DEHRADUN: Scientists in India have come up with a solution to clean up dirty air which will also reduce the country’s oil import bill and its carbon footprint. Science minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated a new industrial plant that converts agricultural waste to biofuel that does all of these.
Often after a crop is harvested, women collect the agricultural waste. A lot of it ends up being burnt leading to severe air pollution.
Looking for a sustainable solution, Indian scientists have developed a new bio-refinery that converts agricultural waste into high value ethanol which can then be blended with petrol to run vehicles. Dr Vardhan inaugurated the first such plant at Kashipur on Earth Day.
He said “This second generation ethanol is being produced from so called agricultural waste which becomes an asset to the farmer. It helps the contentious issue of climate change and global warming. It helps us to reduce carbon emissions.”
The plant set up a total cost of 75 crore rupees utilises 10 tonnes any kind of agri-waste per day and then using chemicals, enzymes and broth of yeast, the waste is converted into high value alcohol.
Annually India produces 300 million tonnes of agricultural waste.
U S Bhartiya, CMD, India Glycols Limited, Kashipur and owner of the new plant says, “this is a very successful technology and it will take care of all the biomass that is being burnt all over the country and convert it into a value added product.”
The plant, experts say, generates almost 300 litres of alcohol for every 1000 kilograms of waste. It is also the most efficient technology solution in the world.
