India’s first energy biosciences centre to come up in Mumbai

Mumbai, JANUARY 8: To find ways for reducing India’s growing dependence on petroleum fuels and cut down emission of greenhouse gases, the country’s first Centre of Energy Biosciences will come up at the University Institute of Chemical Technology (UICT).

The primary objective of the centre will be developing renewable sources of energy with specific focus on creating a bioscience and bioengineering platform for developing viable technologies for bioalcohols, biodiesel, biohydrogen and other biofuels, said Professor Arvind Lali, who is coordinating the technical programme of the centre.

The initial work on the centre has started and proper infrastructure will come up soon, Lali added. Headed by UICT Director J B Joshi, the centre, sanctioned by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of Ministry of Science and Technology, will be established at a cost of Rs 24 crore.

According to Lali, the country produces around 200 million tonnes of waste biomass every year, that is, unfit for human and animal consumption. This waste, along with specially developed high-yield energy crops, could together produce enough alcohol to meet the country’s demand for liquid fuel, he said. “Today there’s no known technology that can be used to make the required alcohol from waste biomass. Hence, the centre will concentrate on creating feasible technologies to produce alcohol in an ecologically and economically sustainable manner,” said Lali.

“Liquid petroleum fuel demand is more than 25 per cent of the country’s total energy consumption, of which petrol and diesel consumption together add to about 65 million tonnes per year. A good part of this demand can be met through renewable sources,” said Lali. He said the centre would focus on biofuel to meet the needs of transport industry. The Centre will also integrate technological components developed elsewhere in the country under various research schemes.

The technical programme will also see collaboration with industrial and academic partners, including MAHYCO Research Centre (India); School of Chemical Engineering-Purdue University (USA); Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering-Centre for Resilience, Ohio State University (USA) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (India).

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