Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), in partnership with Finnish companies Fortum and Chempolis Oy, has inaugurated a bioethanol plant at Golaghat district, Assam, with an investment of about INR 50 billion. The facility, inaugurated on 14 September 2025, has an annual production capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes of ethanol, 19,000 metric tonnes of furfural, 11,000 metric tonnes of acetic acid, and 31,000 metric tonnes of food-grade liquid carbon dioxide.
The plant, registered as a joint venture in 2018, will use 500,000 tonnes of bamboo annually as feedstock. NRL stated that this is expected to generate around INR 2 billion each year in rural economic activity by engaging bamboo farmers in the region. The facility will also produce 25 MW of green electricity.
Munters has supplied mass transfer equipment to support distillation and absorption processes at the refinery. The company said the equipment is used for separating and purifying chemical components. Sujata Wuthoo, Head of Munters Clean Technologies in India, said: “Bamboo is a very sustainable way to produce ethanol. It grows fast and does not take land from food production.”
Thermax has provided a 25 MW combined heat and power (CHP) plant for the facility. Installed on a turnkey engineering, procurement and construction basis, the system is capable of running on multiple fuels, including bio-coal, a by-product of ethanol generation. According to the company, the plant has been synchronised to supply both power and heat for operations.
The project is aligned with India’s National Policy on Biofuels 2018 and aims to expand renewable energy production. Bioethanol from the plant is produced from bamboo, which is a non-food crop with high lignocellulose content suited for second-generation biofuels. In addition to ethanol, furfural and acetic acid will be supplied to industrial sectors, while food-grade carbon dioxide will be available for beverage applications.
The Assam government is supporting the supply chain through the distribution of bamboo saplings to farmers and the establishment of decentralised bamboo chipping units.
Numaligarh Refinery Limited is a public sector oil refinery based in Assam. The company operates refining facilities and has expanded into petrochemicals and renewable energy projects through joint ventures.
