Finland-headed energy and forest industry technology major Valmet Oyj has announced that it will supply a BioTrac biomass pretreatment system to Praj Industries Ltd for its second-generation biorefinery project which is under execution in India. The delivery is planned for the year 2020.
India-headed Praj Industries is progressing on the execution of the first batch of four second-generation integrated biorefinery projects in India, contracted by oil marketing companies (OMC). The order, the value of which has not been disclosed, is Valmet’s first commercial-sized order in Asia for second-generation ethanol and the first delivery to Praj Industries.
We are very proud to play an important role in the transition away from fossil fuel, that is happening also in India. For many years, Valmet has focused on developing technologies for the emerging biotechnologies. We look forward to continue the excellent collaboration with Praj and we believe the second-generation ethanol demand will increase in Asia and worldwide, said Tomas Jonsson, Sales Manager, Biomass Conversion Technology Unit, Pulp and Energy, Valmet.
The scope of Valmet’s supply includes one biomass pretreatment system. Valmet’s BioTrac concept is developed from long experience in pulping and fiberboard and it is now further applied to meet the new biomass processing requirements. Valmet will deliver machinery, engineering and site services, mainly from Sweden and India.
According to Valmet, the technology suits the initial hydrolysis step of bioethanol production very well and the company has experience from more than 10 deliveries. With this technology, waste material such as rice straw can be utilized to produce climate-friendly biofuels.
