Fortum India to make valuable products from agro-waste, Delhi to get Clean Air: Faizur Rehman

Paddy residue burning has been a major cause of air pollution in Delhi but now some companies are coming up with innovative solutions. Fortum India which is constructing a refinery in Assam for making Ethanol from bamboo is also planning to set up an agro-waste refinery in Haryana or Punjab. We speak to Mr. Faizur Rehman, Head, Bio2X & Fortum India, who participated as a speaker in the Waste Management Series of Summits (WMSS) 2020 organized in New Delhi on 30th to 31st January, for an exclusive interview. Devdiscourse was a media partner in the summit. Click below to see the full interview.

Paddy residue which has become a liability for farmers and a major cause of air pollution in Delhi due to stubble burning; will become wealth for farmers by the year 2025. Besides, the useless paddy is also going to save millions of dollars India being spending on importing petrol and diesel.

“We are conducting a feasibility study with Haryana Agriculture University. It will take six to eight months of intensive study. The study is focussed on to prepare a detailed plan on the issues related to set up a biorefinery in the region such as availability of agriculture waste, price of agriculture waste, preferred districts, socio-economic benefits to farmers etc. After we get land, it will take about three years for construction of the biorefinery. We firmly believe, we will be able to start production by 2025,” said Faizur Rehman, Head, Bio2X Programme of Fortum India, to Devdiscourse in an exclusive interview. “We will produce Ethanol, textile fibres, cosmetics and other valuable products from agriculture waste such as paddy straw and wheat straw etc.,” he added. Click here to see the full interview:

 

Rehman participated as a speaker on ‘Waste to Textiles & Circular Economy’ in the Waste Management Series of Summits (WMSS) 2020 organized in New Delhi from 30^th to 31^st January. Devdiscourse was media partner in this summit. 

In the interaction, Rehman also informed that at the laboratory level, his company has produced clothes fibres from paddy straw. “We presented our clothes made up of agriculture waste in a fashion show in Canada. According to experts, we are moving in the right direction. We believe, we will be able to produce something wearable by 2025,” he added. The Fortum India’s under construction biorefinery in Assam is expected to provide direct benefit to over 10,000 bamboo farmers besides creating at least 50-60 local entrepreneurs in its supply chain management. Besides Ethanol and textile fibres, the company also plans to produce chemicals and cosmetics from byproducts. Thus besides creating wealth out of agriculture waste, the project would contribute to reducing carbon emissions and climate action which has been adopted as SDG 13 (Sustainable Development Goal) by the United Nations for the year 2030 (SDG 2030).

For more news and views on waste management, please visit Live Discourse on Waste Management Series of Summits (WMSS 2020) being organized by Indus Exposium on 30th - 31st January 2020 in New Delhi.