The Big Launch: PM Modi Inaugurates India’s First 2G Ethanol Project, Using Praj Technology

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the country’s first 2G cellulosic ethanol biorefinery, the Indian Oil project at Panipat, Haryana. This 100 KLPD Project is based on Praj’s proprietary technology processing Rice Straw as feedstock for production of Ethanol. Praj is the Technology Licensor and EPCM Consultant to IOCL

This is the first but far from the last project based on Praj technology. The company is a technology partner in the Hindustan Petroleum project in Bhatinda, Punjab and the Bharat Petroleum project in Bargarh, Orissa.

The Indian Oil project backstory

This 100 KLPD 2G Ethanol Bio-Refinery spans across 35 acres processing 200,000 tonnes of Rice Straw (Lignocellulosic feedstock), and is producing producing 30 million liters of ethanol annually. Commissioning of the plant is underway and commercial production of 2G Ethanol will commence within 90 days.

Alcohol-to-jet as a path forward?

We reported last November that Praj and Indian Oil inked an MoU to explore opportunities to fast-track India’s transition to leaner and greener sources of energy by exploring avenues such as the production of Alcohol to Jet fuels, 1G & 2G Ethanol, Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) and related opportunities in the biofuels industry. Exploring these green energy horizons will be crucial for India to achieve carbon neutrality by 2070.

As pert of the MoU, Indian Oil and Praj will also collaborate to set up Biofuel production facilities, including CBG, Biodiesel and Ethanol.

New technology frontiers

In April, we reported that Praj is collaborating with the Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), and is developing a binder that will help blend ethanol with diesel. More on that story here.

Last December, we reported that Praj has a new, innovative solution to process sugarcane juice into a new sustainable feedstock BIOSYRUP for round the year ethanol production.

Hydrogen CNG and hydrogen fuel cells are among the other areas of renewable fuels where it (Indian Oil Company) is leveraging R&D in order to be a step ahead of the market. In addition to the 2G ethanol plants it has already announced and a pilot 3G ethanol plant, it is also looking to integrate biofuels into its fossil fuel refineries.

Hydrogen news arrived last year. In July 2021, we reported that Indian Oil is developing the country’s first green hydrogen project, co-located at its Mathura oil refinery. They hydrogen will be produced from the company’s wind power project in Rajasthan that will be “wheeled” to the Mathura refinery. The hydrogen produced from the project is expected to fuel the hydrogen fuel cell-powered and H-CNG fueled buses currently being trialed in New Delhi.

In March, we reported that Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum were backtracking on commitments to build second generation ethanol facilities, finding it too difficult to do so and costing 10 times as much to do as first generation. Instead, reports suggested that the companies would focus on 1G production for the most part. A senior official from one of the companies said it had committed to building 12 2G facilities but will now only build five. Compressed biogas facilities are seen as a cheaper way than 2G ethanol to produce energy by using up crop waste.

The Praj backstory, The Digest Q&A

Praj’s Bioenergy profile includes Traditional Biofuels: 1G Ethanol; Advance Biofuels: 2G Ethanol and CBG; Next Gen Fuels: SAF, Bio-Marine fuel, Bio-Methanol and Bio-Hydrogen. Praj offers engineering & manufacturing solutions with Critical Process Equipment and Skids; offers customized plants, equipment and technologies with Brewery and Beverages; offers industrial effluent treatment, recycling and ZLD systems with Wastewater Treatment; offers ultra-high purity water systems, modular process with Hi Purity systems.

Regulatory norms are stringent, making Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) solutions an imperative. A ZLD system implies no liquid waste goes outside the manufacturing facility. Praj offers techniques like recycle and reuse, evaporation and crystallization to design ZLD systems. Praj offers solutions for industrial effluent treatment, recycling and ZLD systems for customers in metals, power, chemicals, fertilizers, refinery and petrochemicals, F&B. Zero Waste and Zero Discharge is an integral to our solution.