Dr Reddy's working on producing algae for biodiesel

Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL) is working on producing algae on a large scale using the carbon dioxide coming out from the boiler stacks in its laboratories and manufacturing plants.

This biomass will be used for making biodiesel, said DRL vice-chairman and chief executive officer GV Prasad. The concept, however, is still at the laboratory stage.

Presenting the sustainability report 2008 here, Prasad said DRL was refining the technology to increase the algae yield in a bioreactor and make it viable.

This apart, it is working on extracting lipids (fats) from the sludge of effluent treatment plants for producing biodiesel. This would also effectively counter the problems related to activated sludge disposal.

Among others, the company has started adopting green chemistry principles in many of its product development and solvent recovery processes for environmental protection. The idea to optimise the 'atom efficiency' (using as little chemical as possible) to reduce wastages, Prasad said.

The company is indexing the waste obtained at various levels of a product cycle by giving a negative score. A lower score implies that the product has been efficiently used. Based on the total score, it will initiate measures to increase the efficiency of the product in terms of cost and eco-friendliness.

Green building is another focus area. The company has developed alternative catalysts to replace unsafe catalysts for increasing the reaction efficiency and minimising effluents.