Praj Industries develops new technology for producing bio-bitumen

Praj Industries has developed an innovative technology for producing bio-bitumen based on lignin, a co-product resulting from the second generation ethanol plants, paper making, and compressed biogas plants.

The Indian industrial biotech company said that Netherlands-based Circular Biobased Delta (CBBD), as a part of its flagship CHAPLIN program, has approved the former’s bio-bitumen samples processed from purified lignin.

Praj Industries had supplied bio-bitumen samples to Circular Biobased Delta, which were processed from rice and wheat straw as feedstock in its 2G Biorefinery Demo plant in India for testing and evaluation. Circular Biobased Delta is said to have approved the bio-bitumen samples for scale up in Asphalt on a Dutch test strip on the road, following comprehensive evaluation and studies in their advanced laboratories.

Dr. Ir. Willem L. Sederel – Chairman of Circular Biobased Delta said: “We are very positive about the results of Praj’s Bio-bitumen samples based on our lab trials. We have now requested Praj to provide larger quantity of samples for constructing a road strip for test in the Netherlands.

“We firmly believe increasing value for lignin derived Bio-bitumen will allow improving the biobased business and stimulate economic activities such as processing of agri residues & its applications, biorefineries, and Bio-bitumen.”

Praj Industries develops new technology for producing bio-bitumen for road construction. Photo courtesy of Erika Varga from Pixabay.

Bitumen, which is a black viscous mixture of hydrocarbons, is produced by fractionating crude oil. It is widely used in road construction and roofing as binder.

Praj Industries said that its technology converts the crude lignin into bio-bitumen which can potentially replace the fossil based bitumen and provide eco-friendly green bitumen. The industrial biotech company said that the bio-bitumen’s binding and viscoelastic properties make it useful for applications in asphalt.

Dr. Pramod Chaudhari – Founder Chairman of Praj Industries said: “We are delighted to receive certificate of approval from Circular Biobased Delta for Bio-bitumen samples produced by deploying our proprietary process technology. We understand that Praj is the first Asian company to have developed Bio-bitumen that has the potential to partially replace bitumen from fossil resources.

“Bio-bitumen is poised to play a significant role as road construction material while curbing CO2 emissions and boosting Bioeconomy. This reaffirms our strong belief in innovation and technology leadership in the industrial biotech space globally.”