The Gasifyer Blog

Pyrolysis is an emerging technology and its green credentials when the feed is biomass are top notch. Everyone who has lit a wood or coal fire and watched it burn has seen pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is usually the first chemical reaction that occurs in the burning of many solid organic fuels, like wood, cloth, and paper, and also of some kinds of plastic.

In a wood fire, the visible flames are not due to combustion of the wood itself, but rather of the gases released by its pyrolysis; whereas the flame-less burning of embers is the combustion of the solid residue (charcoal) left behind by it.

Although the basic concepts of the process have been validated, the performance data for an emerging technology have not been evaluated according to methods approved by EPA and adhering to EPA quality assurance/quality control standards.

Waste is converted to a fuel by heating the waste which burns just as coal or wood does under the right controlled conditions. Whereas incineration fully converts the input waste into energy and ash, these processes limit the conversion so that combustion does not take place directly.

Waste Plastic under pressure and catalytic cracking produces fuel and can be used as a fuel source. Under certain temperature conditions the plastic macromolecular chains are broken down into small molecular chains (simple hydrocarbon compounds) and those small molecular compounds contain C4 to C20, this compound is a component of petrol, coal oil, and diesel.

Anhydrous pyrolysis can also be used to produce liquid fuel similar to diesel from solid biomass.

Fast pyrolysis occurs in a time of a few seconds or less. Therefore, not only chemical reaction kinetics but also heat and mass transfer processes, as well as phase transition phenomena, play important roles. Fast pyrolysis is a process in which organic materials are rapidly heated to 450 – 600 degrees C in absence of air. Under these conditions, organic vapors, permanent gases and charcoal are produced.

Researchers at Virginia Tech have identified pyrolysis as a potential technology for disposing of poultry litter. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop transportable pyrolysis units to process the waste from poultry growers within one locality, thus reducing transportation cost. Researchers believe that the char, an inert and highly porous material, plays a key role in helping soil retain water and nutrients, and in sustaining microorganisms that maintain soil fertility. Researchers have obtained from wood – initially beech and then coniferous species – oils with almost ideal characteristics. Straw, which has a lower energy yield – 50% as opposed to 70% for wood – is also due to be analysed in the near future.

Bill Gates? personal investment vehicle, is reportedly backing Sapphire Energy, a start up working towards a commercial-scale facility to produce oil from algae, but we think he would do well to look at gasification and pyrolysis as his energy technology because there are so many possibilities in this technology.

Gasification technology also offers the possibility to create a new domestic supply of gas. It works by converting the hydrocarbons in coal, biomass and waste petroleum products into a gas called “syngas” that can be used in place of natural gas to generate power, or used in manufacturing as fuel or feedstock. Gasification avoids many problems which can occur in biogas digesters, and is also able to process lignin and cellulose, which are hard to ferment.

