The Hindu Business Line : Praj Ind develops tech to process sweet sorghum for alcohol production

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Praj Ind develops tech to process sweet sorghum for alcohol production

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The company is initially launching the technology in Tamil Nadu, which recently announced a policy to encourage sweet sorghum as an alternative to water- intensive crops such as sugarcane.

Chennai , Oct. 19

THE Pune-based Praj Industries Ltd has commercialised the cultivation and processing of sweet sorghum for alcohol production.

According to its Chairman, Mr Pramod Chaudhari, sweet sorghum is an ideal alternative to sugarcane as a raw material for ethanol. The distillation technology has been developed in-house and is being patented.

At a press conference here today, he said Praj Industries has imported and tested different varieties of sweet sorghum, and has identified six varieties for cultivation in the sugarcane-growing States. Sweet sorghum seeds will be commercially available from February-March 2005. Praj Industries can provide the technology for cultivation and processing.

It is initially launching the technology in Tamil Nadu, which recently announced a policy to encourage sweet sorghum as an alternative to water- intensive crops such as sugarcane. Other States such as Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have also evinced interest in sweet sorghum cultivation, he said.

With the Central Government announcing a policy to supply ethanol-blended automobile fuel, the demand for ethanol has jumped to 180 crore litres a year from 140 crore litres, needed for industrial and potable use. However, drought in the last two years has affected sugarcane production and the availability of molasses, the primary raw material for ethanol. An alternative source of raw material would help improve availability, he said.

According to Mr Chaudhari, sweet sorghum is a sugarcane-like crop that can be adapted for processing in sugar mills. Farmers can grow two crops in a year since it matures in 100 to 110 days, while sugarcane takes 10 months to mature.

The stalks, which need to be crushed for the juice for alcohol distillation, are like sugarcane stalks. A sugar mill will have to invest about Rs 50 lakh for equipment to handle sweet sorghum.

But if it opts for the technology developed by Praj Industries, it would involve investment of about Rs 1.5 crore and the alcohol yield would nearly double to about 50 - 55 litres a tonnes of sweet sorghum.

It would also be an ideal option for stand alone distilleries that depend on molasses from the sugar mills as raw material for alcohol.

An acre of sweet sorghum will yield about 20 tonnes of raw material enough for about 1,200 litres of alcohol.

The farmer can hope to earn about Rs 8,000 - 10,000 per acre per year. It would consume about a third of water needed for sugarcane.

An added benefit to the industries is that the effluent from a sweet sorghum distillery can be treated at 30 paise - 40 paise a litre against Re 1 - Rs 1.50 needed to treat a conventional distillery effluent.

After crushing, the sweet sorghum stalks yield a bagasse-like fibrous material that can be used as fuel, Mr Chaudhari said.

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