Bamboo Bonanza: Numaligarh Refinery to use Bamboo to Produce Ethanol

NUMALIGARH: The world is looking for greener and more harmless methods to enjoy the highly technical things in their life which is really laudable. People are now concerned about the world they live in and so are turning to greener ways of living life. With the advent of electronic vehicles, our world is now breathing a little easier as people are slowly turning to these 'green' vehicles instead of gas- guzzling ones . 

However, fuel from oil will still be the go-to energy source for another 30-40 years. So now people are trying to make this fuel greener. Bio- ethanol is one of the answers. It will be mixed with petrol to make it more environment- friendly. 

The public sector Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) in eastern Assam's Golaghat district has taken steps in setting up a  Rs 1,750-crore bio- refinery unit for producing bio- ethanol from 5-lakh metric tonnes of bamboo per year.

The Numaligarh Refinery Limited recently identified 25 local entrepreneurs who would set up bamboo chipping units close to the sources of this "golden grass". These units would supply chipped or bone-dry bamboo for the refinery to produce 49 metric tonnes of ethanol, 11 MT of acetic acid, 19 MT of furfural (used in making inks, plastics, antacids, adhesives, fungicides, fertilizers, etc.), and other associated products.

The Northeast is rich in bamboo cultivation and is the leading producer of bamboo in the country with more than 65 percent of the "Golden grass" towering above the Northeastern lands, the Numaligarh refinery limited has capitalized on this boon of the Northeast. 

The bio-refinery is a part of NRL's major integrated expansion project which aims to augment its capacity from the current 3 million metric tonnes per annum to 9 million metric tonnes per annum which would entail a cost of Rs 28,000 crores. 

Assam is also a power-deficient state so the project also entails setting up a captive power plant that would use bamboo residue as fuel and would churn out a power of 20 MW which would be quite helpful for the state. 

Also Read: Numaligarh Refinery Limited declares highest-ever profits in fiscal 2020-21

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