AAVISHKAAR

TECHTATVA’10

LOW COST RURAL

ELECTRIFICATION SCHEME

BY: BETSON GEORGE

(SRINIVAS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, MANGALORE)
DEEPANKAR PANDA
(MANIPAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, MANIPAL)
I. INTRODUCTION
Energy Scarcity: a need to ponder over
Even today more than 1.6 billion people all
over the world live in the dark. Talking
about our nation the people living in the
secluded parts are no new to this problem.
Just to give you some ideas regarding the
plight of rural poor in rural India consider
the following:
 60% of the rural population or almost
400 million people live in very primitive
conditions. They have no electricity and
their lives are in darkness. They use
inefficient kerosene lanterns for light
and primitive and ancient biomass cook
stoves for cooking.
 In India the per capita consumption of
electricity in rural areas is only 250
kWh/yr or about 2% that in U.S. As we
all know without electricity very little
development can take place and this is
reflected in these areas.
 Last year India imported about 29 billion
dollars’ worth of petroleum products.
With ever increasing price of crude this
number will increase in coming years
and will put a heavy burden on balance
of payment account. Besides the
uncertainty of supply from various
countries can play havoc with the energy
security of India.
 Today, India ranks second worldwide in
farm output. Agriculture and allied
sectors like forestry and logging
accounted for 16.6% of the GDP in
2007, employed 52% of the total
workforce and despite a steady decline
of its share in the GDP, is still the largest
economic among other sectors and plays
a significant role in the overall socio-
economic development of India.
Because of poverty there are continuous
suicides of farmers. This is because Farming
is presently non-remunerative. Only 25-40
per cent of his crop fetches him money,
whereas the rest of his produce (agricultural
residues), which constitutes 60-75 per cent
of the product, is totally wasted.
There is an old Chinese saying
“You can feed a person for a short time
by supplying him fish, but if you teach
him how to catch fish he will feed
himself the rest of his life”.
Farmers will really benefit when they get
money for agriculture residues. This can
only happen when these residues can be
used to produce energy for powering India.
Effort in this field would take into
consideration both the problems of
mentioned above that is energy needs of the
rural population and the farmers wellbeing.
I. OBJECTIVE
The primary aim of our paper is to focus on
a low cost rural electrification scheme that
covers the total energy requirements i.e.
cooking, electricity and motive power.
The solution to the current power or energy
crisis lies in dramatically increasing the
focus on alternative power generation
methods e.g. cogeneration capacity addition
based on bagasse/biomass. Sugarcane offers
one of the most cost-effective renewable
resources among those renewable energy
options that are readily available in
developing countries. It is a highly efficient
converter of solar energy and, in fact, has
the highest energy-to-volume ratio among
energy crops. It is a highly diversified
resource, offering alternatives for production
of food, feed, fibre and energy. Such
flexibility is valuable in rural India where
fluctuations in commodity prices and
weather conditions can cause severe
economic hardships.
II. AN OUTLINE PLAN
Agriculture has always been India’s most
important economic sector. In the mid-
1990s, it provided approximately one-third
of the gross domestic product and employs
roughly two-thirds of the population. Since
independence in 1947, the share of
agriculture in the GDP has declined in
comparison to the growth of the industrial
and services sectors. Only 25-40 per cent of
crop fetches money to a farmer, whereas the
rest of his produce (agricultural residues),
which constitutes 60-75 per cent of the
product, is totally wasted. Farmers will
really benefit when they get money for
agriculture residues. This can only happen
when these residues can be used to produce
energy for powering India. Efforts in this
field would take into consideration both the
energy needs of the rural population and the
farmers’ wellbeing.
An Outline Plan is prepared with the
objective of providing energy security in
villages by meeting total energy through
various forms of biomass material based on
available biomass conversion technologies
and other renewable energy technologies,
where necessary.
The benefits from such projects can be
immense, including employment generation,
micro enterprise development, backed by
micro credit facilities and enhanced incomes
to rural households increasing the
purchasing capacity and reducing the
migration from villages.
An assessment of the total energy demand or
a village energy plan includes requirements
for:-
 Household cooking, lighting and
entertainment
 Community, commercial facilities
such as shops, streetlights, health
 center, school, flourmill, information
and communication technology
 Pumping water for drinking,
irrigation
 Rural / cottage industry
An assessment of the biomass resources
available locally would have to be carried
out. These may include dung, agro wastes,
forestry residues, etc.
Appropriate fast growing / oil seed bearing
tree species should be identified and a plan
can be prepared for raising the plantations
for obtaining wood, vegetable oil and other
raw materials. Until the plantations reach an
age when annual increments of growth and
other raw materials become available,
biomass offset from use as cooking fuel and
other locally available biomass should be
utilized for energy production.
Based on the total energy requirements and
the local resource availability, the energy
production system would have to be
configured. For an energy production system
based on biomass, an appropriate technology
mix should be selected from available
biomass conversion technologies such as:-
􀂾Single / Bi-phasic biogas production
using tree based organic substrates,
vegetable wastes / residues, vegetable
wastes / kitchen wastes, etc.
􀂾Biomass Gasifier coupled with 100% gas
engines or duel fuel engines run on bio-fuels
in lieu of diesel.
􀂾Stationary diesel engines run on straight
vegetable oils or bio-diesel.
 Electricity distribution should preferably be
carried out through a local mini grid.
III. PREPARATION OF VILLAGE
ENERGY PLAN
The plan must provide information on the
following aspects:
1. Current statistics
-Total population of the village / hamlet, i.e.
the no. of households.
-Existing pattern of energy / fuel use and
average monthly expenditure per household.
-Availability of fallow land / waste land /
uncultivated land etc. for energy plantations.
-Existing renewable energy devices in the
village, if any
2. Demand
-Indicative Estimate of Energy Demand
 Household – cooking, lighting, other
 Community services, including
streetlights
 Irrigation/Agriculture Operations
 Commercial (Shops, Atta chakki, Oil
expeller, etc.)
 Industrial
-Current and potential demand with special
emphasis on loads related to income
generation.
-Estimate of time taken to ramp up to full
projected demand.
3. Load management
Load chart preparation taking into account
seasonal variations in use of electricity,
especially for irrigation, in the village.
4. Plant sizing
 Sizing of the plant, capacity
utilization factor for the plant as per
the load chart.
 Distance from nearest road-head.
 Distance from the grid
 Length of transmission and
distribution line required in the
village.
5. Technological options
SVO (straight vegetable oil) or gasifier or
biogas plants, taking into account load
pattern, capacity utilization factor and type
of biomass fuel available
6. Sources of biomass
Biomass resources and their availability
,type of biomass, local fuel wood / oil-seed
bearing species, if any, cattle population and
likely availability of dung for biogas plant.
7. Financing plan
Capital expenditure for power plant and
other investments needed to reach projected
demand. Sourcing working capital, sources
of revenue, tariff setting, other non-tariff
sources of revenue, operational
sustainability, cash flow statement, plan to
meet revenue gap if any, payback period
8. Human resources
Community empowerment, involving them
in ownership and decision-making, training
in operation and management of the power
plant
9. MIS:
How information would be captured with
respect to key elements and how it would be
used by the management (Village Energy
Committee) should be spelt out.
10. Risk management
Identification of risk and how it would be
managed.
11. Project implementation plan
Tasks and milestones with timelines and
clear identification of responsibilities should
be presented.
IV. POWER GENERATION
USING AGRICULTURAL
RESIDUES
Biomass based fuel is one of the most
promising alternative fuels. Agro-waste and
agro industrial products have today been
recognized as ‘modern’ bio-mass material
which can be converted directly into useful
forms of energy. Bio-mass has the crucial
advantage of being environment friendly.
A.BIOMASS BASED POWER
GENERATION TECHNIQUES
There are many ways to generate electricity
from biomass using thermo-chemical
pathway. These include directly-fired or
conventional steam approach, co-firing,
pyrolysis and gasification; however in this
paper we would lay stress on pyrolysis and
gasification method.
