Bathinda, Oct. 31 -- An advanced Rs.1,400-crore second-generation (2G) bioethanol plant set up by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) in Bathinda is entering its final trial phase, marking a leap in commercial stubble management. Located at Nasibpura village, the landmark facility-India's first 2G bio-refinery-is designed to process two lakh tonnes of paddy straw annually into fuel-grade bioethanol once fully operational. Project officials say construction is virtually complete, with test runs scheduled to begin in December and full commissioning targeted between December and March 2027. "This is a pioneer project utilising technology for the first time in India. Commissioning operations start in December, with full-line testing expected to take two to three months," a senior project official said on condition of anonymity. The plant uses advanced lignocellulosic conversion technology to process agricultural residue into fuel. According to a bio-energy technical expert, raw paddy straw undergoes pre-treatment to break down complex plant matter into simple sugars. These sugars are then fermented using microbial strains, distilled, and purified into high-grade ethanol for petrol blending. Abhijeet Kaplish, the chief executive officer of the Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), emphasises the multi-level impact of large-scale bioethanol infrastructure. "Beyond curbing stubble burning and seasonal air pollution, these bio-refineries lower greenhouse gas emissions, cut dependence on imported crude, and build a sustainable supply chain for farm waste," Kaplish said. When asked about the expected annual revenue or petrol-blending output value once the 100 KL per day capacity is fully implemented, officials familiar with the project's development clarified that revenue generation was not the primary benchmark. Instead, the plant was conceptualised as a pilot project solely to use modern technology to contribute to paddy stubble management, allowing other sectors to adopt similar initiatives and offering a scalable solution for biomass usage across industries. Designed to operate at a capacity of 100 kilolitres (KL) of ethanol a day, the plant requires 570 metric tonnes of paddy straw daily to function at peak output. HPCL began sourcing stubble in 2023, aggregating approximately 1.25 lakh tonnes of crop residue across the previous two kharif seasons. However, procurement was paused for the current harvest as the facility recalibrates for system testing and machinery alignment ahead of full-scale operations. Regarding the purchase rate per quintal or tonne for paddy straw once commercial procurement resumes next season, HPCL will decide the fixed purchase rates at the point of purchase next year. In the meantime, HPCL stores the 1.25 lakh tonnes of paddy straw collected over 2023and 2024 in an open yard atNasibpura....