are operated on fuels mixed with ethanol, and the program will in all likelihood be perceived as a failure by the consumer public. In addition, no markets currently exist in Armenia for useful animal feed by-products from ethanol conversion processes.

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