Electricity Generating Plant
Generating plant fuelled by biomass uses
conventional steam turbine electricity
generating plant as used in coal fired power
stations with modifications to the
combustion chamber and fuel handling
systems to handle the bulkier fuel.
1. Direct Fired or Conventional Steam
Boiler
Most of the woody biomass-to-energy plants
use direct-fired system or conventional
steam boiler, whereby biomass feedstock is
directly burned to produce steam leading to
generation of electricity. In a direct-fired
system, biomass is fed from the bottom of
the boiler and air is supplied at the base. Hot
combustion gases are passed through a heat
exchanger in which water is boiled to create
steam.
Biomass is dried, sized into smaller pieces
and then pelletized or briquetted before
firing. The processed biomass is added to a
furnace or a boiler to generate heat which is
then run through a turbine which drives an
electrical generator. The heat generated by
the exothermic process of combustion to
power the generator can also be used to
regulate temperature of the plant and other
buildings, making the whole process much
more efficient. Cogeneration of heat and
electricity provides an economical option,
particularly at sawmills or other sites where
a source of biomass waste is already
available. For example, wood waste is used
to produce both electricity and steam at
paper mills.

2.Co-firing burning both the fuels, which is a more cost-

Co-firing is the simplest way to use biomass effective than building a new plant.
with energy systems based on fossil fuels.
Small portions (up to 15%) of woody and
herbaceous biomass such as poplar, willow
and switch grass can be used as fuel in an
existing coal power plant. Like coal,
biomass is placed into the boilers and
burned in such systems. The only cost
associated with upgrading the system is
incurred in buying a boiler capable of

The environmental benefits of adding
biomass to coal includes decrease in
nitrogen and sulphur oxides which are
responsible for causing smog, acid rain and
ozone pollution. In addition, relatively lower
amount of carbon dioxide is released into
the atmospheres. Co-firing provides a good
platform for transition to more viable and
sustainable renewable energy practices.
3.Pyrolysis
It is a process where biomass is combusted
at high temperatures and decomposed in the
absence of oxygen. However, some
difficulties arises when trying to create a
totally oxygen free atmosphere. Often a little
oxidation does occur which may create
undesirable byproducts and also it is highly
energy intensive and expensive at the
moment. The burning creates pyrolysis oil,
char or syngas which can then be used like
petroleum to generate electricity. It does not
create ash or energy directly. Instead it
morphs the biomass into higher quality fuel.
The process begins with a drying process in
order to maximize burning potential from
the biomass, similar to the direct combustion
process above. When cooled, the brown
liquidly pyrolysis oil can be used in a
gasifier.
When sped up, a process known as Fast
Pyrolysis, up to 75% more bio-oil or
pyrolysis oil is generated. In fact, the
European Biomass Technology Group has
created bio-oil using the fast pyrolysis
technique by combining wood residue with
hot sand in a rotating cone. In a small scale
experimental setting, the rotating pyrolysis
cone technology uses 250 tons of wood/day
and generates 50 tonnes of oil (the
equivalent of .314 barrels of oil).
Experimenters suggest that the cone can be
modified to take on larger loads and if done,
bio-oil is already at a competitive price on
the market. Some have suggested that
pyrolysis even be used to generate hydrogen
for use in fuel cells. Below is a model of the
proposed cone technology in a full scale
electricity generation setting.
FlowChart courtesy of
http://www.eere.energy.gov/biomass/pyrolysis.html
4. Biomass gasification
One biomass energy based system, which
has been proven reliable and had been
extensively used for transportation and on
farm systems during World War II is wood
or biomass gasification.
Biomass gasification means incomplete
combustion of biomass resulting in
production of combustible gases consisting
of Carbon monoxide (CO), Hydrogen (H2)
and traces of Methane (CH4). This mixture
is called producer gas. Producer gas can be
used to run internal combustion engines
(both compression and spark ignition), can
be used as substitute for furnace oil in direct
heat applications and can be used to
produce, in an economically viable way,
methanol – an extremely attractive chemical
which is useful both as fuel for heat engines
as well as chemical feedstock for industries.
