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‘Sugar industry waste can be converted into eco-friendly fuel’

* PU professor says fuel obtained from molasses cheaper

Staff Report

LAHORE: Molasses, a waste material of sugar industries, can be converted into bio-diesel and used as a fuel in vehicles, said Punjab University Science Dean Prof Dr Jamil Anwar Chaudhry, according to a press release issued on Saturday.

Fuel: He said that the fuel obtained would be cheaper and would cause 70 percent less pollution than other fuels. Dr Jamil said that about 80 percent vehicles in Brazil used this fuel. He said that the Punjab University Institute of Chemistry was experimenting on ethyl alcohol, obtained from molasses, to produce bio-diesel. Dr Jamil said that the chemical industry was obtaining molasses from the sugar industry, converting it into ethyl alcohol, and exporting it. He said that the Crystalline Chemical Industries of Sargodha were worth mentioning in this regard. He said that there was a need for educating the sugar industry. He said that the government had earlier introduced ECO-I Fuel as an experiment, but it could not be developed, because it had not been advertised. The project had been stopped, he added. Dr Jamil said the institute had the capacity to provide technical consultancy for cleaning wastewater. He said that 72 research papers of the faculty of the institute of chemistry had been published in international research journals last year.

Institute’s Scientific Officer Waheeduz Zaman said the institute had been playing an important role in facilitating industries by overcoming environmental and water pollution. He said that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had certified the institute’s analytical laboratory and all the industries were getting their wastewater tested from the lab. He said that experiments had been made on the recycling of used plastic bottles and shopping bags, according to international standards, adding that if they proved to be fruitful, they could be helpful in reducing imports and environmental pollution. The PU Institute of Chemistry was also working on saving marine life from the harmful effects of polluted water of the industries by utilising wheat straw, rice husk, corncob and low quality coal, he said.

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