NEW DELHI: State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s (BPCL) Bargarh 2G bio-refinery which will use rice straw to produce ethanol for mixing in petrol, will invigorate a circular economy and give impetus to waste-to-wealth creation, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.

Pradhan, who is the Union Minister for HRD, visited the under-construction Bargarh 2G bio-refinery site in Odisha as part of the Vikas Teerth Yatra to mark nine years of the Modi government. “Bargarh bio-refinery is making steady progress and is expected to be commissioned soon,” he tweeted.

After producing ethanol from sugarcane, India is now pushing for producing low-carbon fuel from grains and agri waste. This is part of an ambitious programme to mix ethanol in petrol to cut down emissions as well as the country’s dependence on imports for meeting oil needs.

Presently, 10 per cent ethanol is mixed in petrol (10 per cent ethanol, 90 per cent petrol) and this volume is targeted to be doubled by 2025. The Bargarh 2G bio-refinery is part of the plan to augment the production of ethanol to meet the higher mixing target. The Bargarh bio-refinery in Odisha is being built at a cost of Rs 1,607 crore and will produce 100 kilolitres per day of 1G ethanol (ethanol from rice grain) and a similar volume of 2G ethanol (ethanol from rice straw). “The bio-refinery will invigorate a circular economy, give impetus to waste-to-wealth creation, boost farmers’ income-welfare, create employment, augment indigenous production of green fuel and lead Odisha towards prosperity and self-reliance,” Pradhan tweeted.