Popularization of Biomass Briquettes- A means for ... · The process of ‘Briquetting’ is ......

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Research Article ISSN 2229 – 3795

ASIAN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT RESEARCH 457

Volume 2 Issue 1, 2011

Popularization of Biomass Briquettes- A means for Sustainable rural

Development Nandini Shekhar

Assistant Professor, Centre for Research – Projects, Christ University,

Hosur Road, Bangalore – 560029.

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

It is surprising that energy access was not one of the original Millennium Development Goals

and the UN has been slow in waking up to the centrality of energy in the poverty reduction

agenda. There is a huge current and growing demand to find alternative clean energy sources

that meet new legislation requirements to reduce emissions from fossil fuels. Agrowaste as a

source of energy in India shows great potential. The process of ‘Briquetting’ is the physical

transformation of loose raw material mostly made of agro waste like rice husks, bagasse,

ground nut shells etcetera and other organic materials like municipal solid waste into high

density fuel briquettes through a compacting process. The resultant form change increases

the calorific value (combustion efficiency) of the product as compared to loose material.

This paper analysis the issues connected with the production and use of briquettes and

highlights the huge untapped potential of its possible wide spread use. It also offers

suggestions to Corporates and NGOs to undertake these projects as an arm of their Corporate

Social Responsibility efforts.

Key Words: Agrowaste, Biomass, Briquettes, Corporate Social Responsibility, Rural

Development.

1. Introduction

Energy is the key factor in economic development of a country. Global energy use is rising

very rapidly, and as emerging markets continue to grow, build-out their vital infrastructure

and create the consumers of tomorrow, the world will continue to see energy demand

skyrocket. To that end, both investors and governments have been exploring solutions, such

as efficiency measures and renewable energy generation as a way to satiate that exploding

demand. The use of biomass residues and wastes for chemical and energy production was

first seriously investigated during the oil embargo of the 1970s.

Households in rural India are highly dependent on firewood as their main source of energy,

partly because non-biofuels tend to be expensive, and access to affordable fuel alternatives to

coal, gas, kerosene and electricity for cooking and heating is limited. Approximately 96% of

rural households are estimated to be using biofuels (NSSO 1997). These fuels dominate the

domestic sector and are primarily used for cooking. Fuelwood is the primary energy source

for cooking used by rural households (78%) (TERI 1999a). In actual volumes as well,

fuelwood ranks first, at 252.1 million tonnes, followed by dung-cakes, at 106.9 million tonnes

and agricultural residue, at 99.2 million tonnes of annual consumption (TERI 1992).

Similarly, the per capita consumption figures are also high for fuelwood at 250 kg, 50 kg for

Popularization of Biomass Briquettes- A means for Sustainable Rural Development

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animal dung and 134 kg for crop residues (NSSO 1997) This is further corroborated by the

energy consumption estimation given by NCAER (Natarajan 1997).

Production and consumption of almost any type of energy have environmental impacts.

Harvesting of fuelwood, in particular, contributes to deforestation, soil erosion, and

desertification. Use of fuelwood as an energy source can also contribute to the accumulation

of CO2, the main greenhouse gas, both because burning fuelwood produces CO2, and

because deforestation destroys an important CO2 sink. The use of such unprocessed biofuels

results in several hardships especially for women. In the case of bio fuel use, time spent and

hardship suffered in fuel collection, health impact suffered from air pollution, increased

burden of cleaning utensils, walls, floors and clothes, and ecological changes are severe

negative consequences. Mostly women and children transport wood and other biomass fuels

as head loads. The wood fuel and other biomass are burnt in inefficient traditional mud stoves

(~20% efficiency) in poorly ventilated kitchens. Also, use of biomass in traditional stoves

exposes the users, mainly women and children, to high levels of indoor air pollution. Smoke-

induced respiratory problems in communities cause substantial economic and social

constraints and an increasing financial health-cost burden.

