Praj building ethanol plants in Brazil
Praj Industries has entered Brazil, opening its first grain-based ethanol project. They delivered a 63,000-liter/day plant using corn and have another 654,000-liter/day project in Rio Grande do Sul. Praj signed a new contract with Be8 and plans international expansion, including Blue Hydrogen in Europe and SAF plants in the US. Praj aims for a 50:50 domestic-export split by 2030, focusing on CBG and sustainable fuels.
Industrial biotechnology company Praj Industries (Praj) has opened its account in Brazil, the ethanol capital of the world. Praj has handed the first grain-based ethanol project in Brazil, as the country is diversifying from sugar into grain-based ethanol plants.
Praj has also signed up for one more contract for an ethanol plant with a global renewable company in Brazil, with engineering activity for this plant starting this quarter and construction in the subsequent quarter, Shishir Joshipura, CEO and MD, Praj Industries, said.
Brazil has so far been dependent on sugar feedstock and of late it started producing ethanol from starch feedstock. Brazil is now moving rapidly to starch-based ethanol for ethanol production, Joshipura said. They were working on corn and wheat feedstock. Praj has extensive experience in this feedstock and has delivered such projects in the UK in the past.
Praj delivered a starch to ethanol plant for Fermap Industria De Alcool at Ipiranga do Norte, Mato Grosso, Brazil. This plant can make 63,000 litres per day using 150 million tonne of corn feedstock a day. This plant is low energy, high ethanol yield, zero liquid discharge and low carbon footprint ethanol unit.
Praj has started work for Be8, one of Brazil’s major biodiesel companies. In the pipeline is a starch (wheat or corn) to ethanol plant at Passo Fundo, in Rio Grande do Sul. The plant can make 654,000 litre per day of anhydrous ethanol or 688,000 litres/day of hydrous ethanol from 1,500 tonne of corn per day or 597,000 litre of anhydrous ethanol or 628,000 litres per day of hydrous ethanol form wheat as feedstock. It is a multi-feedstock and multi-product technology with a low energy and carbon footprint.
These projects are in line with Praj’s plans to expand the share of international business in the overall pie. Praj is also building state-of-the-art modules for one of the largest Blue Hydrogen projects in Europe. It is designing and engineering three alcohol to jet sustainable aviation fuel plants in the US. Praj has supplied a large alcohol-to-jet modularised demonstration unit to the USA for the conversion of Isobutanol to SAF. A French company has contracted Praj for setting up a greenfield plant in Ivory Coast, Africa. It is the second project for Praj from this company.
The company’s goal was to have a 50:50 split in the domestic and export business by 2030. Praj is on a path to transform its business with an additional focus on emerging segments of compressed bio gas (CBG), SAF and ETCA (energy transition and climate action), Joshipura said at the company’s investor call.
Praj has seen growth in the domestic energy business on the back of starch-based ethanol plants, which accounted for 90% of the domestic order book. The company is in talks with several customers to convert from single-feed stock to multiple-feed stock.
Praj has commissioned commercial-scale CBG plants based on press mud and rice straw and achieved benchmark results for yield with their proprietary bio-solutions technology. With this, Praj now has proven commercial-scale CBG projects operating on three key feedstocks – spent wash, press mud and rice straw, Joshipura said. They were further working on multiple feedstocks, he said.
Source Link: https://www.financialexpress.com/business/express-mobility/praj-building-ethanol-plants-in-brazil/3511740/
Recommended for you
