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Second-generation (2G) ethanol from crop residue
What it is
Second-generation biofuel makes ethanol from agricultural residue - straw, bagasse, husk - rather than from food crops such as sugarcane or maize. It avoids the food-versus-fuel conflict but requires enzymatic or thermochemical conversion of cellulose
Plants are far more complex and capital-intensive than conventional distilleries
Impact on industries
- Directly addresses the feedstock conflict that E20 created, where maize diversion raised costs for starch and poultry feed
- Equipment content per litre is far higher than 1G, so a smaller volume opportunity carries a larger order value
- Crop residue is currently burned in the field, so the feedstock is genuinely surplus and addresses stubble-burning pollution
- Technology is unproven at commercial scale in India, with completed plants running below design capacity
- Residue collection, storage and transport logistics are the practical constraint rather than the conversion technology