Thiruvananthapuram: CSIR-NIIST on Thursday, July 2, said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Hyderabad-based biotech startup for a consultancy project that aims to evaluate the technical and commercial feasibility of producing ethanol from a wide range of seasonal fruits available in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The project is titled — “Pilot-Scale and Feasibility Studies for the Production of Ethanol from Fruit Pulp and Juices” — the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR–NIIST) said in a statement.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed between CSIR-NIIST and Hyderabad-based 3CousinLabs (3CL) was a significant step towards promoting sustainable biofuel production and value addition to horticultural produce, the statement said.

The MoU was exchanged between Dr C Anandharamakrishnan, Director, CSIR–NIIST, and P Srinivas, Managing Director of 3CousinLabs, in the presence of scientists from CSIR–NIIST and representatives of the startup company, it said.

Innovative method developed to convert fruit pulp, juice into ethanol

It further said that the biotech and agricultural-tech startup, 3CL, has developed an innovative process for converting fruit pulp and juices into ethanol and has partnered with CSIR–NIIST to undertake pilot-scale validation, process optimisation and scale-up studies before commercial deployment.

“Under the project, CSIR–NIIST will conduct pilot-scale trials in batches of 150–200 litres, generating critical engineering and process data required for technology validation, scale-up and techno-economic assessment.

“The studies are expected to facilitate the establishment of commercially viable decentralised bioethanol production units based on regionally available seasonal fruits,” the statement said.

The initiative offers a sustainable solution for utilising surplus, unsold and processing-grade fruits that often remain underutilised or are lost due to their perishable nature, it said.

Project can reduce post-harvest losses

By converting such fruits into value-added bioethanol, the project has the potential to significantly reduce post-harvest losses, improve resource efficiency and create an additional revenue stream for fruit growers and farmer-producer organisations, it further said.

The collaboration is also aligned with the Indian government Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme, which promotes diversification of feedstocks for ethanol production while strengthening the nation’s renewable energy ecosystem, the statement said.

Beyond its environmental benefits, the project is expected to enhance rural livelihoods by creating new market opportunities for seasonal fruits, stabilising farmers’ income and encouraging value addition within the horticulture sector, it said.

The initiative also promotes the principles of the circular economy by transforming agricultural surplus and potential waste into a clean and renewable source of energy, it added.

By combining industrial innovation with CSIR–NIIST’s pilot-scale infrastructure and process engineering capabilities, the project is expected to pave the way for commercialisation of sustainable fruit-based bio-ethanol technologies in India, it said.

Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News, Technology, Entertainment, Sports, Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS.