A number of innovative products are in development stage, says Singhania
Barracuda Technologies Pvt Ltd, an indirect subsidiary of San Francisco-based Startup Barracuda Technologies Inc, has just completed its first modular Bio-Refinery in India, marking a significant milestone in sustainable and circular materials manufacturing.
This semi-commercial scale Bio-Refinery utilizes a proprietary biomass fractionation process to convert agricultural waste, such as rice straw, wheat straw, and banana stems, bagasse, Palm EFB, Brachiaria (Brazil), Hemp and many other feedstocks, into valuable materials like clean Lignin, cellulose, bio-silica, and hemi-cellulose.
The facility is biomass agnostic with near-zero liquid discharge, making it an environmentally friendly and waste-free operation.
Barracuda’s cellulose has potential applications in non-woven materials like paper and tableware as well as in making biofuels, Micro fibrillated Cellulose (MFC) and Nano cellulose (CNC) amongst many other applications.
Barracuda’s clean lignin, which has properties like anti-charring, UV resistance and moisture resistance, holds potential for use in coatings, adhesives, cosmetics, construction materials, cattle feed, thermoplastics, polyurethanes and more. Barracuda is actively pursuing Bio-Bitumen manufacturing from its Lignin. The Bio-Refinery also produces bio-silica, useful in various applications like tires and food products. All of Barra materials are sustainable, green and biodegradable.
The modular nature of the Bio-Refinery addresses logistical challenges in handling and transporting low-density feedstocks, facilitating a hub-and-spoke model that enhances supply chain efficiency. This project not only showcases the economic viability of Barracuda’s process but also provides a solution to environmental issues such as stubble burning while upscaling waste to tremendous value.
“This marks a paradigm shift in the field of sustainable materials. Modular Bio-Refinery changes the entire scenario on long standing bottlenecks concerning supply chain & logistical issues associated with low-density feedstocks and CAPEX. The Barracuda process is very very low cost, clean and circular. We will make one of the cheapest fiber and lignin in the market today globally” said Navin Singhania, Founder of Barracuda Technologies and a leading biomass fractionation expert.
“We have a number of innovative products in development as we speak and will be launched in the near future,” he said on 29 Oct. fiinews.com
