HPCL signs MOU with TNAU

India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. (HPCL) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) for sugarcane development activities in the east and west Champaran districts of Bihar. The MoU broadly covered development activities like technology for higher cane productivity, higher percentage recovery of sugar, introduction of new high ethanol yielding variety of seeds, developing an R&D Centre, establishing a model farm and continuous educational programs for farmers. TNAU Director, Centre for Soil and Crop Management Studies, S. Jeyaraman said that HPCL was planning to set up a first of a kind project, which would convert sugarcane juice directly into ethanol in sugar mills at Sugauli and Lauriya. The project was envisaged to have a crushing capacity of 3,500 tons per day. It includes setting up a 60 kiloliter distillery unit for producing ethanol, along with a 20 MW cogeneration plant where surplus power would be exported. (August 26, 2009)