Unavailability of clean energy sources leads to many such problems that are not sufficiently

highlighted or analyzed. Decentralized solutions offering cheap access to rural energy,

employment and income generating opportunities to the rural population are scarce. While a

number of technological approaches and implementation proposals exist, a sustainable

introduction of renewable energy solutions into rural communities hinges on appropriate

business models that include a long-term commitment from a commercially interested and

socially aware partner. Models for such a sustainable approach to renewable energy

introduction have not yet been developed.

This paper begins with a short description of the status of biomass energy – both global as

well as local, and attempts to study Briquetting as a means for off grid source of energy for

heating and lighting, thereby offering a viable and sustainable solution to many of these

issues.

2. Status of Biomass Energy

Until the middle of 19th century, biomass dominated the global energy supply with a seventy

percent share (Grubler and Nakicenovic, 1988). Among the biomass energy sources, wood

fuels are the most prominent. With rapid increase in fossil fuel use, the share of biomass in

total energy declined steadily through substitution by coal in the nineteenth century and later

by refined oil and gas during the twentieth century (Figure 1). Despite its declining share in

energy, global consumption of wood energy has continued to grow. During 1974 to 1994,

global wood consumption for energy grew annually by over 2 percent rate. Presently, the

biomass sources contribute 14% of global energy and 38% of energy in developing countries

(Woods and Hall, 1994).

The above figure 1 shows the significant contribution of renewable energy in the total fuel

consumption statistics. While oil, coal and gas are non renewable and are not clean sources

of energy, a concentrated effort should be made to harness the renewable segment as a

continuous and clean source of energy.

Biomass energy currently plays a major role in meeting the present energy needs of

developing countries. A number of authors (Beyea et al., 1991), have also expressed the


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459

view that biomass has the potential to meet the additional energy demands of urban and

industrial sectors, thereby making a significant contribution to the economic advancement of

developing countries. Biomass can also offer an immediate solution for the reduction of the

CO2 content in the atmosphere. It has three other main advantages: firstly its availability can

be nearly unlimited, secondly it is locally produced and thirdly the fact that it can be used

essentially without damage to the environment. In addition to its positive global effect by

comparison with other sources of energy, it presents no risk of major accidents, as nuclear

and oil energy do.

Figure 1: 2003 Fuel Shares of World Total Primary Energy Supply

Source "RENEWABLES IN GLOBAL ENERGY SUPPLY", International Energy Agency,

2006.

** Geothermal, solar, wind, tide/wave/ocean.

*** Includes non-renewable waste.

Table 1: People (In Millions) relying on Traditional Biomass

Countries 2004 2015 2030

Sub Saharan Africa 575 627 720

North Africa 4 5 5

India 740 777 782

China 480 453 394

Indonesia 156 171 180

Rest of Africa 489 521 561

Brazil 23 26 27

Rest of Latin America 60 60 58

TOTAL 2528 2640 2727

# Source: International Energy Agency, 2006.

Use of firewood and cooking fuel is generally expected to go down along with an increase in

income and a relatively higher use of other cleaner cooking fuels like kerosene, gas, and


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460

electricity. However, due to the dynamics of the price rise during last 15 years, a sharp

increase in the price of commercial fuels (kerosene, coal, and charcoal), has forced even the

urban poor of India to use fuelwood for cooking food (World Resources 1994, p.93). Table 1

shows the projection by The International Energy Agency, 2006 for the increasing number of

people who will continue to rely on traditional biomass worldwide.

Fuelwood still serves as the major source of energy in the rural areas and the business of

fuelwood collection is the livelihood most resorted to for millions of people. Fuelwood

collection as a livelihood strategy is a strong indicator of severe rural distress, ecological

degradation and the failure of agriculture to sustain the rural economy. For many it is a sole

survival option though it generates only nominal monetary gains. Fuelwood collection is not

a legitimate forestry activity in India despite its economic importance to rural dwellers and

significance from rural livelihood perspectives. (Status report on use of fuelwood in India,

2010).

