Bhatinda to get India’s first 2G ethanol bio-refinery

India's first 2G (second generation) ethanol bio-refinery will be set up by Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) at Bhatinda in Punjab at a cost of Rs 600 crore.

The foundation stone for the refinery, which will produce ethanol from sugarcane and other agricultural residues for doping in petrol, will be laid on December 25, an official statement said here.

"The Government is encouraging production of second generation (2G) ethanol from agricultural residues to provide additional sources of remuneration to farmers, address the growing environmental concerns and support the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme," it said.

EBP aims to dope 10 per cent ethanol in petrol in near future. The Bhatinda bio-refinery will be utilising agriculture residues for production of 100 kilolitre per day or 3.20 crore litres per annum of ethanol which may be sufficient to meet the 26 per cent of the ethanol blending requirement of Punjab. The proposed bio-refinery will generate employment for about 1,200-1,300 persons in the biomass supply chain and generate an additional income of approximately Rs 20 crore per annum for farmers through purchase of their agriculture residues.

The project shall also help in reducing CO2 emissions from the paddy straw which currently is being burnt after harvesting.

The bio-refinery will also produce about 30,000 tons per annum of bio-fertiliser that can be used as soil nutrient. It will also produce more than 1.00 lakh kg of Bio-CNG per annum which can cater to transport and clean cooking requirements.

HPCL and other oil PSUs are setting up 12 2G ethanol bio-refineries across 11 states -- Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Paddesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000 crore. "These Bio-refineries shall produce around 35- 40 crore litres of ethanol annually, thus contributing significantly towards the EBP programme," the statement said.

Among the bio-refineries planned are ones at Dahej in Gujarat, Panipat in Haryana, Bina in Madhya Pradesh and Bargarh in Odisha.