COVID-19 - a Stepping Stone for a Sustainable Bio-Economy

The Economic shutdown has had two types of impact on our lives - negative & positive. the negative impacts meant loss of jobs, reduction in income, loss of business and in a few cases, complete closure of certain business models. On the other hand, the positive effects are rather long lasting and long awaited such as drastically reduced pollution levels, significantly improved air & water quality, saving of fuels, shift of focus from unhealthy foods to healthy ones, less wastage and an overall contained life. Ofcourse, the pandemic has proved to be a great tribulation to various sectors of society especially the policemen, doctors, administrators, migrant laborers and gig workers, but what we got in return was nothing less than phenomenal - a worldwide detox.

What we need to do now is to take these change of events in our stride and start a new way of life. We need to let go off the previous state of toxicity and adopt a new one - one where emphasis is placed on necessity over extravagance. Now that we have been given an opportunity to amend our ways, one of the key areas for a rethink would be the dependence on fossil fuels. We already know that fossil fuels greatly contributes to environmental pollution and exploitation of nature, yet we continue to do so offsetting health hazards. One should remember that Covid-19 has been known to exacerbate existing respiratory and other health conditions often caused due to toxic air. In fact, according to a research, the death toll in China could have been more had their pollution levels been regular which are way beyond acceptable levels.

Promote Bio fuels

According to a report from the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s (IISD’s) Global Subsidies Initiative and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (Ceew), 56% of India’s energy comes from coal, 36% comes from oil & gas, while a mere 3% comes from renewable energy. The study urges the Union government to use the pandemic as an excuse to calibrate wasteful subsidies and target investment towards renewable fuel schemes to balance our fuel consumption and give an impetus to the ethanol industry. By concentrating more on enhancing and promoting the ethanol production process in India, we will achieve our target of 20% blending in the next 10 years. Not only will using ethanol reduce the cost of procurement and our reliance on imported crude oil, but will also reduce carbon emissions, carbon footprint, create more rural jobs, make good use of sugar mills, and make us self sustainable in the long run.

Turn Waste into Wealth

On the bio-energy front, we can use solid waste that is bio-composted, vermin-composted or anaerobically digested, based on bio-recycling methods. The Bio-energy plant would provide a cost-effective means of generating organic manure and megawatts of bioenergy, respectively. Successfully running biogas programs across our villages and nearly 100MW worth of biomethanation plant across cities such as Delhi, Chennai, and Hyderabad are proof of their success for Indian conditions. A mandatory drive for household-level waste segregation across urban India would thus be an essential first step.

Just like an occasional fast helps our bodies purge out toxins and regenerate, the This economical detox brought down by COVID-19 will have scrubbed our environment clean and handed us the opportunity for a restart.

Enfinity Technology - The Latest Headway in Biofuel Technology Solutions

It's no secret that the world today is yearning for renewable energy sources that can combat issues like harmful emissions, depleting fossil resources and spiraling fuel prices. Ethanol Industry is being viewed as a viable alternative which is expected to play a critical role in meeting the growing demand for renewable energies and cleaner fuels.

While initiatives are being taken at different levels, the introduction of one of the latest technologies Enfinity is the breakthrough that is likely to take the bio-refinery sector by storm.  Enfinity is the brainchild of Praj Industries which is one of the most trusted names in the bioenergy spectrum, known for delivering the best ethanol plant solutions.

Enfinity Ethanol Technology

Ethanol production process

It is the 2G or second-generation cellulosic ethanol technology that utilizes the available renewable sources for bio-fuel solutions that successfully meet the environmental and energy challenges. The smart Bio-Refinery system based on Enfinity technology is equipped with multi-feed capability and improved biological processing ability.

Unlike the first-generation ethanol production process that depends on food crops, typically corn and sugar cane as raw material, Enfinity uses agricultural wastes like rice husk, palm residue, wheat stalks, corn cobs, and other ligno cellulosic biomass. It utilizes different kinds of enzymes to break these organic wastes into glucose or carbon sugars from which ethanol is extracted. The complete production process encompasses enzymatic hydrolysis, co-fermentation, and distillation and is a thermally integrated system that facilitates optimum energy consumption.

Features of 2G Ethanol Technology

Enzyme Flexibility

●       Proven technology on multiple enzymes

●       High yields with different enzyme strains

Co-Fermentation

Yeast strain for efficient utilization of C5 (pentose) and C6 (hexose) sugars 

●       Higher yield

●       Lower reaction time

●       Higher tolerance to solids

Other HIghlights of the Technology

1.      Optimum Capacity – 1 million liter  per annum

2.      Capability to process multiple feedstock - corn cobs & stover, rice & wheat straw, cane trash, cane bagasse, cotton stalk, empty fruit bunches (EFB)

3.      A holistic approach with an end to end offering; from feedstock processing till end product and wastewater treatment.

4.      Process integration facilitating optimization of energy & water consumption.

5.      Efficient wastewater management with Zero Liquid Discharge system

6.      Operating cost at par with global competition.

7.      The technology is designed to produce Bio-ethanol, Bio-gas with provision for the set-up of Bio-CNG unit

Another Milestone Achieved

Praj Industries has spread its wings far and wide and is a name to reckon with in the global biofuel technology solutions. Its 2G ethanol technology will now be used for USA’s bagasse-based biorefinery. ‘Enfinity’ will be deployed to produce ethanol and other co-products using sugarcane bagasse in the bagasse-based bio-refinery. The bio-refinery will be jointly promoted by Florida based Omega Energy USA, a developer of renewable energy projects, while Louisiana based Lasuca Sugar, a producer of cane sugar, will supply bagasse feedstock. With Enfinity gaining global recognition and acceptance from developed markets like that of USA, it reinforces the position of Praj industries as a global leader in the advanced bio-economy.

Know All About Ethanol-The Benefits and the Making

Rapid depletion of natural resources(petroleum, crude oil, gasoline etc,) their rising prices and harmful emissions are the concerns that set the momentum for alternative fuel. Ethanol has emerged as the right solution to the problem. Ethanol is now being viewed as the best substitute for petroleum that is largely used by vehicles across the globe. Hence,  endeavors are being directed towards enhancing ethanol production process in several bio-based industries. Ethanol can be used in its pure form or it can be blended with other gasoline constituents.

Why ethanol is the favored substitute for petroleum?

Ethanol is a highly preferred alternative to traditional gasoline fuels because it is economical and environmental-friendly. It is produced from agricultural waste products that are rich in sugar and starch. Coming from the surplus agricultural waste, ethanol extraction does not interfere with food production. Moreover, ethanol-fueled vehicles are considered to be more eco-friendly as they emit less carbon dioxide. Even the ethanol-blended fuels such as E10 (10% ethanol and 90% gasoline) can lead to reduced emissions of greenhouse gases by up to 3.9%.

Derived primarily as a result of conversion of the sun's energy, ethanol is also a renewable source. Ethanol formation starts with photosynthesis, when crops, like sugar cane, corn etc, grow using sunlight. These feedstocks are then processed into ethanol. When it burns as fuel it emits water and carbon dioxide. This is used in the next cycle of ethanol production.

Other applications of Ethanol

Apart from being used as biofuel, ethanol is also used in the production of beverages. It is the principal component of alcoholic beverages like whiskey, rum, vodka. Ethanol also finds application in the making of paints, varnishes, perfumes, pharmaceuticals, industrial solvent etc.

Ethanol Production

Ethanol is obtained from crops or plants that have large amount of sugar or constituents that can be converted into sugar. Plants like sugarcane, sugar beets and molasses, corn, wheat, grains etc are ideal raw materials for ethanol production.Fermentation process is the most widely used method for producing ethanol. Synthetic ethanol is created from non-renewable sources like coal and gas.

Ethanol from molasses and other feedstock can be obtained by two methods- dry milling process and wet mill process. Approximately 90 percent of the grain ethanol comes from the dry milling process and the remaining 10 percent is produced from wet mills.

Dry Milling Processes includes the following processes:

● The crops or plants are grinded up for easier processing .

● The sugar present in the ground feedstock is dissolved

● Next the sugar is fermented with yeast to produce ethanol.

● The ethanol is then distilled and dehydrated to attain a higher concentration.

● Gasoline or other additive(denaturant) is then added to the product to make it suitable for further use.

Due to the growing popularity of ethanol applications, researches are being conducted to develop more advanced techniques for ethanol production.  So, in the days to come, we can look forward to more dynamic roles of ethanol.

The Future of BioFuel in India

Since the time we have heard the word ‘fuel’, we have always been taught to think of it as a highly valuable resource, forever on the verge of extinction. Hence our brains have been auto-wired to use fuel conscientiously. Be it in a vehicle, in a cooking stove, for automobile, or simply for burning things, a fuel contains all the fire we ever need. Certainly then, man has always been striving to devise various ways to develop alternate fuel in the lab, fearing the day when we run out of fossils!

BioFuel is one such advancement in the field of fuel production. They are regarded as cleaner and greener alternatives to fossil fuels. They can be produced in a Bioenergy plant. Whether BioFuel will be able to fully replace the non-renewable fuel sources effectively, is a matter of time. Technically speaking, Biofuel is a universal term used for fuels derived from biomass, such as plants and organic wastes. They are mainly classified as first generation & second generation biofuels.

The first generation biofuels include sugar and starch-based ethanol, oil-crop based biodiesel, vegetable oil, as well as biogas derived through anaerobic & aerobic treatment plants. The second generation biofuels are an upgrade to the production of first-generation biofuels. In that, the raw materials are derived from the feedstock of lignocellulosic, non-food materials that include straw, bagasse, forest residues and purpose-grown energy crops on marginal lands. There are also third and fourth generations which are still undergoing heavy research. These technologies look fairly far fetched to become a practical and commercially viable reality as they insist on using algal biomass and solar energy to produce fuel.

Current Challenges

As of 2014, India’s biofuel production accounted for less than 2% of global production. Bio-ethanol and bio-diesel are the two biofuels that are commercially produced. In India, ethanol is predominantly produced from sugarcane molasses which is a byproduct of sugar production. The Ethanol production process in India, therefore, depends largely on the production of sugarcane. Sugarcane being a seasonal crop in India, the production is cyclical. Hence, ethanol production also keeps fluctuating from one year to another, often falling short of demand. This also affects the cost of ethanol.

 Regulatory Measures to tackle challenges

In spite of the production hurdles, biodiesel can provide a major boost for the energy security of our country. The govt. of India has come up with the National Policy on Biofuels 2018, which includes harnessing of biodiesel to meet the energy needs of the country. The purpose of this policy is to enable availability of biofuels in the market to increase its blending percentage. Currently, the ethanol blending percentage in petrol is around 2.0% and biodiesel blending percentage in diesel is less than 0.1%. The government has approved 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel is proposed by 2030. Additionally, on World Biofuel Day, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched RUCO – Repurpose Used Cooking Oil, an ecosystem that will enable the collection and conversion of used cooking oil to biodiesel.

The Policy aims to increase bioethanol production and usage of biofuels during the coming decade. The biodiesel can work as an effective and great alternative for a growing country like India. It is indeed the future if we want to move towards becoming a clean and green nation.