Balrampur Chini Mills Limited (BCML) is breaking new ground with its Bioyug initiative – India’s first fully integrated, industrial-scale polylactic acid (PLA) biopolymer manufacturing facility. Strategically located beside its sugar mill in Kumbhi, Uttar Pradesh, this state-of-the-art plant is designed to convert sugarcane derivatives directly into PLA, offering a renewable, compostable alternative to conventional plastics.

With a phased investment of US$28 million over about two-and-a-half years, BCML aims to establish a facility with an annual capacity of 80,000 metric tons, positioning it among the largest bio-polymer plants in the world. In doing so, BCML is aligning with its long-term commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2055, as well as to India’s broader sustainability goals.

National Significance: Driving India’s Circular Economy

BCML’s PLA venture is deeply rooted in circular economy principles. Using sugarcane – a renewable, plant-based feedstock – the project allows a shift from a linear ‘take-make-waste’ manufacturing model to a regenerative, earth-to-earth paradigm. Further, the PLA produced is industrially compostable, and can be anaerobically digested into biogas and fertilizer, offering a closed-loop solution to plastic waste.

Yokogawa India’s automation and control systems will play a pivotal role in enabling this transformation. Their real-time monitoring and advanced control strategies help maximize yield, reduce waste and ensure energy-efficient operations – all key levers in BCML’s sustainability roadmap.

Net-Zero Ambitions & Sustainable Manufacturing 

BCML’s Bioyug project is a cornerstone of its decarbonization strategy. By converting sugarcane into a biopolymer using renewable energy (the plant will run on 100 percent green power), BCML projects a significant reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. According to the company, PLA emits up to 68 percent less CO₂ over its lifecycle compared to fossil-based plastics.

Yokogawa India’s systems will support this by enabling high-efficiency operations, minimizing energy losses and facilitating predictive maintenance to avoid unplanned shutdowns – contributing meaningfully to BCML’s net-zero goals.

Building on this commitment to sustainability and innovation, Yokogawa continues to empower the life sciences, pharmaceuticals, and food and beverage industries with higher product quality, superior process control and cutting-edge technologies. Through continuous innovation and advanced digital solutions, we help our customers pioneer new possibilities that shape industries and improve lives. As ‘Life Innovators,’ Yokogawa is driving transformation, inspiring sustainable growth and pioneering the future through technology and purpose.

Trusted Technology:
CENTUM VP and Automation Excellence

The systems that Yokogawa India will deliver for this PLA project include its CENTUM VP Distributed Control System (DCS), safety programmable logic controller (PLC) and a full complement of field instruments. This project cements Yokogawa India’s role as a technology partner in India’s bio-based manufacturing revolution.

CENTUM VP, Yokogawa India’s flagship DCS, is renowned for its reliability, scalability and high process availability. This system will be central to managing BCML’s integrated bio-polymer plant, ensuring tight control over fermentation, polymerization, energy management and safety regimes. The Safety PLC will guarantee fail-safe operations in critical systems, while Yokogawa India’s field instruments – transmitters, analyzers, and flow meters – will provide the real-time data necessary for process optimization and predictive maintenance.

This PLA project also underscores the enduring value of Yokogawa’s CENTUM, which recently celebrated 50 years of global deployment. Over five decades, CENTUM has become synonymous with robustness, high-availability, and mission-critical control. For BCML’s Bioyug facility, such a proven system is not just a technological choice – it is a foundation for long-term reliability, consistent performance and operational excellence.

Co-Innovation for a Sustainable Future

Yokogawa India and BCML’s partnership is more than a supplier-client relationship – it is a journey of co-innovation. With BCML’s vision for a bio-circular economy and Yokogawa’s advanced automation, the Bioyug project is poised to set global standards.

Yokogawa India’s engineers are working closely with BCML teams to design automated workflows for fermentation, polymerization, quality assurance and utilities management. Their deep domain expertise ensures that each stage is optimized not just for productivity, but for minimal environmental impact.

Yokogawa India’s engagement in BCML’s Bioyug project is emblematic of its commitment to co-innovating a sustainable tomorrow. By contributing its world-class automation solutions, Yokogawa India is not only empowering an industrial first – it is helping redefine how manufacturing can be both profitable and planet-conscious.

Together, Yokogawa India and BCML are charting a new course: one where industrial progress and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand.