RIL tanks up on biofuels to cut emissions

In this last of a 5-part series, we look at Reliance Industries and the steps it is taking to reduce its carbon footprint

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.

TAPPING INTO MOTHER NATURE
Following clean development mechanism projects at RIL are registered at UNFCCC

Jamnagar
Reduction in steam consumption in stripper re-boiler through process optimisation

Hazira
Energy efficiency through steam optimisation

Vadodara
Energy efficiency through heat recovery

Barabanki
Biomass-based process steam generation

Dahej
Demand-side energy conservation and reduction

Patalganga
Demand-side energy-efficiency projects

Allahabad
Improvement in energy-efficiency of steam generation and power consumption

RIL says the firm has built capacity to develop clean development mechanism projects, and obtain registration and issuance of the same in the form of certified emission reductions from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

How green are India’s energy firms? In the run-up to the climate change talks in Paris from November 30, a five-part series seeks to answer the question by analysing the initiatives of some of the country’s leading firms