India imports fossil energy to feed itself.
We think that should end.
Project BioUrea™ replaces imported fossil hydrogen with domestically produced renewable hydrogen from bioethanol — creating a decentralized, circular fertilizer ecosystem, built on a technology platform we call ETHANABER™.
India's food security runs on a molecule it doesn't control
Although India manufactures most of its urea domestically, the hydrogen that goes into it comes almost entirely from natural gas — which makes the country's entire fertilizer sector structurally dependent on imported LNG and global energy markets. That single fact creates five compounding problems.
India's first integrated renewable nitrogen platform
Instead of importing natural gas to make hydrogen, we produce renewable hydrogen from bioethanol and convert it into renewable ammonia and BioUrea™ using fermentation-derived biogenic CO₂. Same fertilizer. Different molecule of origin.
Four kinds of return on one platform
Economic
Multiple high-value products from the same biomass. Reduced LNG dependence. Additional rural industrial revenue. Diversified sugar and ethanol income.
Agricultural
Locally manufactured renewable fertilizer. Strengthened fertilizer security. Decentralized production, closer to farms.
Strategic
Reduced dependence on imported energy. More domestic value addition. Resilience against geopolitical disruption. Aligned with Atmanirbhar Bharat and bioeconomy goals.
Environmental
Renewable hydrogen replaces fossil hydrogen. Fermentation-derived CO₂ is utilized, not vented. Bagasse-based steam and power. ~65,000 tCO₂e avoided annually per complex.
One complex. Five products. A closed loop.
Every number below is explained, not just displayed — read on for why each one matters.
There's a different way to grow nitrogen.
Project BioUrea™ turns sugarcane into renewable ethyl acetate, green hydrogen, green ammonia and green urea — with no natural gas, no imported LNG, and no acetic acid anywhere in the process. Here's why it matters.
A war 3,000 km away can change the cost of feeding a billion people.
Every tonne of India's urea begins with hydrogen made from natural gas — and two-thirds of that gas comes from imports. When one shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz becomes unstable, the price of feeding India moves within weeks. No drought. No crop failure. No change in Indian farming. Fertilizer prices still nearly triple.
What this actually is worth
Explore each dimension — mass, energy, economics, carbon — via the Project+ menu above.
The route that keeps both sugar and fertilizer alive
Three cane-to-ethanol routes were evaluated. B-heavy molasses is the balance point — a genuine sugar business alongside the chemicals platform, at a realistic mill scale.
| Route | L Ethanol / t Cane | Cane Required | Acreage | Sugar Co-Produced | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-Heavy Molasses | 10.8 | 1.83M t | 56,559 ac | 210,800 t | Sugar-dominant, mill ~7× larger |
| B-Heavy Molasses — SELECTED | 21.75 | 910,345 t | 28,097 ac | 86,483 t | Balanced — matches your visuals |
| Full Juice / Syrup | 84 | 235,714 t | 7,272 ac | 0 t | No sugar business at all |
15 process blocks, two integrated stages
ETHANABER™ catalytic dehydrogenation through to BioUrea™ prilling. Click any diagram to zoom into individual process blocks.
The diagram below is the full ETHANABER™ and BioUrea™ complex, laid out block by block exactly as it would be built. Ethanol comes in on the left; it passes through catalytic dehydrogenation (Block 3, the core proprietary step), separation, and hydrogen purification to yield ethyl acetate and hydrogen. In parallel, fermentation CO₂ and nitrogen feed the ammonia and urea trains along the bottom row, closing the loop from raw biomass to bagged fertilizer. The utilities and offsite facilities strips at the base are the supporting infrastructure every one of those blocks depends on — steam, cooling water, DM water, and the workshop, warehouse and control room that keep the plant running day to day.
Block 3 — Catalytic Dehydrogenation
Fixed-bed tubular reactor, copper / copper-chromite catalyst. 240–270°C, 10–20 bar, 1–3 sec residence. Converts ethanol directly to ethyl acetate + hydrogen. No acetic acid in the reaction at all.
Block 6 — Hydrogen Purification
Pressure swing adsorption, dryer, buffer vessel. Nameplate 2.05 TPD (677 t/yr gross). This dashboard uses the PSA-corrected 647 t/yr net figure downstream — 95% recovery, applied consistently.
