OUAT to have chair
for research on rice straw-based biofuel production
BHUBANESWAR: Orissa University of Agriculture and
Technology (OUAT) on Sunday signed a memorandum of agreement
with the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)
to conduct research on effective utilization of rice straw for bio-fuel production in
the state.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, state agriculture secretary Saurabh Garg and OUAT vice chancellor Surendranath Pasupalak.
According to the agreement, a total of Rs 5 crore will be spent for the technology partnership project. The oil company will provide Rs 2 crore for setting up of BPCL Chair and Rs 3 crore as research contingency for development, establishment and popularization of the bio-fuel production technology.
The union minister said that rice is grown across the state. "Odisha produces 85 lakh tonnes of rice every year. We also get around 100 lakh tonnes of rice straw annually as agricultural byproduct. Normally rice straw is used as fodder or other domestic purposes. But now it will be used for production of bio-fuel," he added.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, state agriculture secretary Saurabh Garg and OUAT vice chancellor Surendranath Pasupalak.
According to the agreement, a total of Rs 5 crore will be spent for the technology partnership project. The oil company will provide Rs 2 crore for setting up of BPCL Chair and Rs 3 crore as research contingency for development, establishment and popularization of the bio-fuel production technology.
The union minister said that rice is grown across the state. "Odisha produces 85 lakh tonnes of rice every year. We also get around 100 lakh tonnes of rice straw annually as agricultural byproduct. Normally rice straw is used as fodder or other domestic purposes. But now it will be used for production of bio-fuel," he added.
He said there is almost no economic utilization of rice straw. "If we set up ethanol plant to produce bio-fuel, farmers can sale these straws to the plant. It will increase their income. It will motivate the farmers of north India not to burn the stubble or straw after harvesting paddy. It will create positive impact on environment," he added.
The Centre is going to set up an ethanol plant at Bargarh with an estimated cost of Rs 750 crore. Main raw material of the plant is rice straw. This project will not only increase income of farmers, it will reduce the pressure on fossil fuel, said the minister.
This agreement has a direct link with the Bargarh project. The BPCL Chair and a state-of-the-art laboratory at the OUAT will conduct research on different varieties of rice or other crops to know whether its byproducts help in producing quality ethanol or not. It will also select the crops which can become ideal raw material for ethanol. "Rice straw predominantly contains cellulose. We can produce ethanol from the cellulose in a bio-chemical enzymatic process. A professor will lead the BPCL Chair to conduct study on extraction of quality ethanol from best varieties of crops including cereals," said Pasupalak.
Pradhan also said the Centre is interested to set up an incubation centre at the OUAT to help the agriculture entrepreneurs of the state. The students of the university or other interested youths can take the help of the centre to work on their business ideas in the field of agriculture. "We can fund around Rs 15 crore for the incubation centre, if the state government comes forward to start it," he added.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/ouat-to-have-chair-for-research-on-rice-straw-based-biofuel-production/articleshow/62232170.cms
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