AM Green looking to set up more biorefineries in India: CTO S S V Ramakumar

Following the commissioning of its Rs 4,500 crore bamboo-based biorefinery in Assam, AM Green plans more projects in India to scale ethanol production for petrol blending

On the back of the successful commissioning of its first bamboo-based biorefinery in Assam, a ₹4,500 crore project inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, green energy firm AM Green is planning to set up more such plants in India and abroad for production of ethanol for blending in petrol.

 

The company, founded by Anil Chalamalasetty and Mahesh Kolli, the promoters of Greenko Group, wants to capitalise on its Organoslov technology that converts feedstocks based on lignocellulosic biomass into fuel grade ethanol with low carbon intensity, S S V Ramakumar, chief technology officer of AM Green and former director - R&D of Indian Oil Ltd, told Business Standard in an interview.

 

 

“At the Assam biorefinery, we have completed the first commissioning run which was very successful, and the first batch of fuel grade ethanol has already been dispatched to Numaligarh Refinery for their use in gasoline blending. In future, AM Green is going to set up more such refineries,” Ramakumar said.

 

AM Green is looking at more sites in Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in India and also abroad to set up refineries. He did not share the details of the feedstocks to be used in future projects, but said the commissioning of the Assam biorefinery,  under Assam Bio Ethanol Private Ltd (ABEPL) and in a joint venture with Numaligarh Refinery Ltd, will provide the first commercial reference for the biofuel industry leading to its large scale adoption.

 

“We already have a few potential clients waiting from all over the world, including India. We are already flooded with so many licensing enquiries. AM Green is going to be the global licensor of this technology and we hope to see the worldwide propagation of this technology in the next two years,” he said.

 

First generation ethanol, which is the predominantly produced ethanol in India and is being used for 20 per cent gasoline blending, brings down gasoline's carbon footprint, 94 kg of CO2 per Megajoule of energy, by 50 per cent. However, second generation ethanol, produced by Indian Oil at its Panipat refinery or the one being produced by ABEPL, brings down carbon intensity reduction by 80 per cent.

 

The feedstock capacity of the ABEPL plant just inaugurated at Golaghat in Assam is 300,000 tonne per annum (KTPA). It will produce around 50,000 TPA of ethanol per annum, apart from 20,000 TPA of furfural and 8,000 TPA of acetic acid. This is based on a Finnish technology that employs Organoslov process.

 

“This process distinguishes itself from other second generation ethanol production technologies because it is environmentally benign. While the Indian Oil plant is based on strong mineral acid as it is alkali based, our technology employs milder patented organic acids, making it environmentally benign,” Ramakumar said, adding its production efficiency is much higher too with a 16-18 percent volume-by-volume yield per tonne of feedstock.

 

The basic process of the Organoslov technology involves removing Cellulose from Lignin, a rich bioresource that can be upgraded into high value added products, including resins, marine fuels, battery materials, and bio-bitumen. 

 

“The ABEPL technology separates the lignin and produces value added products so that the levelised cost of ethanol will be much less, after taking into account cross-subsidisation of other products. ??In ABPEL too, lignin separation unit is not yet built but can be added. Currently, lignin is being used to produce 25 Mw of green power,” Ramakumar said. He also added that the levelised cost of ethanol can be brought down in the process if the plant opts for lignin separation and valourises it for various value added products.