GBL commissions ethanol expansion project in Karnataka

Godavari Biorefineries Ltd (GBL) today announced the commissioning of an expansion project to manufacture 50 million litres of dehydrated ethanol at the Sameerwadi facility in Bagalkot district of Karnataka.
"The expansion will help our greater participation in the government's ethanol blending programme that mandates 5 per cent blending of bio-fuel with petrol," the company's Chairman and Managing Director Samir Somaiya said in a statement.
With this expansion, the company has the capacity to make 50 million litres per year of fuel grade ethanol, up from 15 million litres, at present.
The expansion of the fully automated plant using molecular sieve dehydration technology was completed in five months. The facility will use byproducts of their sugar manufacturing process as raw material, it said.

The company had recently raised private equity from Mandala Capital, a part of which was for the setting up of this plant, it added.
GBL produces sugar, biofuels, chemicals, power, compost, waxes and related products using sugarcane as the primary feedstock. It has two manufacturing units in Karnataka and Maharasthra.