The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Ethanol plant commissioned

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 17, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Ethanol plant commissioned

Special Correspondent

NANDYAL: A maize-based ethanol production plant was commissioned at Nandyal in Kurnool district on Wednesday. The plant with a capacity to produce 1.45 lakh litres per day is set up by SPY Agro Industries Private Ltd at a cost of Rs. 100 crore.

Member of Parliament and chairman of the company SPY Reddy told The Hindu that the plant is designed to produce industrial grade alcohol using maize, jowar, bajra and broken rice as raw materials.

The industrial grade alcohol could be processed into ethanol for doping with petrol by removing the residual moisture. It can be used in pharmaceutical and liquor industry.

Apart from the 1.45 lakh litres of alcohol, the plant gives 220 tonnes of cake and 15 tons of biogas as by-products.

Mr. Reddy said the company plans to supply the cake to dairy farmers free of cost on the condition that they supply milk to Nandi Dairy, another sister company of the group. Also, Mr. Reddy plans to supply biogas as cooking fuel to households in Nandyal town. The mode of delivery of gas either through pipeline or refills is yet to be finalised.

The plant requires 20,000-acre crop area to ensure steady supply of raw materials. Farmers who take to maize cultivation are promised sprinklers and other irrigation tools. He said the plant provides direct employment to 200 persons and market for thousands of maize farmers.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh