Ten cooperative sugar mills (CSMs) that operate molasses-based distilleries have applied to convert their ethanol plants to multi-feedstock-based plants, reported Live Mint.
Molasses, a byproduct of sugar production from sugarcane, is only available during the 4–5 month sugarcane crushing season. This limits the operational period of molasses-based ethanol plants. By shifting to grains such as maize and damaged food grains, these distilleries could run year-round, improving efficiency and ensuring continuous ethanol production.
Among the 269 cooperative sugar mills in the country, 93 currently run molasses-based distilleries. “Out of these 93 distilleries… 10 of them applied for conversion of existing sugarcane-based (molasses) feedstock ethanol plants to multi-feedstock-based plants,” said Prakash Naiknavare, Managing Director of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd, reported Live Mint.
Of these 10 applications, eight are from Maharashtra—one of the leading sugarcane-producing states—while the remaining two are from Gujarat and Karnataka.
The federation is actively working on plans to support more cooperative mills in making the switch to multi-feedstock systems.
To support this transition, in March to facilitate CSMs, Department of Food & Public Distribution notified a scheme for CSMs under modified Ethanol Interest Subvention Scheme for Conversion of their existing sugarcane-based feedstock ethanol plants into multi-feedstock based plants to use grains like Maize and Damaged Food Grains (DFG).
Under this modified Ethanol Interest Subvention Scheme, Government is facilitating entrepreneurs with Interest subvention @ 6% per annum or 50% of rate of interest charged by banks/financial institutions, whichever is lower, on the loans to be extended by banks/financial institutions is being borne by the Central Government for five years including one-year moratorium.
The sugarcane crushing period is limited to 4-5 months only in a year due to which sugar mills can operate for a limited period of time. This further leads to reduction in their overall operational efficiency and productivity. To ensure the functioning of Cooperative Sugar Mills (CSMs) throughout the year, their existing ethanol plants can be converted into multi-feedstock based plants to use grains like maize and DFG under the new modified scheme.
The conversion to multi-feedstock based plants would not only make the existing ethanol plants of CSMs capable of operating when sugar based feedstocks are not available for ethanol production but will also improve efficiency and productivity of these plants. As a result, these cooperative ethanol plants will have increased financial viability.
