Tata
Date: 2020-01-24
In Mumbai, Tata Projects Ltd., one of India's fastest growing infrastructure companies, is reporting acquisition of Bharat Petroleum Corporation's (BPCL) 2G Bio Ethanol Project at Bargarh, Odisha.

The project is expected to produce 100 KL per day of fuel-grade cellulosic ethanol from agricultural waste and residues primarily rice straw and corn stover. The project will also assist in addressing growing environmental concerns and supporting the Indian government's Ethanol Blended Petrol programme.

Tata Projects provides turnkey solutions for the construction of roads, bridges, fully integrated rail & metro systems, commercial building and airports and setting up power generation plants, power transmission & distribution systems, chemical process plants, water and waste management and complete mining and metal purification systems, according to the company website. (Source: Tata Projects, Rural Marketing 24 Jan., 2024) Contact: Tata Projects, 00 9712 679 5565, tpl@tataprojects.com, www.tataprojects.com

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Virgo Corporation
Date: 2019-02-13
The Punjab government Monday signed an MoU with the Delhi-based engineering products and services company Virgo Corporation for a Rs 630-crore ($88,389 million, &euro:77.931 million) biofuel project that will use Honeywell technology to produce renewable fuel from waste rice stubble and husks. The Punjab State agricultural sector generates approximately 20 million metric tpy of paddy straw.

The new biofuel facility will create a new market cash flow for Punjab farmers as well as support the national government's biofuel blending and air quality targets. (Source: Energy InfraPost, 12 Feb., 2019) Contact: Virgo Corporation, +91 11 43588335-37, +91 11 43588338 - fax, virgo@vsnl.com, www.virgogroup.com

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Punjab Forest Department
Date: 2019-01-16
In the sub-continent, at the recent Punjab Forest Department Consultation on Tree-Borne Oilseed -based Biofuels conference held in Mohali, the Forest announced it has sent samples of several Indian invasive plant species -- including lantana, water hyacinth, and Arundonex -- to the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IPP) for investigation as possible biodiesel production feed stocks.

Punjab is preparing a baseline data base of the area's more than 400 oilseed -bearing trees as well as investigating indigenously designed and tested machinery and equipment suitable for bi -diesel transportation fuel production from lantana, water hyacinth, arundonex and oil seed bearing trees. (Source: Punjab Forest Department, Times of India, 16 Jan., 2019) Contact: Indian Institute of Petroleum, +91 135 252 5722, www.iip.res.in; Punjab Forest Department, pbforests.gov.in

More Low-Carbon Energy News Biofuel,  Biodiesel,  India Biofuel,  

Ethanol
Date: 2018-12-12
The government of the west-central Indian state of Maharashtra is reporting a proposal to produce ethanol and compressed natural gas (CNG) from the fermentation of cashew apple and cashew apple cake and has, to that end, has identified several regional large-scale cashew nut producers to establish two pilot projects. The government also established a ten-member committee comprised of industry players, academics and others to make recommendations and to see the projects to completion.

Maharashtra state produces approximately 2.5 lakh tpy of cashew cake and 22 lakh tpy of cashew apple, as well as 60,000 tpy of cashew nuts. It has been estimated that the state can produce nearly 4.5 lakh lpy of ethanol. (Source: Gov. of Maharashtra, DNA, Dec., 2018) Contact: Gov. of Maharashtra, www.maharashtra.gov.in

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Bharat Petroleum Corporation
Date: 2018-10-08
India's state-run oil company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is touting its second generation (2G) ethanol biorefinery at Odisha's Bargarh district. Commissioning and production startup of the Rs 10 billion, 30 million lpy rice straw-to-ethanol plant is expected no later than December 2020.

About 12 such refineries are proposed in different states to meet India's National Biofuel Policy 2018 target of 20 pct ethanol blending to petrol by the year 2030. Presently, ethanol blending in Petrol is between 3 and 4 pct. (Source: Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Business Standard, 7 Oct., 2018) Contact: Bharat Petroleum Corporation, www.bharatpetroleum.com

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India Biofuel
Date: 2018-08-03
On the subcontinent, the state of Rajasthan has become the first Indian state to implement the national policy on biofuels unveiled by the national Biofuel Authority in May this year.

In accordance with the Biofuel National Policy:

the State Government will be putting emphasis on increasing production of oilseeds;

the State Government is promoting research in the fields of alternative fuels and energy resources;

the State has installed an 8 tpd biodiesel plant;

the State will promote and advertise biofuels to increase public consumption and awareness. of biofuels; encourage the establishment of a supply chain mechanism for biodiesel production from non-edible oilseeds -- used cooking oil and short gestation crops.

In other Indian biofuel news, My Eco Energy (MEE) reports it will open more than 300 biofuel filling stations in the Indian state of Gujarat by 2019. The new MEE biofuel sites will offer Indizel, the only renewable fuel in India which complies with EN 590, BS-VI, and EURO 6 quality standards. Indizel can be used in all diesel engines without engine modification or blending limits, according to the company. (Source: India Today, Hindu Business Line, Petrol Plaza, 1 Aug., 2018)

More Low-Carbon Energy News India Biofuel,  Biofuel,  

Date: 2018-07-27
In an effort to reduce its dependence on imported oil and gas, the Indian government's National Policy on Biofuels in May approved damaged farm produce and other starch-containing materials such as corn, cassava and sugarcane as a feedstock for ethanol production. The National Policy on Biofuels approval has reportedly been seen as a positive step to drive the biofuel sector forward and to boost farm earnings.

Indian biomass and biofuel industry insiders are reportedly predicting a sizeable increase in biomass pellets to emerge due to the policy intervention, along with the technology to produce the pellets at a low cost. Additionally, several new technological possibilities have emerged from conversion of crop stubble into biofuels.

To date, India's biofuels production has been hampered by the non-availability of domestic feedstocks.

Download India's National Policy on Biofuels HERE. (Source: India Climate Dialogue, 25 July, 2018) Contact: India Climate Dialogue, www. indiaclimatedialogue.ne; National Policy on Biofuels, mnre.gov.in

More Low-Carbon Energy News India Biofuel,  Second Generation Biofuel,  Cellulosic,  

Aemetis
Date: 2018-03-21
Cupertino, California-based Aemetis, Inc. reports its Universal Biofuels subsidiary in India has completed construction of an advanced biodiesel pre-treatment unit in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, to process the low-cost feedstocks to be provided to the 50-million gpy plant under a BP Singapore Pte Limited (BPS) supply agreement into low carbon high-quality distilled biodiesel.

The new pre-treatment unit allows the use of high Free Fatty Acid waste feedstocks while meeting the biodiesel quality standards set by international fuel standards.

The advanced biodiesel pre-treatment unit was built to supply biodiesel to the EU and US under the three-year supply agreement signed with BPS in May of 2017. The Aemetis plant in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, is the first and only India biofuels producer approved under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard for delivery of biodiesel into California. (Source: Aemetis, Inc., MENAFN, 16 Mar., 2018) Contact: Aemetis, Satya Chillara, (408) 213-0939, schillara@aemetis.com, www.aemetis.com

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