Block 13 — BioUrea™ Plant
HP reactor, carbamate condenser + stripper, decomposer, evaporator, vacuum concentrator, prilling. Output 46% N BioUrea™, identical spec to conventional urea — drop-in for the farmer.
Two stages, itemised
This second diagram breaks the same complex down by what it actually takes to build it — the equipment list per stage, the shared utilities every stage draws on, and the material mix (carbon steel, stainless, duplex, alloy) that determines both cost and corrosion resistance. Read alongside the equipment cost table below, it shows where the money and the metallurgy actually go.
Class-5 equipment cost, by process section
Order-of-magnitude estimate (±50%), built from standard sizing heuristics on our own mass balance — vendor quotes required before financing.
| Section | Fab. Steel | Key equipment |
|---|---|---|
| 1. ETHANABER reactor train | 40.3 t | Dehydrogenation reactors (×2), Cu-Cr catalyst |
| 2. Separation / distillation | 77.4 t | Recycle + purification columns (azeotrope duty) |
| 3. Hydrogen purification | — | PSA package + H₂ compressor to 150–200 bar |
| 4. Ammonia synthesis | 89.5 t | Syngas compressor, Fe-catalyst converter, ASU |
| 5. Urea synthesis & finishing | 57.9 t | Ti-clad reactor + stripper, granulator |
| 6. CO₂ recovery & liquefaction | 62.6 t | Scrubber, compressor, food-grade bottling |
| 7. Storage & utilities | 163.2 t | Tankage, cooling tower, DCS/PLC |
| Total Purchased Equipment | 490.8 t | ₹31.11 Cr |
| Total Installed (Lang 3.5–4.5×) | ~1,915–2,514 t | incl. structural + piping steel — cost pending vendor quotes |
Four reactions govern the whole complex
Every downstream number is stoichiometry applied to the stage before it — not a market estimate. Molar masses: ethanol 46.07, EtAc 88.11, H₂ 2.016, CO₂ 44.01, NH₃ 17.03, urea 60.06.
B-Heavy chain — cane to ethanol
| Stream | Value | Calculation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugarcane crushed | 910,345 t/yr | 19.8M L ÷ 21.75 L/t cane | Cross-checked |
| Sugar co-produced | 86,483 t/yr | 910,345 × 95 kg/t cane | Cross-checked |
| Ethanol plant capacity | 15,622 t/yr | 60,000 L/d × 0.789 × 330 d | 330-day basis |
| Cane acreage required | 28,097 ac | 910,345 ÷ 32.4 t/acre | Cross-checked |
ETHANABER™ → BioUrea™ — the full chain
| Stream | Value | Calculation | vs. Visual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethyl acetate | 14,883 t/yr | 50,000 L/d × 0.902 × 330 d | Matches exactly |
| Ethanol required | 15,881 t/yr | 14,883 × (2×46.07÷88.11) ÷ 0.98 | 259 t/yr (1.7%) above distillery capacity |
| Hydrogen, gross | 681 t/yr | 14,883 × (2×2.016÷88.11) | Visual: 677 t / 2.05 TPD — matches |
| Hydrogen, usable | 647 t/yr | 681 × 95% PSA recovery | PSA loss applied |
| Fermentation CO₂, recovered | 13,431 t/yr | 14,923 gross × 90% capture | Capture eff. applied |
| Green ammonia | 3,534 t/yr | 647 × (2×17.03÷3×2.016) × 0.97 | Visual: 11.6 TPD — uses gross H₂ |
| BioUrea™ | 6,108 t/yr | 3,534 × (60.06÷2×17.03) × 0.98 | Visual: 6,105 t — matches |
| CO₂ to urea | 4,567 t/yr | 3,534 × (44.01÷2×17.03) | — |
| CO₂ surplus (food grade / dry ice) | 8,864 t/yr | 13,431 − 4,567 | Visual: 9,940 — likely omits capture eff. |
Circularity — it grows more than it consumes
Powered entirely by the cane's own bagasse
No coal, no grid dependency for the core process — the biomass the mill already produces runs the whole cascade.
| Consumer | Basis | MWh/yr |
|---|---|---|
| Ethyl acetate — thermal (steam) | 14,883 t × 1,200 kWh-th/t | 17,860 |
| Ethyl acetate — electrical | 14,883 t × 150 kWh-e/t | 2,232 |
| Ammonia loop + ASU | 3,534 t × 750 kWh-e/t | 2,651 |
| Urea granulation | 6,108 t × 180 kWh-e/t | 1,099 |
| CO₂ liquefaction | 8,864 t × 100 kWh-e/t | 886 |
| Total thermal demand | 17,860 | |
| Total electrical demand | 6,869 |
Is the bagasse enough?
Total bagasse energy pool
910,345 t × 29% yield = 264,000 t bagasse/yr. At 7.37 GJ/t and 80% boiler efficiency:
New cascade needs
The whole ETHANABER + ammonia + urea + CO₂ cascade, together:
Net energy position
Per-plant P&L, every line shown
Toggle the ethanol sourcing scenario — it's the single biggest lever in the entire project.
Ethyl acetate — full build
| Line | Calculation | Open Market | Fwd-Integrated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 14,883t × ₹104,000 | ₹154.8 Cr | ₹154.8 Cr |
| Ethanol feedstock | 20.13M L × price | ₹130.8 Cr | ₹104.7 Cr |
| Utilities | steam + power | ₹3.8 Cr | ₹3.8 Cr |
| Opex (11% of rev) | catalyst+labour+maint | ₹17.0 Cr | ₹17.0 Cr |
| EBITDA | ₹3.1 Cr (2.0%) | ₹29.3 Cr (18.9%) |
BioUrea™ — fully-loaded OPEX
| Item | Conservative | Adjusted | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity | ₹2.62 Cr | ₹2.62 Cr | NH₃ loop + granulation, rebuilt |
| Labour | ₹1.60 Cr | ₹1.07 Cr | ⅓ shared with EtAc crew |
| Packaging | ₹1.50 Cr | ₹0.38 Cr | Bulk vs. retail bagging |
| Maintenance | ₹1.30 Cr | ₹0.87 Cr | Shared overhead |
| Steam | ₹1.20 Cr | ₹1.20 Cr | |
| Nitrogen (ASU) | ₹1.11 Cr | ₹1.11 Cr | |
| Carbon Dioxide | ₹0.91 Cr | ₹0.91 Cr | Corrected from a 10× error |
| Administration | ₹0.80 Cr | ₹0.53 Cr | |
| Chemicals | ₹0.60 Cr | ₹0.45 Cr | Catalyst line stripped |
| Cooling + DM water | ₹0.60 Cr | ₹0.60 Cr | |
| Total OPEX | ₹12.25 Cr | ₹9.74 Cr | |
| EBITDA (Rev ₹22.6 Cr) | ₹10.4 Cr (46%) | ₹12.9 Cr (57%) |
BioUrea™ at real market economics — subsidy-inclusive revenue
Everything above prices BioUrea™ at a flat ₹37,000/t "equivalent value." But if BioUrea™ is sold into the same system as conventional urea, its true realized revenue is farmer MRP + government subsidy — the full amount a urea producer actually receives, which moves with global gas prices exactly as shown on the Fossil Reality tab. Here's what that does to the numbers.
| Scenario | Realized Price/t | BioUrea™ Revenue | OPEX | BioUrea™ EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal market (worst case) | ₹25,300–28,650 | ₹15.5–17.5 Cr | ₹12.25 Cr | ₹3.2 Cr |
| Crisis market (best case) | ₹65,300–66,850 | ₹39.9–40.8 Cr | ₹9.74 Cr | ₹31.1 Cr |
Ethyl acetate + BioUrea™ — combined profit, worst & best case
Sugar, CO₂ & power — the three upside lines
A net-positive carbon story
Engineering-level screening estimate, not a certified LCA. Every figure traces to the mass and energy balance.
This chart lays out where the carbon avoidance actually comes from — not as one number, but as four separate pathways that each get compared against their fossil equivalent: ethyl acetate against the petrochemical route, hydrogen against steam methane reforming, ammonia and urea against the gas-based process, and biogenic CO₂ utilization against venting it. Adding those four together, with a wide low-to-high range reflecting real uncertainty in emission factors, is how the ~65,000 tCO₂e/yr midpoint figure used throughout this dashboard is built.
| Avoided Pathway | Low | Mid | High | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethyl acetate vs. fossil route | 26,800 | 34,200 | 41,700 | 14,883t × 1.8–2.8 kgCO₂e/kg |
| BioUrea™ vs. grey urea | 11,000 | 15,300 | 19,500 | 6,108t × 1.8–3.2 tCO₂e/t |
| Steam, bagasse vs. coal | — | 6,250 | — | 17,860 MWh × 0.35 |
| Electricity, bagasse vs. grid | — | 4,900 | — | 6,869 MWh × 0.71 |
| Subtotal — production only | 48,900 | 60,600 | 72,300 | |
| + Urea field hydrolysis (biogenic C) | +4,500 | 6,108t × 0.733 (IPCC) | ||
| Total, all boundaries | 53,400 | ~65,100 | 76,800 | |
A war 3,000 km away changes the cost of Indian food
The policy case for this project, in the Government of India's own budget numbers.
This is the structural problem in one picture: India's gas-based urea plants need 46–50 MMSCMD of natural gas, but domestic production supplies only 14–17 MMSCMD — roughly a third. The rest is imported, which means the price of feeding India is only ever as stable as the shipping route the gas travels on. The infographic below shows what happens to that price when the route isn't stable: LNG more than doubling during the 2026 West Asia crisis, and urea's landed cost following it almost exactly.
Here's the mechanism behind that number, made concrete. The farmer's price at the counter — ₹5,360 per tonne — hasn't moved since March 2018, regardless of what's happening in global gas markets. Every rupee of difference between that fixed price and the real cost of production is absorbed by the government as subsidy. In a stable year that gap is already large; in a crisis year, it more than doubles. The farmer never sees the volatility — the exchequer absorbs all of it.
| Scenario | Cost/tonne | Farmer Pays | Subsidy Gap | Govt. Absorbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal market | ₹25,300–28,650 | ₹5,360 | ₹19,950–23,290 | ~80% |
| Crisis (Apr 2026, West Asia) | ₹65,300–66,850 | ₹5,360 | ₹59,960–61,490 | ~92% |
What one plant saves the exchequer
From cane to clean fertilizer — all indigenous, all renewable
The full B-heavy loop from your visual, cross-checked against this dashboard's independent recalculation.
This is the full B-heavy loop in one image, start to finish: sugarcane in, sugar and B-heavy molasses split out, molasses fermented into ethanol, ethanol split between the ETHANABER™ and BioUrea™ stages, and CO₂ recovered and recycled back into the urea plant rather than vented. Every figure on it is cross-checked against the independent recalculation in the tables below — this is the same route, just drawn as a single continuous story instead of a spreadsheet.
Application rate — verified for sugarcane
| Application Rate | Acreage Fertilized | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 150 kg/acre/yr | 40,700 acres | Mid-range Indian agronomy for cane — matches visual |
| 250 kg/acre/yr | 24,420 acres | Heavier dose for high-yield cane |
Real assets, real progress, on the ground today
50 KLPD Ethyl Acetate manufacturing plant — SUPA MIDC, Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra, Plot F10. This is not a concept — civil works, fabricated equipment and site infrastructure are already in place.
What's already built & on-site
| Asset | Specification | Status |
|---|---|---|
| MIDC Plot | 2.5 acres, Plot F10, SUPA MIDC, Ahilyanagar | Acquired |
| Distillation Structure | 16×16m, G+3, steel frame on RCC plinth | Erected |
| Storage Shed | 40×30m = 1,200 sq.m, steel truss, full roof | Roofed |
| Distillation Columns (×3) | Esterifier 1,600mm SS316 · Separator 1,450mm SS304 · Purifier 1,350mm SS304 · ~₹2 Cr of the ₹4 Cr+ total | Fabricated, on site |
| Underground RCC Tanks (×3) | 500m³ each, 1,500m³ total, for ethanol/AA/EA | Civil in progress |
| Thermic Fluid Boiler | 15×17m section, primary heating for distillation | 50% advance paid |
| Solvent Recovery Equipment | Balance of the ₹4 Cr+ fabricated equipment total | Fabricated & on site |
~50% PHYSICAL PLANT COMPLETION · SUPA MIDC, AHILYANAGAR
Twin reactor setup — kinetics already done
Ahead of any commercial-scale commitment, process kinetics and scale-up studies have already been run at pilot scale on this exact twin-reactor rig — de-risking the commercial design before it's built.
The Minds Engineering the Future
Three specialists, one mission — combining breakthrough engineering, commercial execution, and sustainability strategy to build technologies that redefine water, chemicals, energy, and industrial decarbonization.
Meet the people behind ECOICE
- Business Development & Market Strategy
- Strategic Partnerships & Tech Commercialization
- Go-to-Market Strategy & Investment Readiness
- Brand, Corporate Relations & Client Acquisition
Driving commercialization strategies that connect engineering innovation with industry adoption. Building markets. Creating value. Scaling impact.
- Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) & Carbon Strategy
- Process Development & Green Chemistry
- Industrial Decarbonization & Circular Economy
- Net-Zero Roadmaps, ESG Strategy & Climate Tech
- Biorefineries & Advanced Water Systems
12+ years experience · multiple proprietary technologies · cross-industry projects across water, energy, chemicals & manufacturing · Founder, ECOICE.
"Turning climate challenges into scalable industrial opportunities."
- Chemical Process Design & Reaction Engineering
- Simulation, Modelling & Scale-up Intensification
- Heat Integration & Equipment Design
- Instrumentation & Techno-Economic Analysis
- Pilot Plant Design & Industrial Optimization
Designed numerous industrial processes from laboratory scale to commercial implementation — turning research concepts into robust industrial realities.
Why Dr. Karan Chavan is a rare combination
Nine things worth knowing about the person leading Project BioUrea™ — each independently verifiable, each unusual on its own.
Past Projects & Process Engineering Portfolio
ECOICE's engineering delivery capability spans contract research, process design, and turnkey equipment manufacturing — the same disciplines underpinning ETHANABER™ and BioUrea™.
Product range — equipment engineering & manufacturing
Design, fabrication and commissioning capability across the core unit operations that also underpin the BioUrea™ complex.
Agitators & Mixing
Top & bottom entry, side entry (fixed/swivel), twin shaft dispersers, static mixers, high-speed homogenizers — hydrofoil, anchor & Ruston turbine blade designs, CFD-verified.
Heat Exchangers / Condensers / Pasteurizers
Shell & tube and plate designs across process heating, cooling and pasteurization duty.
Evaporators
Falling film, forced circulation and ATFE (agitated thin film evaporator) — engineering design, manufacturing and commissioning in-house.
Reactors & Storage Tanks
Glass-lined and stainless process reactors with integrated agitation, plus bulk storage tankage.
Distillation Columns
Multi-tray column design and fabrication — directly transferable expertise to the ETHANABER™ separation train.
Bio-Fermenters
Pharmaceutical and industrial-grade fermentation vessels, lab through commercial scale.
Delivered projects
Netsurf Biofit — 45 KLPD Biofertilizer Plant
Full turnkey delivery: process design, procurement, ETP fabrication, cGMP cleanroom (ISO 14644-1), commissioning, and remote handover from Toronto. Bacterial fermentation plant installed on floors 3–4 of an existing industrial building, engineered around 3–6 inch ceiling clearances.
Hand Sanitizer Manufacturing Plant
FDA-documentation-compliant sanitizer production line, built for export to regulated markets. Delivered alongside Netsurf Biofit as one of ECOICE's turnkey manufacturing projects.
10 TPD Coconut Oil → MCT Plant
Medium chain triglyceride (MCT) production from coconut oil — process development and feasibility analysis, 10–13% MCT yield with >85% of remaining oil utilized as food-grade coconut oil (AV<12). Demonstrated at 20L scale, then piloted and commissioned at 10 TPD commercial scale.
MRO Purification & Recovery Optimization
MRO testing and process development to increase yield and recoveries; biodiesel production from lean streams of the MRO purification process; new solvent system development for lutein ester purification; zeaxanthin purification from paprika oleoresin.
Solid-Liquid Extraction System
Design and implementation of a Rotating Disc Contactor (RDC) for lecithin separation and purification, plus a multi-stage solid-liquid extraction setup.
Integrated Fermentation & Filtration System
Integrated fermentation and filtration process design and delivery for an agricultural biotechnology application.