Biomass briquettes may hold the answer for emerging and developing countries, as well as

countries which are more established. In many third world nations biomass such as wood,

grass, and other plant matter is used to cook with, the only difference is that the briquettes

made from biomass are extremely compressed, so that they will provide a lot more heat and

energy than loose biomass materials will. There is no set formula for biomass briquettes to be

used as biomass energy sources. Instead the briquettes are made from available biomass, and

this will change from area to area. This allows for biomass energy generation that does not

require much transportation of purchased materials from a distant location.

If this new role is to be achieved within the context of sustainable development, it is

important for a developing country such as India to achieve both sustainable biomass fuel

production and the more efficient utilisation of biomass. However, in order for biomass to

make a significant impact as a fuel there is a need to improve and promote state-of-the-art

technologies.

India’s search for new and renewable energy resources that would ensure sustainable

development and energy security began in early 70’s of the last century. Consequently, use of

various renewable energy resources and efficient use of energy were identified as the two

thrust areas of the sustainable development. Policy measures aim at overall development and

promotion of renewable energy technologies (RETs) and applications. Table 2 shows the

implementation of various renewable energy programmes in various states of India.

Table 2: Status of Various Renewable Energy Programmes in Various States of India

State-wise Cumulative Achievements of Decentralised/Off-Grid Renewable Energy

Systems/Devices under Various Renewable

Energy Programme in India - Part I

(As on 31.3.2010)

Biomass Gasifiers

(KW) Solar Photovoltaic System

States/UTs

Biogas

Plants

(Nos.) (Rural) (Industrial)

Waste

to

Energ

y

(KW)

Street

Lightin

g

System

(Nos.)

Home

Lightin

g

System

(Nos.)

Solar

Lantern

s (Nos.)

Power

Plant

(KWp)

Andhra 457938 - 16681 4.95 35799 1957 3914 213.30


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461

Pradesh

Arunachal

Pradesh 2957 1800 - - 13937 7120 1071 17.10

Assam 81592 - - - 1211 5870 98 7.50

Bihar 125888 1650 3440 - 50117 3170 690 -

Chhattisgarh 32050 500 1210 - 3192 7211 1889 99.72

Goa 3893 - - - 1027 362 463 1.72

Gujarat 411950 810 19420 8.4 31603 9231 2004 100.50

Haryana 54083 300 1963 - 71646 28213 9878 434.40

Himachal

Pradesh 45716 - - - 22970 16840 2994 1.50

Jammu and

Kashmir 2489 - - - 28672 23083 5596 175.60

Jharkhand 4933 180 250 - 16374 4314 620 -

Karnataka 418759 1157 6297 3 7334 28128 2271 29.41

Kerala 126463 - - - 41181 32326 1090 44.70

Madhya

Pradesh 295580 211 7537 0.1 9444 2651 6054 22.40

Maharashtra 780527 - 6950 5.11 68683 1972 5471 6.44

Manipur 2128 - - - 3883 2850 370 28.00

Meghalaya 6661 - 250 - 24875 7840 1273 50.50

Mizoram 3820 200 - - 5812 3045 431 109.00

Nagaland 4153 1480 - - 6317 720 271 6.00

Orissa 239818 - 270 0.02 9882 5156 5819 74.52

Punjab 105289 - - 1.58 17495 8620 4337 121.00

Rajasthan 67348 33 2071 - 4716 67305 6632 25.80

Sikkim 7333 - - - 2470 3890 212 14.70

Tamil Nadu 216516 2586 6180 4.73 16818 1557 5885 39.50

Tripura 2793 1000 - - 42360 26066 773 24.57

Uttar Pradesh 422269 80 18730 17.31 51683 92124 4117 129.20

Uttarakhand 10508 - 250 1.52 64023 91307 7673 80.03

West Bengal 318510 700 16450 - 3662 111090 27512 675.00

Andaman

and Nicobar

Islands

137 - - - 6296 405 358 167.00

Chandigarh 97 - - - 1675 275 0 -

Dadra and

Nagar Haveli 169 - - - 0 0 0 -

Daman and

Diu - - - - 0 0 0 -

Delhi 679 - - - 4753 0 301 80.00

Lakshadweep - - - - 0 0 0 85.00

Puducherry 578 600 - - 1637 25 417 -

Others* - - - 0 125797 8584 9150 58.00

India 4253624 13287 107949 46.72 797344 603307 119634 2922.11

Source:

http://www.indiastat.com/table/power/26/nonconventionalenergy/184/502108/data.aspx


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462

It is evident from Table 2 that the Waste to Energy Programme in practically all the Indian

States has been grossly underutilized and there is a lot of scope for scientific and

technological improvements in that area. Besides, its flexibility and applications are

immense as regarding the current problems of rural employment, cheap fuel for household

purposes, sustainable livelihoods and even rural electrification.

Of the various renewable energy sources, bio-residues, of which agricultural residues form a

major component, can be most easily utilized to reduce the consumption of wood fuel,

blamed partly in some areas as a factor in deforestation. (Hosier and Svenningson, 1987).

Since most developing countries’ economies are still primarily agriculturally based, they

produce huge quantities of agricultural residues which provide an enormous untapped fuel

resource. For example, in India there is a large, underutilized supply of agro-processing

residues: around 49 million tonnes per annum (National Productivity Council, 1987).

Figure 2: Biomass burning estimates for India, for 1996-97

Source: http://www.cese.iitb.ac.in/arl/eminv/bm_em1.htm

As Figure 3 shows, biomass continues to be the major source of cheap energy in millions of

Indian homes. To make use of this abundant and sustainable source there is an urgent

necessity to innovate new technologies for efficient energy production.

Figure 3: Fuel Mix in Household energy use in India

Source: United Nations Statistics Division


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463

About 72 per cent of India's population lives in rural areas, where biomass is the primary

source of energy. In 1995, biomass provided 77 per cent of household energy consumption,

liquid fuels 18 per cent, and electricity 5 per cent. Over the previous decade, per capita

household energy consumption had increased modestly, mostly due to increases in electricity

and liquid fuels, while biomass consumption has remained constant. Solid fuel consumption

has declined to less than one per cent (Figure 3).

However, a major disadvantage of agricultural residues as a fuel is their low bulk density,

which makes handling difficult, transport and storage expensive, and gives rise to poor

combustion properties. However, these problems can be overcome by compacting, with a

compression ratio of approximately 7:1, the loose biomass to form briquettes. (Grover and

Mishra, 1996). The opportunity to utilize more efficiently agricultural residues, with a

reduction in pollution levels, has in recent years aroused the interest of developing countries,

as well as some industrialized ones, in briquetting.

3. Conversion of Biomass to Energy Source

Generally, biomass can be defined as renewable organic materials that contain energy in a

chemical form that can be converted to fuel. Biomass includes all kinds of vegetative and

organic waste. Good examples of biomass are (i) agricultural waste left behind in fields after

harvesting (ii) plant material left in the forest after collection of timber (iii) bagasse in the

sugar industry (iv) rice husk in rice mills (v) sawdust in timber mills (vi) groundnut shells

(vii) municipal solid waste (MSW) (viii) energy crops that are separately cultivated for their

fuel content. In rural India, 370 m tonnes of agrowaste are generated annually, out of which

cotton, jute, maize and sugar mill waste make 50 m tonnes, while rice husk, bagasse, sawdust

and groundnut shells make another 50 tonnes.(Ghosh, K.P., 2002).

Bioenergy already provides the main source of energy for heating and cooking for many

millions of people in rural communities. Where adequate sources of biomass raw materials

are available – for example from crop or forest residues – then these can also be used to

generate electricity. This can be done in conjunction with larger plants which also use energy

to process crops (for example the use of bagasse in sugar cane production). Alternatively

smaller-scale systems based on biomass combustion or small-scale gasification can be used to

generate electricity for local use. Moreover, biofuels such as non-edible straight vegetable

oils (SVOs) produced from plants like Jatropha, can be directly used for transport

applications and decentralized power generation or converted to biodiesel and blended with

petro-diesel.

3.1 The briquetting system

Due to their heterogeneous nature, biomass materials possess inherently low bulk densities,

and uneven and troublesome characteristics thus, it is difficult to efficiently handle large

quantities of most feed stocks. The process of compaction of residues into a product of higher

density than the original raw material is known as densification or briquetting. By briquetting,

voluminous biomasses are compacted and given a definite shape and size. Densification has

aroused a great deal of interest in developing countries all over the world lately as a technique

for upgrading of residues as energy sources. Converting residues into a densified form has the

following advantages:

1. the process increases the net calorific value per unit volume


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464

2. densified product is easy to transport and store

3. the process helps to solve the problem of residue disposal

4. the fuel produced is uniform in size and quality

Figure 4: The basic process

There are various ways by which biomass can be converted into sources of energy. Some of

them are (1) Direct combustion of woody biomass to produce heat, steam and electricity. (2)

Pyrolysis to produce oils, fuel gas, char and chemical feed stock. (3) Thermochemical

process to produce gaseous and liquid fuel (4) Briquetting the biomass and its combustion to

produce heat, steam and electricity. Briquettes have high density and high calorific value

(varying between 3110 and 4600 kcal/kg) compared to their raw form.

3.2 A brief history of briquetting in India

Since the beginning of the 1980s there have been three different types of briquetting

technologies introduced into India – PARU, Screw Extruder and Piston Press. A number of

companies were licensed to produce the PARU (Korean company) equipment. Between

1982 and 1986 seventy entrepreneurs bought the technology. All but six or seven of these

plants became non functional within 3 months to 2 years of start up, and there are now none

in operation. The high failure rate was attributed to the licensees’ using inferior materials in

the construction of the equipment (to increase their profit margins) and altering design

without consulting the developer. Lack of operating instructions, insufficient training of

operators, and inadequate maintenance and management were also contributing factors.

Entrepreneurs in south India imported twenty screw extruders from Taiwan. Although the

briquettes were well accepted by the customers, there was excessive wear in the press due to

the use of rice husk (a particularly abrasive material) as the feedstock. (Clancy, 2001)

The Screw Extruder is considered to be more appropriate to the Indian power supply situation

since the down time associated with power disruption is significantly less than that for a

piston press (half our compared to four hours). The disadvantage of this type of press is the

higher investment costs compared to the piston press and the need for skilled welding to

repair the screw. The piston press is the technology that has been most widely used on

commercial basis in India with any degree of success. The technology was first introduced in

India in 1981 with the importation of a piston press produced by a Swiss company, Fred

Haussmann Corporation. Although a few more Haussmann presses were imported, there was

no major importation since the costs were prohibitive. However, a number of manufacturers

saw an opportunity of producing a product with a good market potential. In 1993, thirty five

plants were identified using this indigenously manufactured equipment. Plant owners

however reported a range of operating experiences and not all plants were functioning


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465

profitably. (Clancy, 2001). Figure 5 depicts some of the frequent problems of briquetting

plants in India which has resulted in underutilization of this technology for rural development.

Figure 5: Common Problems in Briquetting Plants

Sources: Noordman(1992), Post (1995)

4. Research methodology

This paper is based on the findings of a personal visit to a Briquetting plant on the outskirts of

Mysore, Karnataka, India. Open ended extensive interviews were carried out with the owner

and labourers of the unit. Visual Observation was also used to verify some of the statements.

This study has also been complemented by several inputs from publicly available information,

and analyses the issues concerning the manufacturing and problems and prospects of usage of

briquettes as a partial replacement for fossil fuels in India.

5. Findings

A visit to the unit near Mysore yielded a lot of information on the current status of briquette

manufacturing. The major findings are:


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1. Raw material used- Coffee waste, paddy husk, groundnut husk & other bio waste.

2. Technology used (type of machine) - 20 year old technology: Press Compressor

/Drier cum moulder.

3. Maintenance required and availability of spare parts- depends on usage once

in every 6 months; spares are freely available and can be procured locally.

4. Marketing prospects - both local and exports- Domestic markets only - used in

furnace viz. paper mills and the company is at present looking out for selling

carbon credits.

5. Labour required- This is an SSI unit. 5 semi skilled personnel are adequate.

But since briquetting plants are located in rural areas, fluctuations in labour

availability should hardly come as a surprise. On the job training was provided

for the employees.

6. Storage space - ware house of min. 10000 sq ft. is required as raw material can be

procured only after harvest and needs a large storage space due to its bulky nature.

7. Water requirement. - Can it be recycled and reused? The answer was in the

affirmative.

8. Power - Substantial supply is available in industrial areas but not in rural areas

where the supply is single phase.

9. Any other requirements- The owner agreed to the necessity to evolve better

strategy, innovation, and improve on cost and technology.

The owner was further quizzed on the following

1. Do they innovate in terms of raw material? Because it appears there is seasonal

availability of raw material. The answer was “no”.

2. What is the pretreatment required for different types of raw material? For this he

answered that the moisture content has to be removed irrespective of the raw

material they were using.

3. Is the machine locally manufactured? ..yes it was procured locally

4. The owner was quite clear when he said that not much innovation has happened

regarding the technology. The technology being used was 20 years old.

5. What about household cooking in rural areas? Has this market been

explored? For which he answered “ yes by Swami Vivekananda Youth

Movement in Tamil Nadu”

6. What about technology transfer and training in manufacture for local farmers as

they can have in house production of raw material? Also employment generation

in rural areas? He answered that nothing has been done in this area as yet, though

he agreed there was a lot of scope for that.

Based on these findings obtained during the personal interview, the following issues have

been highlighted in this sector.

5.1 Issues in the sector


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5.1.1 Raw Material

Briquettes can be made from anything that burns without producing toxic ash or fumes. The

raw material requires sufficient storage space thereby increasing the capital cost of

briquetting projects. Moisture content is the most important parameter of the raw material (a

key parameter influencing briquetted quality and functioning of the press, and hence

company profitability), while equally important are the particle size and contamination by

extraneous material like stones. These requirements vary with the technology used. To

enable the feedstock to meet press specifications requires good performance from the

auxiliary equipment (dryer, grinder, sieve) and that their capacities match those of the press.

The raw materials have to reach the plant at an appropriate rate, which keeps storage costs

down, but should not create a bottleneck and reduce capacity utilisation. This is a more

difficult problem for firms that are not annexed to a major producer of residues, such as a

sawmill.

The choice of raw material has a significant influence on the viability of the plant. In

addition to basic engineering knowledge, some knowledge regarding densification of

materials would enable a better evaluation of the viability of the plant. This would appear to

be in contradiction with Dalhman and Westphal (1982) who stated that only formal education

is required to carry out pre-investment feasibility studies.

5.1.2 Marketing

The main problem associated with marketing is the seasonal requirements of briquettes by the

end users like brick kiln and tea industries. The local market for biomass briquettes includes

industrial users most of which are processing plants that have boilers. Briquettes sold in

supermarkets are usually used for household purposes like barbecuing and roasting. It is

reported that the volume of supply of biomass briquettes nationwide is still very small.

Apparently, there is a low demand for the product due to: (a) low level of awareness about

the product and (b) lower price and abundant supply of fuel wood and charcoal. The industry

faces problems due to non-availability of sufficient working capital necessary to store the

briquettes and sell it in periods of fuel shortage.

Our study indicated that the following markets have yet to be tapped or have been only

partially entered into leaving a huge gap in supply and demand.(Refer Table 3). With the

price of petroleum products sky rocketing, this appears to be a profitable and ecofriendly

venture. Also, the briquettes have to meet users’ requirements based on which the market for

briquettes have to be developed.

Table 3: Unexplored or partially explored markets for briquettes

Boilers For Steam Generation

Food processing

industries

Distilleries, bakeries, canteens, restaurants and drying

etc.

Agro-products Tobacco curing, tea drying, oil milling etc

Textile process houses Dyeing, bleaching etc.

Clay products Brick kilns, tile making, pot firing etc

Domestic/Hospitals Cooking and water heating

Gasification Fuel for gasifiers


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468

5.1.3 Promoters

In India, most of the manufacturers of biomass briquettes are first generation entrepreneurs.

Further, most of the units are family concerns. Lack of professional management of the plant

has been identified as a major drawback impeding the commercial success of this technology.

Lack of sustainable Business Models for renewable energy solutions in rural communities has

also resulted in lack of commercial viability for this promising product.

A briquetting plant cannot be operated successfully with only formalized knowledge, that is,

knowledge that is either experience based or externally formulated (for example, from the

equipment producer or consultants). It requires know-how of input requirements and an

ability to follow a detailed prescription of the process operations. The firm should have

capabilities to identify differences in product quality to assess the commercial value of the

product. This is possible if the process technology has been well developed and is a

commercially mature technology.

Linkage capabilities are the common communication skills needed to transmit information,

skills and technology to, and receive from, all the external parties the firm interacts with, for

example, suppliers, contractors, consultants and technology institutes. These need to be

developed among promoters. Also documentation should be given special attention. The

prospective promoters have an opportunity to increase their knowledge of the functioning of

such an industry through suitable training programmes as this will reduce considerable cost

and time in maintaining the project.

5.1.4 Expertise in machine manufacturing

The credentials of the suppliers in terms of quality of the machine and performance standards

are vital factors to be considered when selecting the equipment supplier. Stress calculations

of the machines also have to be evaluated while choosing the machine.

The two most common presses found in India at present are the piston press and the screw

press. The piston press produces briquettes that are prone to breaking. The screw press

produces briquettes that are stronger in terms of mechanical strength and resistance to

moisture absorption, which are important parameters for transport, handling and storage.

Screw press briquettes have better combustion characteristics than the piston press and they

can be converted into charcoal giving them a wider market potential.

5.1.5 Low Capacity Utilisation

The plant was operating at 67% capacity which is significantly less than 75% considered

feasible by expert opinion. Low capacity utilisation is not uncommon in developing

countries, the reason being both exogenous to the firm and in-house (Katrak, 1997). The

reasons for the low capacity utilisation in the briquetting industry in India were identified as

follows:

Exogenous problems

• Power shortages

• Monsoon

• Non availability of spare parts locally


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In-House Problems:

1. Lack of Working Capital

2. Lack of customers

3. Mis-match of auxiliary equipment

4. Lack of preventive maintenance

5. Organizational Inefficiency.

5.1.6 Carbon Credits

Renewable energy initiatives is a good medium for companies, organizations and individuals

looking to reduce or offset their global warming impact caused by greenhouse gas emissions

by the generation of carbon credits for sale in the global Voluntary and Compliance market.

Sustainable and clean renewable energy systems can be used to eliminate or reduce carbon

dioxide emissions by replacing old diesel, oil, gas or coal fired electric machinery which

emits greenhouse gases that produce global warming. Carbon sequestration credits or offsets

are calculated by the amount of carbon emissions that would have been emitted if a diesel or

other traditional polluting electric equipment was used to produce the same amount of

electricity. Companies and electric utilities in countries can buy these emission reduction

carbon credits to replace the emissions from their coal burning electric power plants to meet

regulatory requirements.

6. Discussion and conclusions

The technique for Briquetting is not complex in the sense that it does not demand

microelectronics or highly sophisticated operating conditions or techniques. It uses local

materials as process inputs, and the equipment can be made in standard engineering

workshops. Briquetting can therefore be considered as a particularly appropriate technology

for indigenous production and use in rural areas of a developing country such as India.

Another advantage of biomass includes the fact that most biomass materials have acted as a

carbon sink while growing. When trees and plants grow, they absorb carbon from the

atmosphere and are a natural carbon sink as long as they are alive and growing. Biomass

energy is also much cleaner to use, because greenhouse gases are reduced significantly. This

means that bio energy use may help slow down global warming, and minimize air pollution.

Biomass alternative energy may be one of the most commonly used energy sources of the

future. This is because the world will always have municipal waste and waste food, and

unless these biomass sources are used for energy they will end up taking space in a landfill

somewhere and causing an increase in greenhouse gases and air pollution.

Apart from the energy and emissions saved, it can serve social and economic functions as

well. Biomass briquetting provides additional income to farmers and village women creates

jobs and can thereby enhance sustainable rural development in the future.

Biomass alternative energy can also be obtained from plants like rapeseed, which can be

grown on land that is not fit for any farming or agriculture use, and therefore the potential for

high returns is basically unlimited. There have recently been some efforts to explore

commercial utility of weeds like Lantana, Parthenium and, Eupatorium etc that have caused

havoc in terms of social and ecological losses. In many places, villagers had to shift their

hamlets because of severe infestation of Lantana. Weed as a new set of biomass cannot be


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overlooked particularly in wake of alarming depletion of forest biomass. Growing scarcity of

latter has prohibited several community day to day utility of biomass. Forestry management

strategy should now predominantly include weed management through involvement of local

community. It is equally true that wildly growing weed can only be controlled through large

number of community involvement and that too by subjecting it to local and commercial

utility.

Briquetting technology is yet to get a strong foothold in many developing countries because

of the technical constraints involved and the lack of knowledge to adapt the technology to

suit local conditions. Overcoming the many operational problems associated with this

technology and ensuring the quality of the raw material used are crucial factors in

determining its commercial success.

The most serious deficiency in this industry is:

1. Lack of basic business skills (for example, failure to carry out feasibility studies)

2. Lack of partially derived knowledge ( for example, failure to understand key

parameters that affected product quality)

3. Lack of Organizational skills (for example, failure to ensure sufficient supply of raw

materials); and

4. Poor communication with suppliers and customers (for example, failure to size and

match equipment components).

These weaknesses reinforce each other to inhibit innovation. Among the causes or barriers to

innovation identified by Cooke and Mayes (1996) are:

1. Management attitudes

2. Poor information flows

3. Weak links with customers and suppliers

This has been identified in general in this industry (Clancy, 2001).

The briquetting industry falls under two priority sectors within government policy in India:

energy and small scale industries. A number of financial and tax incentives, both at national

and state level are available to entrepreneurs.

The indigenous technology presented to the Indian market is not mature, although on the

world market there is a choice of technologies and suppliers being used by profitable

companies. Machine manufacturers will need to provide more support to the briquetting

entrepreneurs, which will result in client satisfaction and innovation.

Plants should be annexed to agro processing industries, for ease of procuring raw material,

avoiding costs for transportation and storage facilities which help in making the project more

viable.

The prospect of biomass-based rural electrification and power generation in India is very

bright, but the picture at present in the different states is not very encouraging. The people of

India can have eco-friendly power from biomass if the States, with guidance and assistance

from the Centre, lay stress on biomass-based power generation. The electricity produced


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with the use of these briquettes is very green, with almost no pollution or greenhouse gas

emissions. Also, Biomass power plants can strengthen the local economy, by creating more

jobs, higher taxes paid, and less transportation for the biomass energy. This means that this

alternative and renewable energy source not only produces green electricity but also can be

domestically produced in local areas.

There is an opportunity for Corporates and NGOs to help innovate and use this technology to

meet financial, environmental and social challenges, and the ability to find and implement

sustainable solutions.

Biomass alternative energy offers a unique opportunity for investors, because once this

technology takes off on a wide scale investors who got in early will see high returns on their

investment capital, as well as opportunities for trading in carbon neutral credits.

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