On brink of closure, Bihar distillery shifts to ethanol

A well-known distillery in Bihar, facing closure following complete ban on liquor in the state, has shifted to production of ethanol which would be supplied to major oil companies.
Sati Organics Private Limited, Gopalganj, started ethanol production yesterday with the same set of 250 employees who would have been rendered unemployed after prohibition.
"We started production of ethanol from yesterday by upgrading our production pattern," its Director Ramashankar Prasad said in a statement here today.
The ethanol would be supplied to leading oil companies like Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Prasad said.

He said that initially the company would produce 12 lakh litres of ethanol, although the distillery's capacity is much higher.
Ethanol is produced from sugarcane molasses and is utilised in the chemical industry as well as bio-fuel in vehicles.
The Nitish Kumar-led government enforced a complete ban on liquor since April 5. The order prohibits production of spirit but there is no curb on ethanol which is blended with petrol.