Praj Industries Ltd. (Pune, India; www.praj.net) has announced a milestone in the commercialization of its ‘enfinity’ technology. ‘Enfinity’, Praj’s proprietary technology, will be deployed to produce ethanol and other c0-products using sugarcane bagasse in what will be the first bagasse-based biorefinery in the U.S. The bio-refinery is being jointly promoted by Florida-based Omega Energy USA, a developer of renewable energy projects, while Louisiana-based Lasuca Sugar, a producer of cane sugar, will supply bagasse feedstock.
The promoters have issued a formal letter confirming their interest to engage Praj for developing the design and project program for a cellulosic ethanol biorefinery in U.S. The proposed project will have the capacity to produce 10-15 million gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol.
Earlier this year, U.S.-based domain specialists had visited Praj’s 2G integrated bio-refinery demonstration plant and Praj Matrix, the R&D center in Pune to study ‘enfinity’ technology. They acknowledged the facility, plant performance and scope for proliferation.
Speaking about the project, Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman, Praj Industries said, “This development comes on the back of a successful 60-day robust operation of our 2G demo plant that was monitored and evaluated on various parameters by experts from the Oil and Gas major. In addition to the Louisiana prospect, Praj is already executing four integrated bio-refineries for oil companies in India. We are delighted that ‘enfinity’, an Indian technology, is gaining global recognition and acceptance from developed markets like the USA. This reinforces Praj’s position as a global leader in the advanced bio-economy.”
Lasuca and Omega Energy are in the process of completing necessary formalities for the project.