RIL tanks up on biofuels to cut emissions

On October 16, Mukesh Ambani and chief executives officers of nine other oil and gas companies declared to be part of a joint commitment to reduce global warming by two degrees. Under Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, 10 of the world’s largest oil and gas companies — which provide a fifth of all oil and gas production and supply, 10 per cent of the world’s energy — said they would make significant investments in natural gas, carbon capture and storage, renewable energy, and low greenhouse gas (GHG) research and development.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has projects ranging from roof-top solar photovoltaic projects and biogas generation projects to carrying out wind resource assessment for exploring possibility of installation of wind turbines. In its own business of fuel, it is experimenting with bio products. RIL's Reliance Life Sciences division has grown jatropha by itself and with inter-crops with horticulture and medicinal crops, developed high-yielding composite varieties of jatropha. RIL has commissioned a 6,500-tonnes-a-year pilot plant for biodiesel production and developed second-generation processes for production of bioethanol and biobutanol. “Research and development of biofuels are carried out at the Dhirubhai Ambani Life Sciences Center in Navi Mumbai. Agronomy activities are carried out at research farms in Kakinada, Raviguntapalli, Gandhar, and Nagothane,” says the company.

RIL did not reply to an e-mail. Reliance Life Sciences works with farmers, directly and through non-government organisations, to promote cultivation of jatropha and other crops for biodiesel. Based on lessons from a pilot project in the Nizamabad district in Andhra Pradesh, Reliance Life Sciences is working with farmers in 14 districts across Khammam and Nizamabad in Andhra Pradesh; Nanded, Parbhani and Hingoli in Maharashtra; Bilaspur and Bastar in Chhattisgarh; Junagarh and Vyara in Gujarat; and Dewas, Shajapur, Chhindwara, Seoni, and Mandla in Madhya Pradesh.

The company is using agri-residue to produce hydrocarbons. “Agri-residue is often burnt to quickly clear fields. Our technology provides a better alternative by enabling efficient conversion of this waste agri-residue into products such as kerosene,” the company said.

Research and development efforts in the areas of improvement of productivity of biofuels per unit area and production of clean energy and chemicals using renewable raw materials are closer to commercialisation. These efforts have a potential to produce significantly large quantities of clean fuels and chemicals. Through its ‘algae to biocrude’, it is aiming to establish a green platform.