To douse the smoldering menace of stubble burning and create a positive atmosphere for industrialisation, Punjab Government has decided to set up a bio-ethanol project in the State.
For the same, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between Punjab Government and M/s SAB Industries limited on Monday with proposed investment of Rs 719 crore.
The project will produce 25,000 TPA 2G Bio-ethanol from paddy straw in Punjab which will not only generate investment and employment but will also help in reducing crop residue burning, said the state Industry and Commerce Minister Sundar Sham Arora.
He said that few studies undertaken in India have indicated surplus biomass availability to the tune of 120-160 MMT annually which, if converted, has the potential to yield 3,000 crore litres of ethanol annually.
Surplus biomass or agricultural waste can be converted to ethanol using second generation (2G) technologies which has cellulosic and lignocellulosic content, he said.
Arora said that Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has notified National Policy on Biofuels-2018 to promote bio-fuels in the country which aims at increasing the usage of bio-fuels in the energy and transportation sectors of the country during the coming decade.
He said that every harvesting season biomass is presently being exhumed by farmers in their fields causing huge pollution issue and is resulting into serious health hazards. Scientific disposal of biomass is must to take care of this menace, and the Punjab Government is keen to encourage industrial projects for large scale utilization of paddy straw for producing bio-ethanol and biogas in line with the policy of bio-fuels approved by the Central Government.