IndianOil and LanzaTech to set up world's first refinery off gas-to-bioethanol plant 

IndianOil Corporation, India's flagship national oil company, and carbon recycling company LanzaTech have signed a statement of intent to construct the world's first refinery off gas-to-bioethanol production facility in India.

LanzaTech has developed a gas fermentation process to make fuels and chemicals. Instead of sugars and yeast, the company uses a biological catalyst to ferment waste gas emissions.

The potential impact of using off-gases from the refining sector in India is considerable. The country would be able to produce 40-50 KMTA of ethanol per refinery while saving about 1 million tonnes of CO2 per annum. This is the equivalent emissions savings as taking 850,000 cars off the road in India each year. 

The large volume of waste gas produced at industrial facilities such as refineries cannot be stored or transported; instead, it must be combusted to make power locally and emitted as carbon dioxide (CO2). Power can be carbon-free, and in India today, the cost of renewable power has fallen below the cost of coal, accelerating the transition to a carbon-free grid.

LanzaTech's technology allows refineries to divert waste gases from the grid, supporting the transition to fully renewable power while recycling this carbon into liquid fuels and petrochemicals.

Enabling substantial greenhouse gas reduction
IndianOil says it has selected the LanzaTech technology which enables the beneficial reuse of carbon-rich off-gases for the production of ethanol. The ethanol produced from the recycling of refinery off-gases is expected to have a greenhouse gas emissions savings of over 70 percent compared to conventional petrol. 

The basic engineering for the 40 million litres (35 K MTA) per annum demonstration facility will begin later this year for installation at IndianOil's Panipat Refinery in Haryana, at an estimated cost of Rs 350 crore. It will be integrated into existing site infrastructure and will be LanzaTech's first project capturing refinery off-gases. LanzaTech's first commercial facility converting waste emissions from steel production to ethanol will come online in China in late 2017.

"India is on track to exceed its Paris commitments,” said India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan. “This is thanks to investment in novel low-carbon technologies such as this project between IndianOil and LanzaTech. It is promising to see carbon turned from a liability into an opportunity, where we can reduce emissions, maximise resources and decarbonise our economy.”

“Innovation is one of IndianOil's core values as evidenced by our continued investment in our R&D and engineering teams,” said Sanjiv Singh, chairman, IndianOil. “Innovation helps us learn and grow and this project at the Panipat Refinery enables us to continue to move forward with our commitment to build a strong sustainable business that demonstrates concern for society and the environment. The biofuels we will be able to produce will support the requirements for motor spirit blends set by the government of India while enabling IndianOil to add value while reducing its emissions.”

“India is leading a transformational shift which balances industrial growth with the needs of society and the environment,” said Dr Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech. “Changes in the energy paradigm pose a serious challenge for energy companies. We are very proud to be working with IndianOil as it plans the first deployment of LanzaTech technology in one of its major refineries, demonstrating the broad applicability of emissions recycling across industrial sectors, beyond steel.”