Studies in techno economic aspects of power generation from agriwaste in India

Abstract

Industrialization and urbanization has led to rapid increase in energy demand. The energy crisis of 70 s brought awareness all over the world to exploit the non conventional and renewable fuel sources. The total energy consumption in India has gradually increased from 64.91 million tones of oil equivalent (mtoe) during 1973 to 400 mtoe by 2001, indicating constant growth. As the fossil fuels (non renewables) are depleting, these are to be replaced by renewable resources such as agriwastes, wind, solar, hydel and tidal. Problems of growing abundance of agriwaste in different parts of the country, environmental pollution resulting from burning of agriwaste, and issues related to inappropriate land use, all add urgency to the challenges faced in building sustainable and environmentally sound energy systems. While every effort is being made to bridge the gap between demand and supply, there exist various technological and environmental limitations to achieve the same in practice. This study evaluates the potential of agriwaste power generation technologies, form of use of agriwaste, pre-conversion methods, utilization and its contribution to the reduction of environmental pollution, with focus on Northern region (India) (states like Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh). An agricultural residues survey was carried out to cover rice, wheat, maize, sugarcane, and cotton crops, both for the Rabi and Kharif seasons. Samples were collected from different areas in accordance with the agro-ecological zones. Estimates for agriwastes for different ecological zones were made based on the ratios between the crop size and agricultural residues. This list of major crops was further supplemented by waste forestry materials like leaves twigs and grass. Some of the industrial wastes, mainly agro based which could possibly be used as binders cum fuels like deoiled cake, spent wash ( liquid and dry ) mallee, bio fertilizer, saw dust and even bakelite were considered.