Introduction Generally, the electricity production from a waste-burning plant is quite low, due to the fact that it is tricky to burn waste. Waste is a fuel with a ?wide composition? that includes not only substances that require extensive exhaust gas cleanup but also corrosive elements that restrict the temperatures of the steam tubes in the boiler. Thus the steam cycle will be quite small from a thermodynamic point of view with low inlet conditions (typical temperature of 210?C) on the back pressure steam turbine. By adding a gas turbine to the system, using the gas turbine exhaust steam generator as a superheater for the low temperature steam from the waste boiler, an effective combined cycle power plant with a larger steam cycle is generated. With this solution, the overall transformation of the fuel energy to electricity and heat for district heating will be very good. The fuel for the gas turbine will, of course, be dependent on availability. Normally, natural gas is preferable from the point of view of both economic and environmental considerations. The fuels Municipal waste consists largely of recycled material, (gas, metals, newspapers, plastic bottles and cans etc) but there is a residue consisting of food leftovers, scrap paper, polyethylene etc. that has to be taken care of. Most of the waste is renewable biomass. Burning it in incineration plants, as an alternative to simple disposal, is becoming very common, especially for large and middle size towns, but even in smaller communities with district heating systems. The combustion technology and exhaust gas treatment have improved to make the rather difficult combustion of municipal waste environmentally possible even in small plants. The municipal energy system often includes the use of some biomass, in special boilers or added to the waste. Biomass in the form of wood chips or pellets has become a common fuel for municipal heating in a places, but so far not for electricity production. From the combustion point of view, biomass and municipal waste are fairly similar in heating value. Both fuels have corrosive elements of similar and different kinds, which prevent high surface temperatures in the boiler. The municipal waste contains some polyethylene, metals etc. that will produce chlorides, ammonia and metal vapors and salts. The wet compounds could prevent good combustion with dioxin as a result. The biomass in the form of wood chips also produces ammonia and alkali metal vapors and salts but has a more even composition and less moisture. The plants Waste incineration or biomass plants are normally just boilers for heat production. The use of the district heating system as a heat sink for electricity production will increase with increasing cost of electricity and with the expansion of CO2 trading. In the plants for electricity production, steam turbine systems have been included. However, due to the corrosiveness of the combustion gases, the steam temperature has to be low, in order to avoid excessively high surface temperatures on the boiler tubes. The plants are often built up in stages following the population development and the expansion of the district heating system. The stage to include electricity production is frequently late in the process, which means that the steam cycle will not always be optimal but adjusted to fit the existing plant as well as possible. The conclusion is that the electricity production with steam turbines has a rather low alpha ratio (= electricity/heat ratio) at around 0.2.The combined cycle a way to substantially boost the electric power and heat production from a waste incineration or biomass plant is to include a combined cycle. The low value steam from the incineration plant is then superheated in the waste heat recovery boiler of the gas turbine. The steam quality is then improved to suit a rather large back pressure steam turbine with heat condenser. With such a cycle the performance figures are very much improved with an alpha ratio of 0.52 and a total efficiency of around 90%. The gas turbine fuel The fuel for the gas turbine could be the conventional ones, natural gas or diesel oil. Preferably industrial waste gases (refinery gas, coke oven gas etc) or, in the future, biomass-based fuels could be used. In Sweden, one plant is fired with diesel oil and another with liquid propane, gasified on site. Plant description In a two incineration plants have been retrofitted with combined cycles as described above. In one of the plants the gas turbine has been closed down and sold off for two reasons: ? The municipality did not expand as expected ? The fuel cost went up more than expected. At the start of the project, propane was a surplus product from the Norwegian oil and gas fields, but has later become quite expensive. The combustion system and the fuels The gas turbine is equipped with a conventional combustor and 18 fuel injectors for dual fuel operation. The present fuel is good diesel oil with high ash melting point (>900?C) to minimize risk of corrosion of the gas turbine hot parts. The diesel oil is mixed with water in the fuel injectors at a w/f ratio of 0.8 to reduce NOx from around 210 ppmv to 40 ppmv. The addition of water with the fuel increases the turbine output by around 1 MWe, but also the stack losses by 3.7 MW. Natural gas will become available at the plant within a few years, which will not only reduce the cost for the gas turbine fuel, but also provide more operating hours and longer times between overhauls. The present conventional combustor and dual fuel injectors of the SGT-600 can be used with natural gas, but they can also be directly exchanged to a Dry Low Emissions (DLE) combustion system, suitable for natural gas and mixtures of natural gas and biogas. With the DLE burners, the water injection can be deleted and the stack losses reduced. The total efficiency will be increased to around 93%. The NOx level at the gas turbine exhaust will come down from 40 ppm to 25 ppm. At the site there is a biogas plant producing gas by fermentation of waste from farming. The gas is used mainly as fuel for busses, cars and trains. In the future, this type of gas could be mixed with the natural gas to fuel the gas turbine. The steam turbine The admission data of the low pressure steam turbine are 1.5 MPa/430?C. During operation, the turbine is coupled directly to the same generator as the gas turbine, that is, at 3000 rpm, Producing 25 MWe electric power. The steam turbine has a ?district heating exhaust? which means that the steam flow is divided in two parts, condensing at somewhat different pressure levels in order to achieve the highest heat recovery. The Waste Heat Recovery Unit (WHRU) The gas turbine exhaust gases are ducted to an unfired boiler equipped with a superheater, boiler and economizer. Some steam is raised in the WHRU, but the main flow is the saturated steam from the incineration boiler. The economizer is used to preheat the condensate. The stack temperature for the oil-fired gas turbine is limited to 135?C to prevent SO3 condensation and corrosion. For a natural gas fired unit, the exhaust temperature could be lowered to 85?C, reducing the stack losses. The superheater is divided in two parts in order to position an ammonia-based Selective Catalytic Reactor (SCR) for NOx reduction at a suitable temperature level. The combination of this SCR and the water injection in the gas turbine combustor means that the NOx emission level is very low, around 5-7 ppmv at 15% O2 on diesel oil. For a gas-fired unit with DLE burners in combination with the SCR, NOx-levels as low as 3 ppmv at 15% O2 would be achieved. Heat production only The plant can be operated for heat production only. All the steam from the boiler is then directly condensed to produce district heating water with an incoming temperature of 50?C and an outgoing temperature of 90 to 115?C, depending on the time of the year. The total heat production from the direct condenser and the economizers in the incineration boiler is around 87MW, which translates into a fuel utilization of 93%. Operation with the combined cycle The steam from the incineration boiler is then going to the WHRU of the gas turbine for superheating before expansion in the steam turbine. There are two modes of gas turbine operation due to a difference in production tax on electricity produced in a ?district heating? mode or in a ?power generation? mode. The power generation mode ( = gas turbine at full load) is only profitable when electricity prices are high, so even in wintertime the plant has most often been operated in the district heating mode ( = 60-70% gas turbine power), producing as much district heating as at the ?heat production only? mode. Conclusions ? Waste incineration and biomass-fired plants will be used in the future for electricity production. ? The retrofitting of steam turbines to the plants is not very effective due to the low steam data. The power to heat ratio will be low, around 0.2. ? A way to substantially improve the electricity production is to retrofit with a combined cycle fired with current conditions on diesel oil or natural gas but in the future on biogas. A power to heat ratio of >0.5 can be reached. An optimized plant could reach a power to heat ratio of =0.6 and a total efficiency of 93%. ? In the future the fuel to the gas turbine could be gasified biomass, which would make such a plant fit the strategy to operate mainly on renewable energy.

Gasification of sludge is carried out on sewage sludges with energy production or pyrolysis of the thermally dried residues, under a non-oxidizing atmosphere. It can be a means of alternative renewalble fuel production and it could in part be a solution to the environmental problems that landfilling or conventional combustion could create.

The present work which also focuses on combustion and pyrolysis of cotton gin residues in Greece, is another example of alternative ways of energy production. All these methods are using biomass as an energy source, and the use of this as an energy source is expected to grow rapidly.

Recently, gasifier operation has been put on a sound thermodynamic footing by a number of technology provider companies. It has been shown that, apart from its deleterious impact on thermal efficiency, the presence of water in mechanically-dewatered fuel (containing ~ 32 wt% solids) does not lead to significant particle break-up compared with dried fuel.

Gasification has been demonstrated using partial oxidation in three stages before final combustion. When doing this it has been shown that the NOx was reduced from several thousand ppm to around 25 ppm. This is a truly significant reduction in favour of gasification.

Gasification in fluidized bed reactors and usually takes place in a fluidized bed formed above the slag bath and constituted by the dried sewage sludge or waste materials, the solid fuel, the oxygen-containing gas and the gasification gas. The gas produced in the gasifier can be used for power generation or as a reducing gas for iron ore, or any one of a large selection of uses.

gasifiers can frequently handle high fouling fuels without excessive slagging/fouling due to the lower temperatures at which they can operate in comparison with direct combustion units. Waste fuel gasification generally involves heating fuel in an oxygen-starved environment to produce a medium or low calorific gas.

Gasification of sewage sludge for heat and power generation in combined heat and power (CHP) applications is an attractive concept that provides an environmentally acceptable, efficient, and economically viable means of generating energy from a waste disposal problem. The final solid residues are pathogen-free but may contain toxic elements such as barium, copper, mercury, lead, and zinc at levels that could make their disposal to landfills costly as well as environmentally questionnable.

However, these materials would also be produced by incineration, and gasification makes the overall sustainable benfits so much more positive when the usefulness of gasification syngas is considered.

Fuel gases from gasifires can be cleaned and then burned in internal combustion engines for the generation of electricity and process heat, or stored and used as feedstock for other chemical production.

Wastes can even be co-processed with coal to yield gas and liquid fuels or chemical feedstocks. Specific approaches discussed include: gasification of sewage sludge, straw, wood wastes, and plastics; liquefaction of paper and plastic wastes, papermaking wastes, oils, greases, waste tyres and waste-derived liquids; pyrolysis of plastics; and economic studies.

Wastes selected included dewatered sewage sludges, loaded rotary hearth furnace cokes, and processed packaging plastics. A number of plant modifications may need to be made to accommodate these feedstocks.

Wood gasification is the process of turning wood into carbon monoxide and hydrogen by reacting the raw material (wood) at high temperatures with a controlled amount of oxygen. Without oxygen, the wood can’t burn so it transforms into gas. This gas can be used as fuel in an internal combustion engine.

During World War II wood gas generators where used to fuel automobiles in Europe. If you/’ve been thinking about building one and seeing if I for example you could run a small lawn mower engine off of wood gas. We would encourage you to give it a try.

Gasification is here, now, and possible within the economic means of many Americans. Gasification scales up very easily and cost effectively. That old chevy 350 engine in your garage can power a 100kw generator if asked to.

Don’t let the guys with college degrees suggest that this is rocket science which the average person who can use some metalworking tools cannot use to produce their own highly efficient sustainable renewable energy.

Gasification was an important and familiar 19th and early 20th century technology, and its potential and practical applicability to internal combustion engines were well-understood from the earliest days of their development. Town gas was produced from coal as a local business, mainly for lighting purposes, at least initially, and experience in the trade was widespread; most practicing technical people would know a good deal about it.

Gasification of fossil fuels is currently widely used on industrial scales to generate electricity. However, almost any type of organic material can be used as the raw material for gasification but wood is a good place to start. You can use a host of different biomass sources, or even plastic waste. Gasification addresses the problems of efficiency and smoke. However, with the cost of wood so cheap, in many forested areas cost efficiency won/’t be a problem.

The term wood gasification may come across as a bit technical or feel like it requires a graduate degree in chemical engineering to truly understand. In truth the secret is that its pretty simple at a practical level, and for making a wise wood boiler purchasing decision, there are only a few things you need to know.

In the temperature range of 395 ? F to 535 ? F (i.e. a regular fire), the majority of the gases are released from the wood in combination with the smoke. Those gases contain about 50% to 80% of the heat content of the wood. This process results in a gas mixture that is often referred to as synthesis gas or syngas or in the case of a wood fuel ? woodgas.

Wood is a renewable resource and as we have said already the gasification process is both environmentally friendly and energy efficient. Those benefits are very attractive to the many home and business owners considering the use of wood as fuel for heating or hot water.

Here is an example of a gasification system of this type which is on the market. According to web posts we have seen, Econoburn? wood gasification boilers now carry “the Energy Star label. The Energy Star label, is respected by the majority of users and has become recognized by more than 70 percent of American consumers, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s commentator. So, you should take notice when a product carries that seal.

Availability of domestic and small business gasification boilers and stoves is not just limited to the US. In Europe you find there are also good vendors of Wood gasification plants from Wolfhagen-Ippingh – Germany.

We suggest that you obtain more information on spare parts, servicing, maintenance, repair or accessories directly from the registered micro-gasifier supply companies. You can also search for the term wood gasification plants for further products and services.

????????????? Introduction:

??????????????????? In the present energy scenario most of the population lives in rural areas with short of electricity supply, which is the main obstacle in the development of rural areas. The increasing consumption of conventional fuels coupled with environmental degradation has led to the development of renewable energy sources. Hence, it is necessary to supply renewable electricity to these areas in decentralized mode. Renewable energy sources are the most feasible solutions, as these are unlimited, inexhaustible and environment friendly sustainable resources. The rural villages have substantial renewable energy sources like biomass, solar, wind etc. The problem caused by variable nature of these resources can be partially overcome by either installing individual large renewable power plant or adding energy storage and reconversion facilities and / or by integration. (Kanse Patil et al. 2008, Rajvanshi A.K. 2002, Ravindranath N.H.et al. 2004,and Shukla P.R. 2008)

1. ???????????????? Assessment of available bio resources is helpful in revealing its status and helps in taking conservation measures and ensures a sustained supply to meet the energy demand. Assessment of bioenergy potential can be theoretical, technical or economic. Sukla (2008) reported that despite rapid growth of commercial energy, biomass remains principle energy source in rural and traditional sectors and contributes a third of India?s energy. ???For ?development of rural area one of the solution will be the utilization of sources, that lies within a village itself that is non commercial energy sources. These sources can be harnessed efficiently by adopting gasifier, biogas plants, solar collectors, tree plantation etc. which will provide lightning for home and streets, fuel for cooking and water heating motive power, power for pumps for irrigation etc. for efficient utilization of non commercial energy resources and exploitation of new one for rural? area proper planning is essential. ( Chauhan S. 2008, Chauhan S. et al. 2004, Ericsson et al. 2006, Esteban L.S. et al. 2008, Fischer G. et al. 2001 and Fuchs, M.R.et al. 2005 )

This work has emphases mainly on to find out the potential of agrowaste, livestock waste and biomass available in the village for energy generation. Keeping above views in mind the study was taken with objectives to assess? bioresources potential of village ‘Nimbhora’ and? suggest renewable energy planning for self sufficient energy village.

MATERIALS? AND METHOD

Biomass resource assessment

Field surveys based on household and direct interview methods was carried out in the village to collect potential available of biomass. Biomass energy supply was based primarily on land use statistics and yield of various crops, plantation and forest biomass productivities and the animal waste available.

Village information

The study was being conducted at Nimbhora in Akola District of Maharashtra State. It is 20 km away from Akola. The major crops grown in the village were cotton, sorghum, soybean, green gram, pigeonpea, gram etc. Total population of the village is 951 consisting of 170 households. The detail information of each family was obtained by personal interaction with the people. It was observed that total geographical area in Nimobhora was 1443.38 acre and area under cultivation is 1352.8 acre. All the cultivable area was rainfed and there was no facility of irrigation in the area.

Biomass from agricultural and residues

The cultivated area and the biomass yield of each crop influence the biomass potential from agricultural residues. The yield of a crop according to season and variety across an area was obtained by a averaging the yields of the previous years. The energy equivalent of these residues was taken based on what would be obtained if they would be subjected to the most energy efficient transformation processes. Portion of the residues available were used as fuel, while some used as fodder, and the rest left behind in the field for nutrient recycling. Energy from agriculture residues (E1).

E1 = Energy from agriculture residue (kcal)

= Total agro residue production ? consumption of agro residue

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

Table 1: Grain to straw ratio of various crops .

?

Crop

Grain / Straw

Cotton

3 t/ha

Soybean

1:1

Jawar

1:3

Pigeonpea

1:4

Gram

1:1.3

Green gram

1: 1.3

Maize

1:4

Sunflower

1:2

Source : Dubey et al. (2009)

Heat value of various crops were taken in range of 3000-3650 kcal/kg The heat value for cotton, pigeonpea and sunflower were taken as 3500, 3000 and 3650 kcal/kg respectively.

Biomass from forest lands

The biomass potential of the forests is dependent on the type of forest and its distribution cover. The biomass production varies with the type of forest. The forest wood fuel collected annually by the household from the adjoining forest area was taken with the energy equivalent. Total energy from forests (E2) was computed by

E2 =Energy from forests (kcal)

=Annual wood collected – Consumption of wood in household activates

?

Biomass from live stock (animals)

The livestock population of cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat was collected from the personal interaction with the respondents. It was taken as 12-15 kg/animal/day for buffalo, 3.0-7.5 kg/animal/day for cattle, 0.1 kg/animal/day for sheep and goat. The total dung produced annually was calculated by multiplication of the animal dung production per year and the number of head of different animals. Assuming 0.036-0.042 m3 biogas yields per kg of cattle/buffalo dung, the total quantity of gas available was estimated. Total energy from livestock (E3) was computed by

E3 = Energy from livestock (kcal)

= Total cow dung collected – direct dung consumption through cake

?

?

?

Table 2 : Dung yield, biogas yield and energy equivalent for livestock.

Livestock type

Case

Dung yield kg/animal/ day

Biogas yield m3

Energy equivalent kcal/m3

Buffalo

High

15

0.042

5300

Low

10

0.036

5300

Cattle

High

7.5

0.042

5300

Low

3

0.036

5300

Goat

High

0.1

0.042

5300

Low

0.1

0.036

5300

Sheep

High

0.1

0.042

5300

Low

0.1

0.036

5300

Total biomass sources available from various sectors was ?computed by aggregating the energy computed from individual sectors (forestry, agriculture residues, livestock) and given by

Energy availability = ? (E1 E2 E3)

Energy utilization pattern of village

In this study, the energy consumption patterns of the village was studied from the survey. All socio economic activities related to the energy use was collected. The use of energy in houses, village lightning system, use of diesel in tractor allied machineries, use of petrol for two wheeler and small agro processing units was collected.

Energy Density of village

The energy density of the village was calculated for knowing the energy potential available per hectare. The total possible energy generation from all the biomass sources was determined by using the heat value of the biomass. This means that the energy density is the total possible energy available through biomass sources in a particular area. The computational formula for the calculation of energy density was taken as

?

??????????????? Total possible energy generation (kWh)

ED = ————————————————————–

?????????????? Total geographical area of village (ha)

Where, ED is energy density in kWh per hectare

Biomass power generator size selection

The sizes of the biomass power generator was decided on the basis of the quantities of biomass available and the overall conversion efficiency computed and decided by means of the following formulae.

?

Energy???????????????????? =????? Quantity of???? x????? Heating????? x???? Conversion

generation (kWh)????????????? biomass??????????????? value???????????????? efficiency

This relation mainly emphasized on the total energy generation of the system. The size of power generator (crop residue based) can be calculated by using following relationship.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Energy generation (kWh)

Power generator size (kW) = ———————————————-

????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Yearly operating hours (h)

The sizes for the digester based power generation was computed by using the following relation:

Energy generation (kWh)= Biogas? x heating value x conversion efficiency

The operating hours per day and thereby as whole year for digester based power generation system was decided for calculation. The size of power generator of biogas operated was calculated by using following relationship.

??????????????????????????????????????????????????? Energy generation (kWh)

Power generator size (kW) = —————————————–

???????????????????????????????????????????????????? Yearly operating hours (h)

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Bioresources potential for village Nimbhora was assessed and on the basis of surplus availability renewable energy planning for self sufficient energy village was carried out and discussed in this chapter.

Status of biomass sources in village

The biomass potential, demand and energy use pattern in the villages was calculated from the available data. The bulk of dung was obtained in the village from bullock, cow, buffalo and calf 189, 123, 25 and 113 in numbers respectively.

It was observed that 11644.5 q dung was available in village Nimbhora and among the agricultural waste cotton residues was major source of biomass contributing about 5531.8 q (Table 3 and Fig.1). Pigeonpea and sunflower were also important biomass sources while planning the self energy strategy of the respective village.

Table 3 : Status of biomass in village Nimbhora

?

Sr. No.

Biomass source

?

