ENA from tapioca possible, but funds lacking for pilot project

Kerala Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal in his maiden budget speech delivered last week had suggested looking into value addition and one area that he mentioned was production of extra neutral alcohol (ENA) from tapioca.

But according to the Central Tuber Crop/s Research Institute (CTCRI), based in the state capital, the patented technology of producing ENA from tapioca is with them since 1983, but to upscale that from the laboratory to a pilot project requires huge funds.

ENA is the primary raw material for making alcoholic beverages. It is a colourless food-grade alcohol which has a neutral smell and taste and contains over 95 per cent alcohol by volume.

Tapioca alias 'kappa' has a long history and dates back to 1880-1884 C.E, when this was introduced as a substitute for rice by the then King of Travancore Vishakham Thirunal Rama Varma after his kingdom was hit by a great famine.


And till date, kappa is still being consumed as a rice substitute by many people here and is known to be hugely popular among visiting tourists especially when consumed with fish curry.

Incidentally not long ago Kerala always led in the area under cultivation and quantity of tapioca produced, but today according to CTCRI, that position has been taken by Tamil Nadu.

In Tamil Nadu, unlike in Kerala, 95 per cent of the production is used for production of industrial starch and for making sago and five percent is used for consumption.


According to the latest statistics tapioca is cultivated in over 70,000 hectares in Kerala with a production of 27 lakh tonnes and a productivity of over 38,000 kg/ha.

Speaking to IANS, CTCRI scientist M.S. Sajeev said they have with them a patented technology since 1983.

"Tapioca has first to be converted to starch and from that ENA can be extracted and according to their 1983 technology from 4 kg of tapioca, one kg of starch can be produced and from that 450 ml of ENA can be produced. Four years back they revised their study and found out that with the same quantity they are able to make 680 ml of ENA," said Sajeev.


For the CTCRI if it has to do the pilot scale project they will have to get fresh equipment and it could cost as much as Rs one crore.

"Incidentally the pilot scale project can also be done in coordination with the distilleries in the government sector and for that the state government has to take a policy decision. If the government factories are unable to do so, there are private distilleries and for that too, there has to be a policy decision from the government," said Sajeev.

A top Kerala State Planning Board official told IANS on condition of anonymity that he does not see any issue in the state government to take a policy decision to this effect as the patent is with a national institute.


"So I feel it's just a matter of time before an agreement is reached between the CTCRI and state owned distilleries," said the official.

Presently ENA is derived from different sources, sugarcane molasses and grains, which is used in the production of alcoholic beverages.-IANS