Barracuda Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a Gurugram based startup, has just completed and started operations of its first modular Bio-Refinery project in India, marking a significant milestone in sustainable and circular materials manufacturing. This demo-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. Ultimately, the company aims to produce eco-friendly yarn for the textile industry, a sustainable alternative to cotton and viscose addressing the environmental concerns associated with them. 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 development represents a breakthrough in sustainable cellulose production, with the potential to significantly impact the biofuel sector. Barracuda cellulose has potential to easily undergo saccharification followed by fermentation to make biofuels. This entire process (or technology) can be a simple bolt-on to this Bio-Refinery. Barracuda is currently developing commercial projects using atleast 3 different feedstocks for varied applications.
This project not only showcases the economic viability of Barracuda’s process but also provides a solution to environmental issues such as stubble burning, particularly in the states of Haryana and Punjab affecting the Delhi NCR region, by offering a sustainable alternative for managing agricultural wastes and residues.
“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. Moreover, the Barracuda process is very cost effective, clean and circular. We will make one of the cheapest fiber and lignin in the market today globally” said Navin Singhania (“Fiberman”), 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.
