Praj Industries, the global process engineering and solutions provider for biofuels, alcohol and brewery, water and wastewater and process equipment globally, announced major order gain for an ethanol plant from Riopaila Castilla SA, a large conglomerate with interests in sugar production, confectionary, food processing, etc.

The order worth $20 million (INR 109 crore) includes state-of-the-art process plant for production of 400,000 liters per day of ethanol using sugar cane juice and molasses-B at their sugar plant at La Paila in the Valle del Cauca region of Colombia. The delivery is expected to be completed within one year. The plant will use PRAJ's cutting edge technology including vacuum distillation and thermal integration with vinasse evaporation to use very low pressure vapor from the cane juice evaporators for producing ethanol with a very low production of vinasse at less than 0.7 liters per liter of Ethanol

With this order, Praj has retained market share of 100 percent in Colombia. This is the seventh ethanol plant being installed by Praj. 

The Colombian Ethanol program has been one of the most successful in South, Central America (outside Brazil).  The entire program is being supplied by plants based on Praj's ethanol technology.  Colombia current ethanol mandate of 10 percent will eventually go up to 20 percent blending.

Recently Praj has successfully commissioned a 150,000 liter-per-day corn-to-ethanol plant for Vicentin SAIC.  This plant located in the Santa Fe province of Argentina is one of the first new generation plants to be commissioned for fuel ethanol production in Argentina. Vicentin's plant incorporates thermally integrated vacuum distillation and the low pressure steam enables co-generation simultaneously.  This ensures lowest energy foot print for the plant.  Argentina has announced a mandate to blend fuel ethanol with gasoline. Praj is partnering Companies in developing projects that will make Argentina self-reliant in their energy consumption.