Expert Lecture
On 8th March 2022, Chemical Engineering Department, MJP Rohilkhand University Bareilly, organized an expert lecture delivered by Er. R. K. Gupta, Senior executive vice president (works),
Dwarikesh Sugar Industries Limited, on “Production of Sugar and production of Ethanol using byproducts”.
The outcome of the Expert lecture :
Sugar production:
Er. Ravi Kumar Gupta gave a brief idea of the sugar production in Dwarikesh Sugar Industries Limited. It is an India-based company engaged in the business of manufacturing and sale of sugar,
co-generation of power, and industrial alcohol. The Company operates under the brand name Bundki. From a humble beginning in 1993 when they commissioned their first plant of 2500 TCD at Bijnor
district of Uttar Pradesh. Sugarcane has about 10% to 12% of sugar; about 4% to 5% of molasses; about 3% to 4% of press mud, approximately 30% of bagasse fiber, and the rest is water so, higher
the crushing higher the generation of bagasse and therefore higher generation of the higher evacuation of power. Sugar is manufactured by using crushers and is subjected to a simple juice
defecation process, sulphitation (a process of cane juice by employing lime and Sulphur Di Oxide), and clarification (the clarification of sugarcane juice occurs by coagulation, flocculation,
and precipitation of the collides and pigmented substances, which are later eliminated by decanting and filtration), boiled to the consistency of a thick syrup, and allowed to stand until
sugar crystals are formed. The sugar crystals and mother liquor are separated. The sugar crystals have been centrifuged and dried. The mother liquor which is known as molasses sent to the
distillery for ethanol production. The company's plants with a combined capacity of 21500 tons of sugar per day are located in the Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh at Dwarikesh Nagar (Najibabad)
Dwarikesh Puram (Afzalgarh) and Dwarikesh Dham Tehsil Faridpur District- Bareilly. Their associated companies and organizations are also active in New Delhi and Rajasthan and have distinct
identities in the fields they operate in.
Ethanol production: Er. RKG touched on ethanol production in Dwarikesh sugar industries Limited. Ethanol is generally manufactured by fermentation of molasses by yeast followed by rectification.
Ethanol is primarily used as blending fuel, liquor, and in the pharmaceutical industry. He also discussed the other countries like Brazil which only uses motor spirit and ethanol as fuel. For
every 100 liters of molasses, 32.48 liters of ethanol is produced. Ethanol, a by-product of the sugar industry, is a good oxygenate and, when used as a blend with motor spirit, substantially
reduces vehicular emissions and the resultant pollution. With the increasing demand for this by-product, they are looking at ethanol production as one of the major thrust areas for the future.
Ethanol is one of the additives in petrol. The mixing of ethanol with petrol has been made mandatory in almost all states of India. The government of India is keen to increase the mixing percentage
from 5% to 10% and that too in all states of India. According to a report by HDFC securities, ethanol is set to become a stable revenue stream for the sugar industry because the global trend of
using a greater percentage of ethanol in petroleum will catch up in India. The government has resolved to meet the target of 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2025. Earlier the resolve was to
achieve the target by 2030 which is now preponed by 5 years. The molasses is diluted with water at desired Brix, nutrients and yeast culture are added, the yeast cells convert the available sugar
into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. The available ethyl alcohol is separated and concentrated by a distillation plant.
Molasses, one of the by-products in the sugar industry is a dark, viscous by-product and has nearly 45-50% of fermentable sugar. In a distillery, molasses is fermented, distilled to manufacture
industrial alcohol. Industrial alcohol in turn can further be used for the manufacture of IMFL and country liquor.
30 KL per day of industrial alcohol unit had commenced production in February 2005. Now a new 100-kilo liter per day (KLPD) distillery at its Dwarikesh Nagar unit, Bundki, in Bijnor District of
Uttar Pradesh. He stated that the Rs 145 crore projects, commenced late last year, use state-of-the-art technology, besides having facilities for wastewater recovery and zero liquid discharge.
This expansion comes at a time the Indian sugar business is undergoing a paradigm shift. The distillery capacity expansion will increase Dwarikesh Sugar's ethanol production and strengthen forward
integration. Besides, this initiative will enable the company to optimize the use of molasses generated within its cane crushing facilities and help moderate the impact of volatility of the sugar sector.
He also mentioned that the ethanol capacity expansion will help in strengthening the sugar manufacturing business and is in line with their vision to expand the business vertically while creating a
multi-product foundation. The capital expenditure of approximately Rs. 145 crores will enable benefits to accrue across the foreseeable future.
RKG also stated that with certain add-on facilities the industrial alcohol can be further refined to produce absolute alcohol or gasohol, an eco-friendly substitute for fuel to be used in
petrol- driven vehicles. The use of gasohol as a substitute for fuel offers an exciting opportunity to conserve the scarce foreign exchange reserves of the country.
Wastewater treatment: RKG conveyed that Dwarikesh Sugar Industries Ltd have facilities for wastewater recovery and zero liquid discharge. He also discussed how they are recycling 90- 95%
of water which is used in a process using double stage RO process. They introduced advanced technology ozonation for water purification which stops microbial growth in water. The annual
report of Dwarikesh sugar Ltd described record output, significant recovery improvement, and sectoral pole position.
Er. Ravi Kumar Gupta’s encyclopedic knowledge of sugar and ethanol production came to the fore at question time. Students gained vital knowledge on the subject during the lecture.
Great knowledge and informative lecture.
Dr. M.S.Karuna, Incharge, was profusely thankful to Er. Ravi Kumar Gupta for sharing his rich first-hand knowledge and experience with us.
Event coordinator Ms. Hiba Roshan (Guest faculty) and student volunteers Ms.Kaynat Khan (II year B.Tech Chemical Engineering), Ms. Shagun Tiwari (IV year B.Tech Chemical Engineering),
and Mr. Kunal Singh (III year B.Tech Chemical Engineering) took an active part in the successful conduction of this expert lecture.
Note***: In allopathy, ethanol acts as a base medicine
Compiled by : Mrs. Lopamudra Das (Guest faculty)
Ms. Sugra Khatoon (Guest faculty)