India’s BPCL to commission second-generation biorefinery in Odisha in 2020

India’s state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) plans to commission a second-generation (2G) ethanol biorefinery at Odisha’s Bargarh district at the end of 2020.

Investment in the project is estimated to cost INR 10 billion (USD135 million). The foundation stone for the refinery will be laid on October 10 by Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal and Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.

“We have the mandate to complete the mechanical commissioning of the project by December 2020 and the commercial production will follow immediately. The bio-refinery will have a capacity to produce 30 million litres of the fuel grade ethanol annually using rice straw as feedstock and the ethanol produced from the plant will be blended with petrol,” said Sanjeeb Paul, chief general manager, BPCL.

“The refinery will come up on 58 acres of land at Bargarh and we have got the environmental clearance for it,” he said. About 12 such refineries are proposed in different states across India. Odisha is the first state where the construction of the planned 2G biorefinery project will commence.