This file is also available at http://www.geocities.com/leenameh/7articles/HRISHIKESH_Rural_ICT_India.pdf
Also read his sustainability proposal to the Min. Panchayat Raj
http://www.geocities.com/leenameh/7articles/HRISHIKESH_OFC_Connectivity_to_Villages.pdf
Proposal:
Facilitating the Village Panchayats to become an OFC distribution agency
Introduction
In India, rural teleconnectivity is the need of the hour. Thousands of villages in India are not connected simply
because, at first glance, it is not profitable. Along with the low levels of education, poor information availability
stifles the economic development of nearly 600 million Indians – which is especially true with the women in
rural areas. BSNL has already announced1 Rs. 1000cr losses on the as-yet-undeveloped rural sector, and
these will only increase as the disparity of connectivity between the urban and rural areas grows.
Some efforts have already been made towards availability of connectivity in the rural areas, but these are
mainly in the form of kiosks (Kiosks operated by ITC2, or the Vigyan Ashram project at Pabal in Maharashtra3,
IIT Kanpur Digital Gangetic Plain4 project, etc). However, these projects focus on creating a localized access
point rather than improving the infrastructure in rural areas.
I am proposing a system whereby a proper Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure
can be provided to villagers as end-users, rather than providing specific access points where the villagers
have to go to obtain access. This will also involve the gram panchayats to facilitate the establishment of
network infrastructure in rural areas, as well as provide e-governance solutions on the network.
Need to have proper infrastructure
Currently, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure in rural areas seems to be a
chicken/egg problem – nobody wants to have a long-term investment in a solid infrastructure, and nobody will
know immediately what to do with it when it is available. However, we should consider the fact that, unless
economically viable in the short term, private enterprise will shy away from creating a strong system that can
scale to future capacities.
Good infrastructure is the key to getting information access to the rural parts of India. Improved infrastructure
will attract small business as well as foster the development of local business and ensure their visibility in a
regional, national or even global market. In addition, the improved access to information will help towards
creating a good e-governance system. As the system is a village-level infrastructure, the gram panchayats
can co-ordinate the network (if not own it), and use it to provide e-governance systems. Encouraging local
entrepreneurship can also help retaining and attracting students to the rural areas to develop new services
that can be delivered over the infrastructure, as well as a testbed for research into the economics of rural
systems.
1 10 June 2002, from myiris.com via Yahoo! India Finance (reference link not available)
2 http://www.itcportal.com/ruraldevp_philosophy/fair_price.htm
3 http://www.vigyanashram.com/
4 http://www.iitk.ac.in/mladgp/
Hrishikesh Mehendale, 30 November 2004 Page 1 of 4
http://www.hrishi.org/Projects/Rural ICT in India.pdf
Some of the key benefits that will be achieved are:
1. Improved access to information for villagers and systems in the villages
2. Availability of Internet access in schools to facilitate education
3. Electronic libraries can be established
4. Improved systems for e-governance
5. Improved healthcare facilities (e.g. Tele-medicine)
6. Fostering new business investment in villages
7. Enabling telephony and Internet providers a sound infrastructure
8. Improving the economic conditions in villages
It should be noted, however, that a radical change in the village functioning will take a few to several years, as
we are introducing new technology into a market that is not immediately ready for it.
Current lack of ICT Infrastructure in villages
Currently, the ICT infrastructure in villages and small towns is limited to what BSNL or MTNL provide (the
traditional phone network). In some of the smaller towns cellular networks (BSNL, Hutch, Idea, Reliance, etc)
exist, but the coverage is restricted to the town itself, and not to the surrounding villages. Even where
companies advertise “Full connectivity on the highway” the connectivity is restricted only to highways and not
to the interior areas. In many cases, geographical terrain plays a major factor in availability of infrastructure in
a given region.
Improving the situation
When researching for similar past projects, I noticed a trend in each to provide a specific set of services. I
have split the services into two parts – Infrastructure, which deals with the network availability and Services,
which deals with what will be provided on top of the network infrastructure.
Infrastructure
1. Network access to the village from the outside world. (The uplink)
This is usually achieved via a Microwave or Optic Fiber link from the nearest available service provider.
2. High Speed Network access within the village
This step is currently woefully inadequate, and one which I plan to address
3. Establishing a network access-node which people can come to and use
This is usually done, with a few PCs at the node, which people can use for email, Internet, etc.
Services
4. Providing Internet availability to the village network (or functioning as an ISP)
This is usually achieved via the uplink to the outside world
5. Software required to perform village-level activities (e.g. Mandis)
This is available in some access-nodes, and not available in other nodes.
