Tata Chem testing waters for biofuel foray

Tata Chemicals, one of the world's leading inorganic chemicals manufacturers, may get into the biofuel business on a large scale if its pilot project at Nanded, Maharashtra, is successful.

"The project is on an experimental basis and we have decided to limit investments at this stage to a maximum of Rs 50 crore," said P K Ghose, executive vice-president and CFO, Tata Chemicals.

"If the project is successful, we will invest in biofuel manufacturing in a big way. This will involve investments totalling several hundred crores of rupees."

Tata Chemicals is setting up a pilot biofuel manufacturing unit in Nanded, which will be operational in 2008-09.

Praj Industries has been contracted to set up a 30 kilolitres a day bioethanol plant, which will use sweet sorghum as raw material for making bioethanol.

The company is also exploring options to produce biodiesel from jatropha plants. Agro-climatic trials and related studies of the crop are progressing in Maharashtra and Gujarat at five centres, according to sources.

Biofuels is an emerging business opportunity in India, thanks to the initiative taken to use ethanol as an automotive fuel.

The Mukesh Ambani promoted Reliance Life Sciences is planning a major foray into biodiesel based on jatropha, for which it is setting up a pilot facility in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.

Adjacent to this facility, Naturol Bioenergy Limited has started an integrated oleochemical complex to process biodiesel and allied products with a capacity of one lakh tonne a year, one of the largest in the world.