L&T arm, ICT (Mumbai) team up to build second generation ethanol plants

L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T), has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, to build second generation ethanol plants based on fully indigenous technology developed by ICT.

This novel technology developed by ICT under the leadership of Arvind Lali, head of DBT-ICT Centre, is capable of processing a variety of feedstocks and offers one of the lowest project life cycle cost.

At present, India produces ethanol derived from molasses, which is called first generation (1G) ethanol, for 3 per cent ethanol blending with petrol against the mandated 10 per cent bio-fuel blending.

With the government giving a huge impetus for ethanol production by setting a 20 per cent bio-fuel blending target, these is a huge scope for setting up second generation (2G) ethanol plants.

Second generation ethanol is defined as that derived from agricultural wastes that do not impact human and animal food chains, and result in more than 60 per cent reduction in fuel carbon emissions compared to equivalent petro-fuel use.

The Department of Bio-Technology (DBT), Government of India, set up India's first bio-energy research centre at ICT in 2008, known as the DBT-ICT Centre for Bio-science, with the express mandate to develop, scale up and monetise the 2G ethanol bio-ethanol technology, Prof GD Yadav, vice chancellor, ICT, stated.

L7T said LTHE and ICT will collaborate to provide complete solutions in setting up 2G Ethanol plants in terms of process licence, technology knowhow, basic engineering, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) or engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM).