Rs 200-cr bamboo bio-refinery in Assam to begin commercial production by mid 2025
Assam Bio Ethanol Private Limited, led by Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL), is set to start commercial ethanol production by mid-2025 using bamboo feedstock. The bio-refinery will annually produce 49 KTPA ethanol, plus furfural, acetic acid, CO₂, and bio-coal. Sourcing bamboo from Assam and nearby states, it aims to support 30,000 rural households and use 0.5 million tonnes of bamboo yearly. NRL is also promoting bamboo cultivation through nurseries and tissue culture for sustainability.
Guwahati, April 8: The Assam Bio Ethanol Private Limited, of which the Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL)is the major stakeholder, is expected to start commercial production by the middle of this year.
NRL sources told The Assam Tribune that a trial run of the bio-refinery was successfully conducted in December 2024 during which ethanol was produced from bamboo feedstock. The bio-refinery is expected to be commissioned in June or July this year.
The bio-refinery is primarily designed to produce 49 kilotonnes per annum (KTPA) ‘ethanol’. Apart from ethanol, other products made from the bio-refinery are ‘furfural’, ‘acetic acid’, ‘carbon dioxide’ and ‘bio-coal’.
Sources revealed that ethanol produced from the bio-refinery is primarily intended for sale to Numaligarh Refinery Limited to blend with Motor Spirit (petrol). Furfural, acetic acid and carbon dioxide are envisaged to be sold in the open market. Bio-coal would be consumed in the bio-refinery for the generation of electricity and process steam.
The bio-refinery project in Numaligarh is being implemented by a joint venture company titled Assam Bio Ethanol Private Limited (ABEPL) in which NRL is the major shareholder. On receiving enough feed-stock, that is bamboo, sources said that the inbound supply chain for sourcing feedstock for the bio-refinery will encompass forest and non-forest areas in Assam and three neighbouring states (Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Nagaland) within 300-km radius of the plant. ABEPL has segregated its inbound supply chain participants into four prime categories, namely – bamboo farmers, harvesting cum interim transporter (HIT), local-level entrepreneurs (LLEs), and transporter of bamboo chips. Bamboo from the farmers will be harvested by skilled harvesters who will deliver it to designated pre-processing units (termed as local-level entrepreneurs) and such units will also act as regional depots. Payments to all the stakeholders including bamboo farmers will be done through electronic bank transfer mode. The bio-refinery is expected to benefit 30,000 rural households in its entire value chain and create market linkage for five lakh tonnes of green bamboo every year, generating business opportunities for around Rs 200 crore. The Northeastern region is endowed with suitable agro-climatic conditions that are amicable for bamboo growth. With 52,491 sq km of bamboo forests (Forest Survey of India report, 2021) with 178.6 million metric tonnes of bamboo biomass, the bio-refinery will make use of a mere 0.5 million metric tonnes of bamboo every year. Bamboo forest cover in the region is 55,725 sq km as per the Forest Survey of India report, 2023. Thus, no shortage of bamboo supply for the bio-refinery is envisaged. Meanwhile, notwithstanding the capability to regenerate through responsible harvesting, NRL has invested in a start-up named Chroma Bio-Tech. This start-up has developed a tissue culture lab to generate bamboo saplings. Further, NRL has developed three bamboo nurseries for secondary hardening of tissue-cultured saplings up to a height of 6 feet. These saplings are given free of cost to the identified farmers which will act as replenishment stock against harvested bamboo. The current capacity of the lab is 60 lakhs of bamboo sap-lings vis-à-vis the requirement of two crore bamboo poles per annum.
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Source : Assam Tribune
