Techno-Economic Appraisal and Strategic Framework for an Integrated Stubble-to-Bio-bitumen Industrial Ecosystem in India

The seasonal management of agricultural residue in North India represents a critical environmental and macroeconomic challenge. This paper evaluates the "Stubble-to-Value" mission, a circular economy intervention designed to convert surplus rice straw into high-performance bio-bitumen. Utilizing fast pyrolysis, agricultural waste is transformed into a binder-grade material capable of replacing up to 30% of petroleum-based bitumen. We propose a non-cash barter mechanism leveraging India’s ₹2.25 lakh crore fertilizer subsidy and the PM-PRANAM scheme to incentivize farmer participation. Economic modeling indicates that local bio-bitumen production can stabilize costs at ₹30,000–35,000 per tonne, potentially saving ₹4,500 crore in annual foreign exchange while significantly reducing the atmospheric pollution and soil degradation associated with open-field burning.