Since any biomass material can undergo
gasification, this process is much more
attractive than ethanol production or biogas
where only selected biomass materials can
produce the fuel.
Besides, there is a problem that solid wastes
(available on the farm) are seldom in a form
that can be readily utilized economically e.g.
Wood wastes can be used in hog fuel boiler
but the equipment is expensive and energy
recovery is low. As a result it is often
advantageous to convert this waste into
more readily usable fuel from like producer
gas.
However under present conditions,
economic factors seem to provide the
strongest argument of considering
gasification. In many situations where the
price of petroleum fuels is high or where
supplies are unreliable the biomass
gasification can provide an economically
viable system – provided the suitable
biomass feedstock is easily available (as is
indeed the case in agricultural systems).
Biomass gasifiers are of two kinds – updraft
and downdraft. In an updraft unit, biomass is
fed in the top of the reactor and air is
injected into the bottom of the fuel bed. The
efficiency of updraft gasifiers ranges from
80 to 90 per cent on account of efficient
counter-current heat exchange between the
rising gases and descending solids.
However, the tars produced by updraft
gasifiers imply that the gas must be cooled
before it can be used in internal combustion
engines. Thus, in practical operation, updraft
units are used for direct heat applications
while downdraft ones are employed for
operating internal combustion engines.
Large scale applications of gasifier include
comprehensive versions of the small scale
updraft and downdraft technologies, and
fluidized bed technologies. The superior
heat and mass transfer of fluidized beds
leads to relatively uniform temperatures
throughout the bed, better fuel moisture
utilization, and faster rate of reaction,
resulting in higher throughput capabilities.
The updraft gasification
In the updraft gasifier, moist biomass fuel
is fed at the top and descends though
gases rising through the reactor. In the
upper zone a drying process occurs,
below which pyrolysis is taking place.
Following this, the material passes
through a reduction zone (gasification)
and in the zone above the grate an
oxidation process is carried out
(combustion).
B. POWER GENERATION IN
SUGAR INDUSTRY USING
AGRO WASTE.
Until the 1970s the sugarcane industry
produced mainly raw sugar, refined sugar,
and hydrated bioethanol for beverages
production. Currently the sugarcane industry
produces the already mentioned products
and also anhydrous bioethanol and hydrated
bioethanol for car fuel. Concerns about
environmental problems associated with the
emission of greenhouse gas, the dramatic
rise in oil price in the international market,
the use of crops for biofuels production
versus food, and geopolitical factors
associated with traditional oil supplies
instability are encouraging the introduction
of a new concept: second generation
biofuels, which are obtained from biomass
residues and lignocellulosic biomass.
Among the main biomass residues from
sugar and bioethanol production are
sugarcane bagasse and sugarcane trash, also
named sugarcane agriculture residues
(SCAR’s) .Sugarcane bagasseis the fibrous
waste that remains after recovery of sugar
juice via crushing and extraction. It also has
been the principal fuel used around the
world in the sugarcane agroindustry because
of its well-known energy properties.A ton of
bagasse (on a 50% mill-wet basis) is equal
to 1.6 barrels of fuel oil on energy basis. The
total sugarcane energy content on dry basis,
excluding ash (around 2%–3% of weight)
can be divided in three main parts.
Sugarcane parts Energy(MJ)
Mass(kg)
(dry basis)
Juice
2257
(sucrose+molasses 142
+others)
Fiber residues 2184
140
(bagasse)
Sugarcane
2184
agriculture residues 140
(SCAR)
422 6625
Total
Sugarcane energy content (average figures for currently
commercial sugarcane varieties)
1 ton of sugarcane (clean as received from milling station)
The bagasse and SCAR that before were
undesirable residues have now become
important bioenergy supplies.
Moreover, sugarcane agroindustry solid
residues have the advantage that they do not
compete with food production. Because of
sugarcane bagasse and SCAR’s low
digestibility, only a small per cent
(3% of weight) can be included in the cattle
rations. Therefore this kind of residues
satisfies the main requirement of the so-
called second generation biofuels.
The world’s sugarcane agroindustry has
processed more than 1 323 951 980 tons in
2004, generating 370 706 554 tons of
bagasse and 330 987 995 tons of SCAR. In
terms of oil equivalent, this total amount
could produce about 6.2×10^6tons. In other
words sugarcane agroindustry produces
around of 530 kg of solid residues (on a
50% mill-wet basis) for each milled ton of
cane.
Regrettably, although the SCAR energy
content is similar to bagasse in many places,
it is burned off just before harvest to
facilitate harvesting of the cane stalks. A
negligible amount of trash is currently used
for cogeneration. In the sugarcane
agroindustry biomass burning is a common
practice for cogeneration during milling
season. Most of sugar factories do not
cogenerate during off-season because of the
lack of alternative biomass supply capable
of providing the huge amount of bagasse
and SCAR. The inability of year-round
electricity cogeneration is a significant
disadvantage of sugar factories.
At first glance the solution seems to be the
bagasse and SCAR storage, but bagasse
storage and handling on a large scale are a
very expensive, difficult, and risky operation
because of the low density and self-
combustion properties of both bagasse and
SCAR. The lack of an alternative energy
carrier to electricity with storage capability
for use during off-season has to date been an
unsolvable question. In this paper we have
tried to offer a solution to this problem.
Now India is currently the largest producer
of cane sugar in the world, accounting for
10% of the world production. Sugar is
growing industry with the cane area, yield
and recovery of sugar increasing over the
decades, though there are cyclical variations
from years to year. Though the concept of
bagasse-based co-generation has always
been practiced by sugar mills, there has of
late been growing awareness in the sugar
industry of the advantages of installing
‘High efficiency’ bagasse based co-
generation system.
CO-GENERATION!!
Co-generation is the concept of producing
two forms of energy from one fuel. One of
the forms of energy must always be heat and
the other may be electricity or mechanical
energy. In a conventional power plant, fuel
is burnt in a boiler to generate high-pressure
steam. This steam is used to drive a turbine,
which in turn drives an alternator through a
steam turbine to produce electric power. The
exhaust steam is generally condensed to
water which goes back to the boiler.
As the low-pressure steam has a large
quantum of heat which is lost in the process
of condensing, the efficiency of
conventional power plants is only around
35%. In a cogeneration plant, very high
efficiency levels, in the range of 75%–90%,
can be reached. This is so, because the low-
pressure exhaust steam coming out of the
turbine is not condensed, but used for
heating purposes in factories or houses.
Since co-generation can meet both power
and heat needs, it has other advantages as
well in the form of significant cost savings
for the plant and reduction in emissions of
pollutants due to reduced fuel consumption.
%. Assuming that an industrial process
needs both heat and power in a ratio 1.5:1,
the overall energy generation efficiency will
thus be about 54%.In case the same thermal
and electrical energy would be supplied
using a suitable co-generation system,
the overall efficiency could range from 65 to
95% assuming an efficiency of 75% the total
primary fuel savings would be about 28%.
Whereas in the case of separate boiler (with
an efficiency of 85%) 1.76 units of fuel are
required to supply 1.5 units of heat, in the
case of co-generation the total fuel input
would be 3.33. The fuel chargeable to power
for supplying the extra unit of electricity is
thus only 1.57 units compared to 2.86 for the
conventional option. This is a reduction
45%. If transmission/grid losses are taken
into account, the picture becomes even more
favorable. Assuming the transmission/grid
losses to be 15% FcP for separate power
generation would be 3.36. The total primary
fuel savings would thus be in the order of
35% while the fuel saving related to
electricity production would be about 53%.
Also there is such a substantial carbon gain
from producing power on-site with co-gen
because you’re swapping a ~33% delivered
efficiency source (the grid) with an ~80%
delivered efficiency source (the on-site co-
gen). Thus, even coal-fired co-gen on site
would lead to a substantial carbon reduction.
