Praj Ind sets up sweet sorghum ethanol plant

Pune: Pune-based Praj Industries Ltd (PIL) is setting up a fully integrated, commercial scale plant for ethanol production exclusively from sweet sorghum at Nanded for Tata Chemicals Ltd.

The plant, which will have a crushing capacity 900 tonnes of sweet sorghum stalks, will produce 30,000 litres of ethanol per day and generate its own power from bagasse generated from the milled stocks.

It is expected to go on stream by the middle of 2008. The sweet sorghum will be cultivated by Tata Chemicals on a dedicated area of 4,000 hectares of land.

Meanwhile, Praj Industries has signed a memorandum of association with the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture to promote energy crops and technology for biofuels production in the Philippines. This will involve providing data and advisory services on the cultivation of bio-fuel crops such as sweet sorghum and jatropha.

The MoA was signed during the visit of the Philippines President to India.