Why in news?
The Prime Minister inaugurated a bio‑ethanol plant at Numaligarh Refinery, Golaghat district in Assam. The facility produces second‑generation (2G) ethanol from bamboo biomass, marking a milestone in India’s National Bio‑Energy Mission.
What is 2G ethanol?
Second‑generation ethanol is made from non‑food biomass such as crop residues, municipal waste or woody plants. It does not compete with food supplies and reduces greenhouse‑gas emissions compared with fossil fuels and first‑generation ethanol (derived from sugarcane or corn). Converting bamboo — abundant in the North‑East — into ethanol offers a sustainable feedstock for India’s Ethanol Blending Programme, which aims to blend 20% ethanol into petrol by 2025.
About the plant
- Developers: Assam Bio‑Ethanol Private Limited (ABEL) and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) collaborated under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
- Feedstock and capacity: The plant uses locally sourced bamboo to produce around 60,000 kilolitres of ethanol annually.
- Technology: Advanced enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation processes break down the cellulose in bamboo to fermentable sugars, which are then distilled into fuel.
- Objectives: Reduce India’s dependence on imported crude oil, provide a market for bamboo farmers, promote the circular economy and support the Net Zero 2050 commitments.
Significance
The plant will create jobs in bamboo cultivation, collection and processing. It strengthens energy security by producing a domestic renewable fuel and demonstrates how value addition can boost the North‑East’s economy. Scaling up bamboo‑based biofuels must be coupled with sustainable harvesting practices and farmer training to ensure ecological balance.