Total quantity (q)

1

Dung

11644.5

2

Cotton

5531.8

3

Pigeonpea

503.56

4

Sorghum

3827.1

5

Green gram

339

6

Sunflower

471.5

7

Gram

718.7

8

Soybean

1139.62

9

Maize

1899

?

?

Fig. 1 : Status of biomass in village Nimbhora

Livestock bio energy sources

In this study, information about all the bioenergy resources was collected and presented in table 4 reveals the information about the production and use of the animal dung in the village. It was found that 11644.5 q of cattle dung was available in one year with a consumption of 2973 q and surplus available 8670 q, which help to fulfill the demand of villages by using the suitable renewable energy conversion system.

Table 4: Use and surplus of the cattle dung in the village

?

No. of animals

Dung available (q)

Total consumption (q)

Surplus (q)

526

11644.5

2973

8671.5

?

Collection and surplus of bio resources in village

In the selected village? all biomass sources were collected for the determination of the biomass generation capacity. Simultaneously the consumption of the bio resources from the personal interaction with the villages was collected. The demands of the energy required for cooking/ domestic sector was satisfied by using the pigeonpea, cotton and sunflower residues. A large amount of residue were found surplus in the villages. Cattle dung and cotton residues as a biomass were found major surplus in the village.

Table 5 depict information of the yearly availability of agricultural residue, production, consumption and surplus in the village. It was found that 8671.5 q cattle dung and among agro residue 1197.5 q cotton residue were found surplus (Fig. 2).

Table 5. Collection, consumption and surplus of energy in village

?

Biomass source

Collection (q)

Consumption (q)

Surplus (q)

Cattle dung

11644.5

2973

8671.5

Cotton

5531.8

4334.3

1197.5

Soybean

1139.6

1139.6

0

Sorghum

3827.1

3827.1

0

Pigeonpea

503.5

426

77.5

Maize

1899.2

1899.2

0

Gram

718.74

718.74

0

Sunflower

471.5

347

124.5

?

Fig. 2:? Collection, consumption and surplus of energy in village

?

Consumption of bioresources and energy in village

Detailed summary of energy consumption for various major activities (Biomass and allied energy) was carried out in this investigation. Table 6 reveals the information about the consumption of electricity of households, processing mills, consumption through street lamps, school, gram panchayat, temples, post office etc. There were only three floor grinding mills available in the village. There were 170 households in the village. Since the soil of village Nimbhora comes under saline track, most of the farming was rainfed and there was no irrigation facility.

Table 6 : Yearly consumption of electricity in the village Nimbhora

?

Household kWh (A)

Agro processing mill kWh (B)

School street lamp temple and various offices in village (C) kWh

Total A B C (kWh)

?

85410

?

10585

?

5372.8

?

101367.8

?

?

?

Fig. 3 : Yearly consumption of electricity in the village Nimbhora

?

Table 6 shows the outlook of electrical energy consumption of various operational uses in the village. It was observed that yearly consumption of electrical energy in village comes to be 101367.8 kWh (Fig. 3).

Nearly 7800 ? diesel was consumed annually for the tractor operation and 4562 ? of petrol required for vehicles available in the village. The villagers used 10 motorcycles for conveyance. Kerosene and LPG was used as a fuel for lighting and cooking purpose in the village which is depicted in Table 7.

?

?

?

Table 7 : Yearly consumption of liquid fuel and LPG in Nimbhora

?

Parameter

Number

Diesel ?

Petrol ?

Kerosene ?

LPG cylinders or refills

Motor cycle

10

-

4562

-

-

Tractor

3

7800

-

-

-

Cooking and lighting

-

-

-

5352

-

Cooking

-

-

-

-

187

Available energy from biomass

The information about the quantity of biomass resources available in the village Nimbhora is given in Table 8 . Agricultural residue such as cotton, pigeonpea, soybean and cattle dung etc were also the major available resources of biomass in the village. For calculating energy generation capacity of biomass resources, calorific values of the biomass were considered (Fig.4). Considering all the available surplus quantity of biomass, total energy generation in the village was found to be 727539.82 kWh.

