India's first bamboo-based biorefinery will begin operating in March

Numaligarh Refinery Ltd., a subsidiary of oil explorer Oil India, ethanol production will begin at the company's biorefinery in the northeastern state of Assam in March. India, the third-largest consumer and importer of crude oil, is attempting to lower its crude oil usage by converting to environmentally friendly substitutes like biofuels. By 2025, the nation wants to increase the percentage of ethanol in petrol to 20%.

The Assam biorefinery is the first in India to employ bamboo as a feedstock and is planned to annually generate 50,000 tonnes of ethanol, 16,000 tonnes of furfural, and 11,000 tonnes of acetic acid. It cost NRL and its Finnish partners Chempolis and Fortum 40 billion rupees.

Furfural is used to bind materials like glue. The northeastern part of India has a thriving bamboo farming industry. NRL owns a 50% interest in the venture. Due to the closure of the local paper mills, there are no clients for bamboo in the area. So there is a lot of bamboo accessible, Phukan remarked during a business gathering.

Additionally, he stated that after satisfying domestic demand, the company would obtain the required certificates to enable it to export furfural to the European markets. We are exploring smaller size projects in Mizoram and Meghalya, there is a steep scope for cost optimisation in future refineries he said, declining to provide a timetable for the prospective projects.