BPCL partners with OUAT to produce biofuel from rice straw

Bhubaneswar: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on Sunday between Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT) for production of biofuel from paddy based straw.

The MoU was signed in presence of Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan.

As per official sources, BPCL will provide a financial support of Rs 5 crore to OUAT for effective utilisation of paddy straw for biofuel production in a bio chemical enzymatic process.

Out of the total budget, Rs 2 crore will be used as a corpus for BPCL chair and Rs 3 crore as research contingency for development, establishment and popularisation of the biofuel production technology.

Odisha witnesses an annual production of 85 lakh tonnes rice with approximate production of 100 lakh tonnes of paddy straw.

Bulk of the straw is used as fodder and other domestic purpose while there was no proper economic utilization of the paddy straw as of now.

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The signining of the MoU is likely to play a crucial role for production of 10 percent straw based ethanol for increasing fuel efficiency and reducing the pressure on fossil fuel.

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