Table 8 : Available bio energy from surplus biomass resources

?

Biomass source

?

Quantity (q)

Total possible energy available, kcal

Energy generation kWh

Cotton

1197.5

419097000

487322

Pigeonpea

77.5

23268000

27055.8

Sunflower

124.5

45442500

52840.11

Dung

8671.5

137876850

160321.91

Total possible energy generation kWh

727539.82 kWh

?

?

?

?

?

Fig. 4: Available bio energy from surplus biomass resources

?

It realized that electrical energy consumption was found less than the bioresources energy available in the village. The ratio of energy generation from bioresource to the energy consumption of the village was around 7:1.

It means that the energy used by the villagers was found much less than the biomass generated in the village. It is also realized that gasification based electrical energy generation system and biogas electrical energy generation project will be possible alternative for generating electrical energy in the village. A proposed renewable energy system will not have any impact on the ecological cycle of the village bioresources.

Biomass gasifier and digester

Power generation capacity from agro residues

The planning of the suitable system for energy generation at village level was the first step. Proper planning minimizes the cost of system and the future cost of the energy generation. The surplus biomass availale in the village was cotton residue, pigeon pea residue sunflower residues and cattle dung. The overall conversion efficiency of producer gas based electrical energy production was reported 17%. The total installation capacity of power generation based on gasifier system was found to be 35 kW (Table 9).

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Table 9 : Possible energy generation with installed power capacity of gasifier.

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Energy from cotton, pigeon pea and sunflower residue kWh

Total installed capacity

96427.00

35

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Power generation capacity from cattle waste

The cattle dung was a main vital source for the bio power generation in the village. The total quantity of surplus cattle dung available in village was 8671.5 q per year. The overall conversion efficiency of biogas based electrical energy production was reported 25 % (Biogas to electrical energy). Considering surplus cattle dung a 15 kW size of digester based power generator was estimated for village Nimbhora.

Table 10 : Possible energy generation with installed power capacity of digester.

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Cattle dung surplus (q)

Energy (kWh)

Total installed capacity kW

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8671.5

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40080.47

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15

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Biomass ??generation of village

The sizes of the power generation have been decided with the total energy generation in a year. The table 4.9 insight the overall picture of the energy generation. Considering the conversion efficiency of the gasification and digester based power generation system for the predicted green energy in a year. The total energy generation from the possible installed capacity of generator was found to be 136507.47 kWh.

Table 4.9 : Sizes of biomass power generator with one year energy generation.

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Gasifier kW

Digester kW

Energy gasifier kWh

Energy digester kWh

Total install power kW

Total energy kWh

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35

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15

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96427

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40080.47

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45

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136507.47

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CONCLUSIONS

The study revealed that the village was having considerable surplus of bioresources. Among the bioresources, cotton residue and cattle dung contributed significantly toward surplus bioenergy. Based on the bioenergy status, feasible management and technical options was discussed which would helpful in optimizing the available bioenergy and in building a sustainable energy. The proposed renewable energy system will minimize the burden on the existing resources so as to become self sufficient energy village. In village Nimbhora, bioenergy availability and demand of energy computation showed that the village could be self sufficient in respect to energy. It was found that surplus cotton residue available with quantity 1197.5 q in one year and therefore, contributed the main bioresources in the village. A large quantity of cattle dung was available in village. The availability of the cattle dung was found to be 8671.5 q in a year By incorporating the demand of the bioresources, it was also observed that bioresources produced in the village is surplus.It was found that energy demand of the village comes to be 101367.8 kWh. The surplus bioenergy resource of the village had a energy generation capacity upto the 727539.82 kWh. The ratio of bioresources availability to demand represent the bioresources status and it was found 7:1. It clearly indicates that bioresources in the village was surplus. It was realized that, renewable energy generation system, based on gasification and biogas suited to the village bioresources which have no ecological impact on cycle of bioresources. The total power generator size of proposed renewable energy system was found to be 50 kW for village Nimbhora.

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