Even at conservative estimates, the potential
of power generation from co-generation in
India is more than 20,000 MW. Since India
is the largest producer of sugar in the world,
bagasse-based cogeneration is being
promoted. The potential for cogeneration
thus lies in facilities with joint requirement
of heat and electricity, primarily sugar and
rice mills, distilleries, petrochemical sector
and industries such as fertilizers, steel,
chemical, cement, pulp and paper, and
aluminum.
Bagasse - a major byproduct of the sugar
industry is a captive bio-mass, it can be
stored and kept for power generation
purposes. Most of the sugar mills have their
own co-generation units where this bagasse
can be fed in specially designed boilers as
fuel generating steam that moves the rotors
of a turbine to generate power.Apart from
bagasse other agro based waste like rice
husk, paddy straw etc. can also be used as a
fuel like bagasse but the boiler design will
need certain changes accordingly. Basically
any waste product can be utilized as a fuel
for the boiler. The two main factors to be
considered are
 Calorific value of the fuel used.
 Its availability.
Presently sugar mills operate for hardly
about 5-6 months during the sugarcane
season and the rest of the time these plants
are shut down because the stored bagasse
either gets used up early, or else it’s
unavailable due to problems with its storage.
In this situation we suggest the use of agro
wastes or residues as fuel for the boilers to
produce steam. This will ensure that the co
gen plant continues working throughout the
year even when there is no sugar production.
Currently researchers in China are working
on multifuel boilers wherein agro wastes can
be fed along with say, coal as a fuel feed.
Research is currently underway for the
possibility of burning plastics as fuel in the
boilers, which will have to be custom
designed accordingly.

Calorific value: Bagasse 1850 kcal PCI per
Kg
Normally a 6000 TCD plant (tonnes of
crushing per day) is capable of generating
up to 25 MW of power.The per unit cost of
the power generated will depend on the rates
given by various power trading
corporations and since the generation is
using waste products, the cost of generation
will reduce compared to conventional power
generation methods hence power will be
available at cheaper rates.
Benefits of Cogeneration
 Not depending on external power at all,
sugar plants can be located near the
sugar sugar growing areas, thereby
saving on transportation cost of
sugarcane.
 An efficient and sustained co-generation
enables the plant to isolate itself from
the vagaries of power.
 Power generation using bagasse is
environmentally cleaner as bagasse
produces very little fly ash and no
Sulphur.
 Net contribution to greenhouse effect
from the bagasse based co-generating
plant is zero, since the carbon-di-oxide
absorbed by the sugar cane grown is
more than the one emitted by the co-
generating plant.
 Low capital investment. Recurring costs
are also lower compared to fossil fuel
based power plants.
 Use of totally renewable source of
energy. Total saving in the mining,
extraction and long distance
transportation expenses of fossil fuels.
 Rural location of sugar mills enables co-
generated power to be directly fed to the
local substation, consequently
minimizing T & D losses and the
requirement of long feeder lines.
 Saves the expenditure on safe storage
and disposal of bagasse.
 A co-generation plant places no financial
or administrative burden on the utility as
it is executed and managed by the sugar
factory.
 Power is generated at a lower cost in co-
generating systems and pay back periods
are shorter.
 Provides an initiative to sugar mills to
concentrate more on conservation of
energy and reduction of steam
consumption thereby improving their
profitability of operation.
 Surplus power generation in sugar
factory is ideally suited for rural
electrification and for energizing
irrigation pumps and industrial and agro-
based units in the villages.
C. POWER GENERATION BY
PYROLYSIS OF BIOMASS
Fast pyrolysis refers to the rapid heating of
biomass (including forest residue such as
bark, sawdust and shavings; and agricultural
waste such as wheat straw and bagasse) in
the absence of oxygen. Prepared feedstock
(<10% moisture and 1-2 mm particle size) is
fed into the bubbling fluid-bed reactor,
which is heated to 450–500° C in the
absence of oxygen. This is lower than
conventional pyrolysis systems and,
therefore, has the benefit of higher overall
energy conversion efficiency. The feedstock
flashes and vaporizes, and the resulting
gases pass into a cyclone where solid
particles—char—are extracted. The gases
enter a quench tower where they are quickly
cooled using BioOil already made in the
process.The BioOil condenses and falls into
FAST PYROLYSIS AT SUGAR MILL
The production of H2 and electricity from
biomass is accomplished by reformation of
bio-oil produced in fast pyrolysis processes,
the product tank, while non-condensable
gases are returned to the reactor to maintain
process heating.
Three products are produced: BioOil (60-
75% by weight), char (15-25% wt.) and non-
condensable gases (10-20% wt.) Yields vary
depending on the feedstock composition.
The non-condensed gases are re-circulated
to fuel approximately 75% of the energy
needed by the pyrolysis process.The density
of BioOil is high, approximately 1.2 kg/liter.
On a volumetric basis BioOil has 55% of the
energy content of diesel oil and 40% on a
weight basis. It has superior fuel properties
to heavy fuel oil in terms of viscosity, ash,
sulfur, nitrogen content, NOx emissions and
cold weather properties (pour point).
which are mature and of nearly commercial
status. Processes for the reformation of
pyrolysis oil to H2 and suitable for the
production of electricity and heat
(cogeneration) in small-to-medium size
stationary applications, are optimised with
respect to appropriate reactor configurations
and efficient catalytic materials. A hydrogen
rich process gas will be produced, also
containing CO and CO2. The water-gas shift
reaction transforms residual carbon
monoxide into H2 and CO2.Optimal catalytic
materials for these reactions will be
developed, exhibiting high activity and
selectivity towards H2 production and
enhanced stability with time on stream, and
they will be incorporated into proper reactor
configurations. Each component of the
process will be considered separately and
integrated to a complete fuel processing
system suitable for a prototype power
production unit of 5kWe. An economic
evaluation of the process is carried out for a
500 kW commercial scale unit.
Similarly, these residues can theoretically
produce 80,000 MW of electric power all
the year round through biomass-based
power plants. This power is about 60 per
cent of the present installed capacity of
India. The power plants could either be
small scale (500 kW), running on producer
gas from agricultural residues, or medium
scale (10-20 MW) running on direct
combustion of these residues. The
technology for this is very mature and there
are thousands of such plants running all over
the world. A part of these agricultural
residues can also be used via the bio-
digester route to produce fertilizer for crops
and methane gas to either run rural transport,
irrigation pump sets or kitchens. Another
stream can also be used to produce fodder.
Pyrolysis- advantages and disadvantages
The bagasse and SCAR conversion into
liquids via fast pyrolysis could be a solution
to the problem of its energy storage,
allowing it to be used locally as the need
arises. Among the main advantages of
sugarcane biomass conversion into a liquid
fuel in the sugar industry are the following:
• A sugarcane mill factory has an
appropriate energy infrastructure to
assimilate technologies such as fast
pyrolysis.
• The pyrolysis oil may be considered
innocuous in terms of CO2 emissions.
• The infrastructure for transportation and
distribution of conventional fossil liquid
fuels can also be used for bio-oil.
• Bio-oil can be transported to remote
isolated towns and used for pumping water,
cooking food, heating water, and other small
domestic tasks.
• Bio-oil stores 11 times more energy than
bagasse, in the same unit of volume, and has
three times less moisture content.
• Because bio-oil can be stored, the
pyrolysis process can be decoupled from the
power generation cycle, increasing the
flexibility of its use, so it can be used when
it is really necessary, at the needed site, in
the precise quantity needed.
• Hydrogen production from biomass via
fast pyrolysis at the medium plant size has
lower cost than via gasification.
• On the basis of the pyrolysis infrastructure,
it is possible to introduce gasification
technology without a large additional
investment.
The more important disadvantages are the
following:
• The conversion process is endothermic.
• Bio-oil is not a stable fuel.
• Bio-oil upgrading is very expensive in
comparison to conventional fuel cracking.
• There are no reported fast pyrolysis
facilities with a capacity beyond 3.5 tons/h.
There is no bio-oil properties standard or a
bio-oil market.
V. ADVANTAGES
The plan proposed above when implemented
has the following advantages
  Provides clean bio- gaseous fuel mainly
for cooking purposes and also for other
applications, thereby reducing use of
LPG and other conventional fuels.
 Helps To meet ‘lifeline energy’ needs
for cooking.
 Provides bio-fertilizer/ organic manure
to reduce use of chemical fertilizers.
 Mitigate drudgery of rural women,
reduce pressure on forests and
accentuate social benefits.
 Improvement in sanitation in villages by
linking sanitary toilets with biogas
plants.
 Mitigates Climate Change by preventing
black carbon and methane emissions.

VI. COST BREAKDOWN OF A BIOMASS GASIFIER BASED MODULE

(for 100-250 households) REFERENCE: ministry of new and renewable energy!
S.No Items Qty./N Estimated 5. Plantation for fuel 10 ha 300000
. os. cost (Rs.) wood and oil-seed
Part A- Fixed Cost bearing trees
1. Biomass gasifier 2X10 1550000 @ Rs.30,000/- per ha
system with 100% kW 6. Distribution line for 3 LS 450000
producer gas km @
engine/genset Rs.1,50,000/km.
including all 7. Service line (@ 250 375000
accessories with 5 Rs.1500/- per HH)
years Annual with 2 light points
Maintenance Contract and one 5 Amp.
including two socket point per
year’s warrantee HH (As per SEB
2. Civil foundation & LS 300000 norms)
shed including 8. Battery back-up with 1X10k 700000
storage shed for Inverter to be charged W
biomass and water by electricity
tank. generating unit.
3. Gasifier room lights 5 2500 9. Street Lighting @ 25 62500
@ Rs.500/- per light Rs.2,500/- per light
4. Atta Chakki / Rice 1 20000 10. Dung based biogas 120 600000
Huller including plants inclusive all CuM
connection and accessories & Civil
all equipments. Works for 60 HH @
2 CuM per HH @
SUB TOTAL (fixed 1872500 Rs.5000/- per CuM
cost) 11. Improved Chulha 250 125000
 fixed type / Portable
or Turbo Portable
Chulha (maximum
Subsidy @
Rs.500/- per chulha)
SUB TOTAL 2612500
(variable cost)#
Optional Cost2
12. Oil Expeller with 1 135000
filter press and heater
(50 kg/hour)
Sub Total [A] 4620000
Part B- Capacity
building
13. Capacity building, LS 100000
training, awareness
and visits to
manufacturer’s
works.
14. Social LS 100000
Engineering/Commu
nity mobilization
Sub Total [B] 200000
GRAND TOTAL 4820000*
[A] + [B]
Part C- Execution
and Operational
Cost
15. Professional Charges 462000
to the Implementing
Agency (10% of the
Part A)
16. Charges to State 231000
Nodal Agency for
coordination
and monitoring
(5% of the Part A)
17. Operation and 462000
Maintenance Charges
to the Implementing
Agency for initial
period of 2 years
(10 % of the Part A)
Sub Total [C] 1155000
GRAND TOTAL 5975000
[A+B+C]
1 - Depending on Village layout and number of household
2 - Depending on resource availability and demand.
# - Estimates for 250 households.
* - Cost sharing on 90:10 basis between the Ministry and
SNA/Implementing Agencies/beneficiary
VII. CONCLUSION
MOST IMPORTANTLY apart from the
above mention advantages the plan on
implementation will address our main aim or
goal that is the production of low cost
electricity using the agricultural waste. This
generates a hike in the farmer’s income as
now he earns from his crop as well as the
waste products which constitutes a major
share of his land used. This empowers him
with more purchasing power and a better
standard of living. This in turn reduces the
migration to the urban areas from villages
since the villages will now be self-sufficient.
Installation of certain power plants not just
fulfills the electricity requirement of that
particular village; it also generates
employment along with the generation of
additional income. An overall better
standard of living in rural India can be
achieved by making them self-sufficient in
their own den and hence bridging the gap
between the rural and the urban India.