Current Affairs - State - Discussion

India's first second generation (2G) Ethanol Bio-Refinery will set up in Bargarh district of Odisha by 2020, where ethanol will be produced from rice straw. The proposed plant will be set up by the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) at an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore. The foundation stone of which was laid on 10th October 2018. The bio-refinery will have a capacity to produce 3 crore litre of fuel-grade ethanol annually using rice straw as feedstock. The Bargarh Bio-Refinery will utilise about 2 lakh tonne of rice straw annually as feedstock which will be sourced from nearby locations including Bhatli, Ambabhona, Attabira, Sohela, Burla and Lakhanpur. The refinery will be based on zero-liquid discharge plant technology where water will be recycled back into the plant. Blending of ethanol in petrol will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions as compared to fossil fuels. Apart from Odisha, BPCL will also set up bio-refineries in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. . The National Biofuel Policy of India 2018 targets 20% Ethanol blending to Petrol by 2030. However, due to non-availability of Ethanol, the current Ethanol blending in Petrol is about 3 to 4%.