6. Training the local people to perform the day-today maintainence tasks needed, and how to handle network
outages.
Hrishikesh Mehendale, 30 November 2004 Page 2 of 4
http://www.hrishi.org/Projects/Rural ICT in India.pdf
Importance of Step 2 – high speed network access within the village:
High speed network access is a very useful tool for the villagers, due to the host of services that can be
provided over it. Also, a well-connected village is more likely to attract new investment opportunities from any
kind of business. In addition, such an infrastructure can be leased out to private companies that have
dedicated line requirements (e.g. Cellular phone companies for their cell towers).
Importance of Operator independent network within the village:
Operator independent networks are very useful for promoting competition. Because the network owner has
no vested interest in promoting one specific provider over another, multiple service providers can co-exist on
the same network. In addition, it becomes a “shared infrastructure”, and therefore there is little duplication of
investment. Thus,
• A single organization manages the creation, management, and expansion of infrastructure
• Duplication of investment is avoided
• Revenue can be based on a purely service-based model, without requiring to recover infrastructure costs
– which will effectively drive down the end-user prices
• Special leased lines can be provided for businesses that do not want traffic over a shared medium, or
need quality of service guarantees
• Customers (i.e. Villagers) get a choice of providers for the services they desire (e.g. Internet access)
• The providers don't need to start from setting up their own network infrastructure, thereby reducing their
startup costs as well as damage to the existing infrastructure (e.g. Digging roads to lay OFCs)
• Local services providers can be encouraged, as the setup cost is relatively much lower, as compared to
establishing their own network. For example, this can become the basis for 2 or 3 cable operators sending
video signals over the network infrastructure (e.g. With IP-Television or IP-Telephony)
To this end, a high-bandwidth network is essential, and I would recommend the use of Optic Fiber links for
this purpose. I have also prepared a comparative study of OFC vs. Wireless networks, available at
http://www.hrishi.org/Projects/OFCvsWireless-Comparison.pdf.
Implementation
My idea is based on a model adopted in Sweden – that the city government operates and maintains a highspeed
city-wide OFC network. One such network is Stokab (www.stokab.se). Companies, universities, and
organizations can lease fiber from one point to another for a reasonable fee. Thus, internet availability in
Sweden is much higher and much faster than in most parts of the world. As a comparison, the cost of a
broadband connection in the USA is about $40 for a 2Mbps connection. As opposed to this, the cost in
Sweden for a 10Mbps connection is $50. In addition to internet, new companies also provide Television and
Internet-Telephony over the same OFC line.
Such a model will need to be adapted to successfully work in Rural India. The the network infrastructure
Hrishikesh Mehendale, 30 November 2004 Page 3 of 4
http://www.hrishi.org/Projects/Rural ICT in India.pdf
should still be established and managed by the gram panchayat like any other village infrastructure (roads,
water, etc). This ensures the operator independence, as well as provides an initial investment. In addition, to
facilitate interest in the system, the gram panchayat will also establish an access-node consisting of Internet
access and e-governance systems. Some additional details of the model are provided in Appendix 1
The gram panchayat will initially provide the following:
1. High Speed network infrastructure using optic fiber lines
2. Equipment to operate the OFC network (e.g. Switches)
3. Internet access via a suitable upstream provider (e.g. GailTel)
4. Provide Internet connectivity to the village schools and training the students to use the Internet
5. Access node, consisting of about 4-5 PCs which are connected to the Internet. (The e-information center)
6. Repository of all government forms required at the Gram Panchayat level, as well as facilities to print the
forms
7. Software based IP-Telephony server, which will be used to provide free telephone services within the
village
8. Bulk-price end-user network equipment (e.g. Fiber to Ethernet converter devices)
9. Bulk price IP Telephones
In addition, the gram panchayat should also encourage local entrepreneurship that utilizes the city-wide
network. Later, as a way of recovering investment and maintainence costs, a per-user fee can be collected
from service providers (e.g. Rs.10 per user for Cable TV), and from the users directly for the services
provided by the gram panchayat, if any.
The e-information center will require about 200 sq.m. space for 4-5 computers. A trained villager will be
available to help other villagers with their needs. For convenience, the e-information center can be co-located
within the gram panchayat office area. For the purpose of this project, the panchayat can be connected to the
Internet in co-operation with GAIL.
My role
I plan to do this as a part of my Masters degree Thesis at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden.
My role in the whole process will be to act as an external consultant to the panchayat to help them with
establishing the network, training the people who will be in charge of operating the network, and overseeing
the operation, for a total period of 6 months (initially). In addition, I will also study the uptake of technologies in
villages, and viability of such a system if implemented by more villages, and report on the same. I am also
willing to teach the students at the village schools regarding usage of computers and the Internet.
