India Glycols launches second-generation ethanol plant in Kashipur

Green technology manufacturer India Glycols has officially launched a 750,000 litres per year cellulosic ethanol plant at one of its sites in Kashipur, India.

 The demonstration-scale plant, based in Uttarakhand, is to run on wood chips, cotton stalk, cane bagasse, corn stover and bamboo.

According to the Business Standard, the facility has the capacity to consume 10 tonnes of biomass per day and is based on the “globally-competitive indigenous technology of converting lingo-cellulosic biomass to ethanol”.

The media outlet said the plant was India’s first second-generation ethanol demonstration plant and opened by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Science.

If the plant is successfully operated and scaled-up, it will establish India as a major global technology provider in the arena of renewables and reduction in carbon-emissions, besides effecting considerable savings in import of crude oil.

The news comes amid a recent announcement that the Indian government has set a mandate of 5% blending of renewable biofuel in both petrol and diesel. While diesel biofuel blending is near zero, the petrol blending today stands at an overall of about 3% in the form of first generation (1G) or molasses-based ethanol.