Crop stubble collection centers to open across India for ethanol

November 26, 2017 |

In India, air pollution caused by crop stubble burning may soon start decreasing thanks to new stubble collection centers that will feed about 12 second-generation bioethanol plants. The recent smog, mostly from paddy straw that is burned in the fields after the main crop is harvested, has shut down schools and led to bans on heavy vehicles in city limits. The collection centers will be set up by the three government-owned oil marketing companies, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Indian Oil Corporation, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation.

“The OMCs would require about 150,000 tonnes of biomass — including rice straw, wheat straw and bamboo shoots — for each of these plants annually. Two such plants are coming up in Punjab and Haryana. Hence, it is logical for them to collect and stock this biomass within the 15-30 days it will be available in a year,” Y B Ramakrishna, chairman of the ministry’s working group on biofuels told Business Standard.

Category: Fuels

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