Hrishikesh Mehendale, 30 November 2004 Page 4 of 4
http://www.hrishi.org/Projects/Rural ICT in India.pdf
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Conservation of fossil fuels: Emerging renewable sources
Conservation of fossil fuels :
Biodiesel, an emerging renewable source.
-------- Leena Mehendale
Principle Secretary, GAD,
Maharashtra
updated on 15/7/08
Twentieth Century saw an extensive use of fossil fuels all over the world, the innovations of hundreds and thousands of different uses for petroleum & natural gas has led to a significant increase in the need for fossil fuel in the world. A growing number of scientific researchers and political leaders have urged prompt conservation of fossil fuels by investing immediately in energy-efficient vehicles, machinery, and structures and by gradually shifting to alternative sources of energy. The reason most commonly given in support of fossil fuel conservation is that “Petroleum Resources are finite” and “the need to prevent future global climate change”. Most of these arguments say, “fossil fuels provide about 95 percent of the commercial energy used in the world economy”..... “Combustion of those fuels constitutes the largest source of emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases”. Most scientists agree that such emissions cannot be continued indefinitely at current or increasing levels without causing devastating effects on ecosystems and on people. Electricity generated from fossil fuels such as coal and crude oil has led to high concentrations of harmful gases in the atmosphere. This has in turn led to many problems being faced today such as ozone depletion global warming and Tsunami.
The consumption of non-renewable sources of energy, thus, has caused more environmental damage than any other human activity. Therefore, alternative sources of energy have become very important and relevant to today’s world. These sources, such as the sun and wind, can never be exhausted and therefore are renewable. They cause less emission and are available locally. Their use can, to a large extent, reduce chemical, radioactive, and thermal pollution. They stand out as a viable source of clean and limitless energy, as a source of non-conventional energy. Most of the renewable sources of energy are fairly non-polluting and considered clean.
In Indian context, “Bio-diesel”, as a source of alternative and renewable source of energy has started gaining momentum in a big way. Biodiesel (fatty acid alkyl esters) is a cleaner burning diesel replacement, made from natural, renewable sources such as Tree Borne Oilseed and Animal Fats. Just like petroleum diesel, bio-diesel also operates in compression-ignition engines, in fact the first ever such engine invented by the German scientist Diesel used peanut oil for fuel. Blends of up to 20% bio-diesel (mixed with petroleum diesel) can be used in nearly all diesel equipments and are compatible with most storage and distribution equipments. These low-level blends (20% and less) generally do not require any engine modifications. Bio-diesel can provide the same payload capacity as diesel.
Jatropha Curcas has been identified for India as the most suitable Tree Borne Oilseed (TBO) for production of bio-diesel both in view of the non-edible oil available from it and its presence all throughout the country. The capacity of Jatropha Curcas to rehabilitate degraded or dry lands, from which the poor derive their sustenance, by improving land’s water retention capacity, makes it additionally suitable for up-gradation of land resources. Presently, in some Indian villages, farmers are extracting oil from Jatropha and after settling and decanting it, they are mixing the filtered oil with diesel fuel. Although, so far the farmers have not observed any damage to their machinery, yet this remains to be tested and PCRA-like institutes alongwith agro-mechanical divisions of various agricultural universities must start working on it.
The fact remains that for use in modern machinery as well as for mixing and storage this oil needs to be converted to bio-diesel though a chemical reaction, called “Trans-Esterification”. This reaction is relatively simple and does not require any exotic material. The R&D Division of IOCL has been using a laboratory scale plant of 100 kg/day capacity for trans-esterification and designing of larger capacity plants is being worked out in Anand Univ. Gujrat, Delhi Univ and IIP, Dehradun. PCRA has developed institutional linkages for research & development with these R&D Institutes. With this initiative, suitable technology & equipments for esterification of bio-diesel on small & medium scales have also been developed. A few industries have done experimental production even at 50 tonnes a day. These larger plants are useful for centralized production of bio-diesel though it can be continued in smaller capacity plants of .5 to 20kg/day at decentralized level in villages till the optimum levels are not worked out. These kind of small plants can be a way out to provide energy security to our remote and rural areas, while it would also contribute towards employment generation.
As such, all kinds of Tree Borne Oilseeds, be it edible or no-edible can be used as a raw material for production of bio-diesel. But from the Indian point of view we are yet to meet our current demand of edible oils, hence the option left out for India is non-edible oilseeds.
With sky rocketing crude oil prices, what is required now is to spread the knowledge of this system and debug some crucial fiscal issues like taxation policy, tax holidays and subsidies, import concessions to palm crude oil. In addition more attention is needed on developing agro-economic practices and CDM mechanism, so that this source of alternative energy can be exploited to its fullest extent in our country.
Biodiesel, an emerging renewable source.
-------- Leena Mehendale
Principle Secretary, GAD,
Maharashtra
updated on 15/7/08
Twentieth Century saw an extensive use of fossil fuels all over the world, the innovations of hundreds and thousands of different uses for petroleum & natural gas has led to a significant increase in the need for fossil fuel in the world. A growing number of scientific researchers and political leaders have urged prompt conservation of fossil fuels by investing immediately in energy-efficient vehicles, machinery, and structures and by gradually shifting to alternative sources of energy. The reason most commonly given in support of fossil fuel conservation is that “Petroleum Resources are finite” and “the need to prevent future global climate change”. Most of these arguments say, “fossil fuels provide about 95 percent of the commercial energy used in the world economy”..... “Combustion of those fuels constitutes the largest source of emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases”. Most scientists agree that such emissions cannot be continued indefinitely at current or increasing levels without causing devastating effects on ecosystems and on people. Electricity generated from fossil fuels such as coal and crude oil has led to high concentrations of harmful gases in the atmosphere. This has in turn led to many problems being faced today such as ozone depletion global warming and Tsunami.
The consumption of non-renewable sources of energy, thus, has caused more environmental damage than any other human activity. Therefore, alternative sources of energy have become very important and relevant to today’s world. These sources, such as the sun and wind, can never be exhausted and therefore are renewable. They cause less emission and are available locally. Their use can, to a large extent, reduce chemical, radioactive, and thermal pollution. They stand out as a viable source of clean and limitless energy, as a source of non-conventional energy. Most of the renewable sources of energy are fairly non-polluting and considered clean.
In Indian context, “Bio-diesel”, as a source of alternative and renewable source of energy has started gaining momentum in a big way. Biodiesel (fatty acid alkyl esters) is a cleaner burning diesel replacement, made from natural, renewable sources such as Tree Borne Oilseed and Animal Fats. Just like petroleum diesel, bio-diesel also operates in compression-ignition engines, in fact the first ever such engine invented by the German scientist Diesel used peanut oil for fuel. Blends of up to 20% bio-diesel (mixed with petroleum diesel) can be used in nearly all diesel equipments and are compatible with most storage and distribution equipments. These low-level blends (20% and less) generally do not require any engine modifications. Bio-diesel can provide the same payload capacity as diesel.
Jatropha Curcas has been identified for India as the most suitable Tree Borne Oilseed (TBO) for production of bio-diesel both in view of the non-edible oil available from it and its presence all throughout the country. The capacity of Jatropha Curcas to rehabilitate degraded or dry lands, from which the poor derive their sustenance, by improving land’s water retention capacity, makes it additionally suitable for up-gradation of land resources. Presently, in some Indian villages, farmers are extracting oil from Jatropha and after settling and decanting it, they are mixing the filtered oil with diesel fuel. Although, so far the farmers have not observed any damage to their machinery, yet this remains to be tested and PCRA-like institutes alongwith agro-mechanical divisions of various agricultural universities must start working on it.
The fact remains that for use in modern machinery as well as for mixing and storage this oil needs to be converted to bio-diesel though a chemical reaction, called “Trans-Esterification”. This reaction is relatively simple and does not require any exotic material. The R&D Division of IOCL has been using a laboratory scale plant of 100 kg/day capacity for trans-esterification and designing of larger capacity plants is being worked out in Anand Univ. Gujrat, Delhi Univ and IIP, Dehradun. PCRA has developed institutional linkages for research & development with these R&D Institutes. With this initiative, suitable technology & equipments for esterification of bio-diesel on small & medium scales have also been developed. A few industries have done experimental production even at 50 tonnes a day. These larger plants are useful for centralized production of bio-diesel though it can be continued in smaller capacity plants of .5 to 20kg/day at decentralized level in villages till the optimum levels are not worked out. These kind of small plants can be a way out to provide energy security to our remote and rural areas, while it would also contribute towards employment generation.
As such, all kinds of Tree Borne Oilseeds, be it edible or no-edible can be used as a raw material for production of bio-diesel. But from the Indian point of view we are yet to meet our current demand of edible oils, hence the option left out for India is non-edible oilseeds.
With sky rocketing crude oil prices, what is required now is to spread the knowledge of this system and debug some crucial fiscal issues like taxation policy, tax holidays and subsidies, import concessions to palm crude oil. In addition more attention is needed on developing agro-economic practices and CDM mechanism, so that this source of alternative energy can be exploited to its fullest extent in our country.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Energy Security and Efficiency : Role of Bio-Gas.
Energy Security and Efficiency : Role of Bio-Gas.
Leena Mehendale
The question of energy security has become a major important agenda of the Government. With far higher cry for rural power, and high fluctuations in the international crude prices, the search for alternative fuels has become more urgent.
A real boost to the solution for energy security however, lies in efficiency, rather than in higher supply.
This aspect struck me greatly when recently I had a chance to look at the Integrated Energy Policy - a document prepared by Planning Commission of India. Let us look at some of the numbers mentioned therein.
Our annual consumption of energy is nearly 450 Million Tonnes of Oil Equivalent (Mtoe). Out of this 110 Mtoe, that is, nearly one fourth, comes from non-commercial resources and only 340 Mtoe is commercial, in the form of electric power, Petroleum and Coal. The non-commercial sources are wood, biomass and cowdung cakes.
For the urban elite, it is rather difficult to comprehened that the highest use for domestic fuel is still wood & cowdung cakes. Out of our 135 Mtoe domestic fuel, only 5% is clean fuel, namely, LPG and a miniscule of electricity. Another 15% comes as Kerosene and coal. About 20% is cowdung cake and nearly 60% is wood. We use annually, 80 Mtoe of wood and 30 Mtoe of cowdung cake, while Kerosene is nearly 10 Mtoe.
Programs like India Shining or Bharat Nirman are creating rosy pictures of India becoming world super power by 2030. This is not possible without energy security. Our growth rate of economy which is 8% for last 3 years and which we want to take to double digit will require tremendous amount of energy inputs by 2030. Our electricity demand will rise from 1.2 L Megawatts to 4 L Megawatts, However out of our indigenous coal stock of 100000 crore tonnes, only 50,000 crore tonnes is extractable and at an increasing cost. This whole coal will also be sufficient for only 30% of our need for electricity generation.
It is therefore high time that we relook at these fuels and also at our methods of burning them. Much higher burning efficiency can be brought in our methods by spreading proper education and providing services to the rural areas.
Let us start with gobar. We use 133 Million tonnes of gobar in rural areas and 8 Mt. in urban areas totaling to 141 Mt (which is Equivalent to 30 Mt of oil). The standard method is to make dry cowdung cakes which are then easy to store or transport if need be and use them in traditioned Chulhas for daily cooking. Efficiency of these Chulhas is very low - only 8%. This means that most of our precious fuel is wasted - not to speak of resulting smoke, pollution and innumerable diseases suffered by women folk. Asthama, bronchitis and eye problems are the most common.
Improving chullha efficiency can give good dividend. The burning efficiency can go upto 22%. However converting gobar in usable gobar gas can increase fuel efficiency upto 50%. Thus the same fuel can perform 6-7 times better job.
Cost of putting up a domestic size gobar gas plant of 2 meter cube size comes to nearly Rs.20,000. In last 40 years programs for subsidized gobar gas plants were taken in surges when agencies pushed for targets but without any program for maintenance of the assets which have been created. Sufficient emphasis was on constructing gobar gas plants - but the equally important emphasis on creating trained manpower who could repairs or make improvements was completely missing. When the plants went into disuse for lack of even minor maintenance, no attention could be paid to them. The farmer whose family women were the real beneficiaries was himself not too concerned. Rather he was reluctant for paying money for repairs and the women had practically no voice. The food could always be cooked one way or other.
Today can we learn from these lessons when we are so concerned for energy sources and alternatives? Let us re-draft our gobar gas strategies in such a way where these gaps are taken care of.
Over last 40 years, many plants were built. Many new techniques have been invented and the program can be given a push once again. This requires first and foremost a change in the attitude and priorities of our policy makers. Our priority cannot be to construct more and more plants - with or without subsidy - small or big, commercial or non-commercial. Our priority has to be to create trained manpower - equipped to work as a service provider at a cheap cost, when the local gas plant goes into disuse for want of minor repairs. We need to ensure the ready availability of such a person who can get for himself an annual maintenance contract. Alongwith this it is worthwhile to invest once again in major repairs of some of the revivable plants and a few thosand totally new plants.
Very early in my service I was associated with scheme for gobar gas. In the years 81-83 when I was CEO in ZP of Aurangabad & Sangli, the GoI had launched a massive program for construction of gobar gas. Since then I have watched the development of various techniques, the good and not so good aspects of program implementation
On the technical side, the very early KVIC models used to have floating domes - later the fixed dome technology came and today we can use both for domestic sizes. To parry the problem of bad smell, water jacket technology was used. There were many experiments about dome material. As some complaints arose that the cement domes developed cracks, people experimented with fiber – glass and other material and this issue now stands successfully trackled. Some companies experimented with pre-fabricated ferrocement plants too. All these designs have their own success stories for show-casing.
The common digester sizes started from 2 meter cube for domestic purpose. A farmer having 4 cattle would get sufficient cowdung for meeting the daily requirement of gas in his kitchen, for a family of 6-8 members. In 1986 I visited a farmer who used 20% diesel and 80 % biogas in his diesel pump for pumping water in the farm. In 1992, I visited the Anandwan Justitute of Shri Baba Amte where he ran a Leprosy rehab centre. It had around 500 inmates and 3 gobar gas plants of 35 meter cube each which ran on nightsoil and cowdung and daily supplied enough gas for the entire kitchen activities.
These are some examples of successful plants. However a large percentage of gobar gas plants then constructed through Government subsides have gone into disorder. Some years back TERI conducted a survey which showed that about 80% of plants went into disorder and disuse.
Today, when the need to reassess the situation and once again build up the stock of our assets for renewable resources and revitalize the program, I think we should focus on those 20% plants which are still being used successfully.
The action plan can begin with an experience sharing seminar of those households where gobar gas plants are still working, and those where the plant failed, those technical experts who are constructing biogas plants and those who are in the job of framing policies. Such experience sharing will tell us about the do’s and dont’s of the new program. Another point of action is to start training rural youth in gas plant maintenance. Yet another action is to undertake a survey of gobar gas plants built over last few years and the reasons of their failure or success. Then, a repairs program needs to be taken up in right unrest.
The question of fire wood is also of crucial importance. The estimates of IEP state that we burn 180 million tonnes of wood for domestic fuel. Another estimate states that for all uses put together, we burn nearly 220 million tonnes of wood and 130 million tonnes of bio waste thus taking the total to 350 million tonnes. (Nearly half for domestic and half for other purpose - mostly industrial).
The efficiency of our traditional chullhas is very low - nearly 8%. It means when we burn 100 kg of wood, we get the real value of only 8 kg. The rest - nearly 12 times of what is burned - goes as waste. Hence improving our chullhas and small units of traditional bhattis eg. gur bhatti, is very essential.
Two such experiments are worth quoting. In Udaypur the KVIC developed a new model of chulhas in which a pre-tested iron mould is used as a base material. The dimensions of the mould have been finalized after lot of trial - errors and improvements. The mud plus cement chullhas are constructed around this mould and the mould is taken out. It can be used over and over again upto nearly 15000 chullhas. The chullha so made has two compartments connected with a pipe and a chimney is also fitted, which takes the smoke up and away. With this chullha, the burning efficiency is found to increase upto 22% which means straight saving of at least 25% of our today’s wood consumption and consequential environment pollution. The cost of mould is around Rs. 500 while that of chulha is around Rs. 1500. I was then Executive director of PCRA (Petroleum Conservation Research Association) and we decided to sponser this chulha through an Action Research project. Under this we funded the training of 5 masons, giving them moulds and paying them 50% of wages for the chulhas so constructed. In first phase we sponsored 2000 such chulhas in Rajasthan. In the 2nd phase some more have been sponsored. In yet another Action Research project we sponsored a lab-to-field trials of fuel efficient Gud-bhattis developed by Indian Institute of Petroleum. PCRA has very good technical video films made on these two subjects (and many more films relating to energy efficincy). These can be used seminars and to educate the end user.
In yet another experiment, I visited a small village Odenthorai near Coimbtore. Here, with the leadership of DRDA officials and the village sarpanch, power generation is done from wood. First the firewood is dried and chopped to small pieces. They are burned with low oxygen supply in a small scale gassifier. Carbon monoxide so produced is filtered with water and taken to burn alongwith diesel in a diesel motor where it produces electricity. All the village water pumping is done by using this electricity. This is a far efficient way of burning wood. This experiment has been repeated in some neighboring villages who are using excess electricity for street lights upto 10 pm in the night. Thus the villages which used to be in the grip of darkness after sunset are now active and bubbling till 10 pm. With power cuts having become so common in rural areas, this locally generated electricity opens up new dimensions of enterprise. A video films on this is also made by PCRA and is available in our clip-bank.
Sources like solar energy, wind, bio-diesel are being talked about a lot. It is high time we also pay attention to the aspect of fuel saving and efficient burning of biomass - be it cowdung or wood or farm waste.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some more info on these subjects can be seen on following site.
http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/environment/cr-public/cr-se-wes-28120501-public.pdf
Leena Mehendale
The question of energy security has become a major important agenda of the Government. With far higher cry for rural power, and high fluctuations in the international crude prices, the search for alternative fuels has become more urgent.
A real boost to the solution for energy security however, lies in efficiency, rather than in higher supply.
This aspect struck me greatly when recently I had a chance to look at the Integrated Energy Policy - a document prepared by Planning Commission of India. Let us look at some of the numbers mentioned therein.
Our annual consumption of energy is nearly 450 Million Tonnes of Oil Equivalent (Mtoe). Out of this 110 Mtoe, that is, nearly one fourth, comes from non-commercial resources and only 340 Mtoe is commercial, in the form of electric power, Petroleum and Coal. The non-commercial sources are wood, biomass and cowdung cakes.
For the urban elite, it is rather difficult to comprehened that the highest use for domestic fuel is still wood & cowdung cakes. Out of our 135 Mtoe domestic fuel, only 5% is clean fuel, namely, LPG and a miniscule of electricity. Another 15% comes as Kerosene and coal. About 20% is cowdung cake and nearly 60% is wood. We use annually, 80 Mtoe of wood and 30 Mtoe of cowdung cake, while Kerosene is nearly 10 Mtoe.
Programs like India Shining or Bharat Nirman are creating rosy pictures of India becoming world super power by 2030. This is not possible without energy security. Our growth rate of economy which is 8% for last 3 years and which we want to take to double digit will require tremendous amount of energy inputs by 2030. Our electricity demand will rise from 1.2 L Megawatts to 4 L Megawatts, However out of our indigenous coal stock of 100000 crore tonnes, only 50,000 crore tonnes is extractable and at an increasing cost. This whole coal will also be sufficient for only 30% of our need for electricity generation.
It is therefore high time that we relook at these fuels and also at our methods of burning them. Much higher burning efficiency can be brought in our methods by spreading proper education and providing services to the rural areas.
Let us start with gobar. We use 133 Million tonnes of gobar in rural areas and 8 Mt. in urban areas totaling to 141 Mt (which is Equivalent to 30 Mt of oil). The standard method is to make dry cowdung cakes which are then easy to store or transport if need be and use them in traditioned Chulhas for daily cooking. Efficiency of these Chulhas is very low - only 8%. This means that most of our precious fuel is wasted - not to speak of resulting smoke, pollution and innumerable diseases suffered by women folk. Asthama, bronchitis and eye problems are the most common.
Improving chullha efficiency can give good dividend. The burning efficiency can go upto 22%. However converting gobar in usable gobar gas can increase fuel efficiency upto 50%. Thus the same fuel can perform 6-7 times better job.
Cost of putting up a domestic size gobar gas plant of 2 meter cube size comes to nearly Rs.20,000. In last 40 years programs for subsidized gobar gas plants were taken in surges when agencies pushed for targets but without any program for maintenance of the assets which have been created. Sufficient emphasis was on constructing gobar gas plants - but the equally important emphasis on creating trained manpower who could repairs or make improvements was completely missing. When the plants went into disuse for lack of even minor maintenance, no attention could be paid to them. The farmer whose family women were the real beneficiaries was himself not too concerned. Rather he was reluctant for paying money for repairs and the women had practically no voice. The food could always be cooked one way or other.
Today can we learn from these lessons when we are so concerned for energy sources and alternatives? Let us re-draft our gobar gas strategies in such a way where these gaps are taken care of.
Over last 40 years, many plants were built. Many new techniques have been invented and the program can be given a push once again. This requires first and foremost a change in the attitude and priorities of our policy makers. Our priority cannot be to construct more and more plants - with or without subsidy - small or big, commercial or non-commercial. Our priority has to be to create trained manpower - equipped to work as a service provider at a cheap cost, when the local gas plant goes into disuse for want of minor repairs. We need to ensure the ready availability of such a person who can get for himself an annual maintenance contract. Alongwith this it is worthwhile to invest once again in major repairs of some of the revivable plants and a few thosand totally new plants.
Very early in my service I was associated with scheme for gobar gas. In the years 81-83 when I was CEO in ZP of Aurangabad & Sangli, the GoI had launched a massive program for construction of gobar gas. Since then I have watched the development of various techniques, the good and not so good aspects of program implementation
On the technical side, the very early KVIC models used to have floating domes - later the fixed dome technology came and today we can use both for domestic sizes. To parry the problem of bad smell, water jacket technology was used. There were many experiments about dome material. As some complaints arose that the cement domes developed cracks, people experimented with fiber – glass and other material and this issue now stands successfully trackled. Some companies experimented with pre-fabricated ferrocement plants too. All these designs have their own success stories for show-casing.
The common digester sizes started from 2 meter cube for domestic purpose. A farmer having 4 cattle would get sufficient cowdung for meeting the daily requirement of gas in his kitchen, for a family of 6-8 members. In 1986 I visited a farmer who used 20% diesel and 80 % biogas in his diesel pump for pumping water in the farm. In 1992, I visited the Anandwan Justitute of Shri Baba Amte where he ran a Leprosy rehab centre. It had around 500 inmates and 3 gobar gas plants of 35 meter cube each which ran on nightsoil and cowdung and daily supplied enough gas for the entire kitchen activities.
These are some examples of successful plants. However a large percentage of gobar gas plants then constructed through Government subsides have gone into disorder. Some years back TERI conducted a survey which showed that about 80% of plants went into disorder and disuse.
Today, when the need to reassess the situation and once again build up the stock of our assets for renewable resources and revitalize the program, I think we should focus on those 20% plants which are still being used successfully.
The action plan can begin with an experience sharing seminar of those households where gobar gas plants are still working, and those where the plant failed, those technical experts who are constructing biogas plants and those who are in the job of framing policies. Such experience sharing will tell us about the do’s and dont’s of the new program. Another point of action is to start training rural youth in gas plant maintenance. Yet another action is to undertake a survey of gobar gas plants built over last few years and the reasons of their failure or success. Then, a repairs program needs to be taken up in right unrest.
The question of fire wood is also of crucial importance. The estimates of IEP state that we burn 180 million tonnes of wood for domestic fuel. Another estimate states that for all uses put together, we burn nearly 220 million tonnes of wood and 130 million tonnes of bio waste thus taking the total to 350 million tonnes. (Nearly half for domestic and half for other purpose - mostly industrial).
The efficiency of our traditional chullhas is very low - nearly 8%. It means when we burn 100 kg of wood, we get the real value of only 8 kg. The rest - nearly 12 times of what is burned - goes as waste. Hence improving our chullhas and small units of traditional bhattis eg. gur bhatti, is very essential.
Two such experiments are worth quoting. In Udaypur the KVIC developed a new model of chulhas in which a pre-tested iron mould is used as a base material. The dimensions of the mould have been finalized after lot of trial - errors and improvements. The mud plus cement chullhas are constructed around this mould and the mould is taken out. It can be used over and over again upto nearly 15000 chullhas. The chullha so made has two compartments connected with a pipe and a chimney is also fitted, which takes the smoke up and away. With this chullha, the burning efficiency is found to increase upto 22% which means straight saving of at least 25% of our today’s wood consumption and consequential environment pollution. The cost of mould is around Rs. 500 while that of chulha is around Rs. 1500. I was then Executive director of PCRA (Petroleum Conservation Research Association) and we decided to sponser this chulha through an Action Research project. Under this we funded the training of 5 masons, giving them moulds and paying them 50% of wages for the chulhas so constructed. In first phase we sponsored 2000 such chulhas in Rajasthan. In the 2nd phase some more have been sponsored. In yet another Action Research project we sponsored a lab-to-field trials of fuel efficient Gud-bhattis developed by Indian Institute of Petroleum. PCRA has very good technical video films made on these two subjects (and many more films relating to energy efficincy). These can be used seminars and to educate the end user.
In yet another experiment, I visited a small village Odenthorai near Coimbtore. Here, with the leadership of DRDA officials and the village sarpanch, power generation is done from wood. First the firewood is dried and chopped to small pieces. They are burned with low oxygen supply in a small scale gassifier. Carbon monoxide so produced is filtered with water and taken to burn alongwith diesel in a diesel motor where it produces electricity. All the village water pumping is done by using this electricity. This is a far efficient way of burning wood. This experiment has been repeated in some neighboring villages who are using excess electricity for street lights upto 10 pm in the night. Thus the villages which used to be in the grip of darkness after sunset are now active and bubbling till 10 pm. With power cuts having become so common in rural areas, this locally generated electricity opens up new dimensions of enterprise. A video films on this is also made by PCRA and is available in our clip-bank.
Sources like solar energy, wind, bio-diesel are being talked about a lot. It is high time we also pay attention to the aspect of fuel saving and efficient burning of biomass - be it cowdung or wood or farm waste.
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Some more info on these subjects can be seen on following site.
http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/environment/cr-public/cr-se-wes-28120501-public.pdf
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