Chapter 4

BIOMASS ENERGY
4.2 Combustion

Fuel, oxygen and higher temperatures are required for combustion to take place. Wood burns in two
stages. First, volatiles are produced and burn leaving solid charcoal, which then burns. Oxygen must come from
the air surrounding the zone of combustion. For optimum combustion the supply of air to the fire is critical.
Insufficient oxygen, due to restricted airflow or poor air distribution may allow some combustible gases to
escape without burning. A fire, which produces a lot of smoke usually, indicates a problem of this sort. Up to a
certain point, increased airflow increases both the rate and efficiency of combustion. A flow that greatly
exceeds than that required for combustion may carry off enough heat to lower the temperature of the fuel below
its ignition temperature and hence no more combustion. Also excess air may lower the concentration of
flammable gases so that not enough chemical reactions occur to maintain the high temperatures necessary to
sustain combustion.

The rate of combustion depends in part on the size of the solid fuel pieces. A larger size of fuel piece
will have a greater volume in proportion to its surface area than a smaller piece. Smaller pieces therefore have
proportionately greater exposure to air flow and will burn faster. Small fuel pieces heat up quickly and will
produce vigorous flames and little charcoal. But the large surge of volatile gases from small fuel pieces may not
burn completely if the supply of oxygen is limited. Large size of fuel pieces burn slowly and steadily.

Biofuels constitute the major source of cooking energy in the rural areas of almost all the developing
countries. Its growing scarcity, concern over the health impacts from emissions due to wood combustion and
inefficient use, have resulted in attempts to apply engineering techniques to redesign the traditional cook stove
for achieving higher thermal efficiency or improving fuel utilization.

The maximum loss (in the range of 14-42%) of energy generated during combustion is due to
conduction through the walls of the stove. This indicates that cookstove design procedures should attempt to
make the cookstove as lightweight as possible. The losses through the flue gases account for 22-39% of the
energy generated. The energy efficiency of the cookstove can be increased by the utilization of the energy
contained in the flue gas, but the redesign of the cookstove along this line places stringent requirements on the
control of dimensions of the cookstove for enhancing the convective heat transfer. Though the energy loss
through incomplete combustion is small (less than 10%), this is a cause of concern due to the emission of
various toxic compounds.

Efficiency of stove is of vital importance to the poor majority of

our rural population, who mostly rely on biomass fuels for their basic
energy needs. The consequences of inefficient and traditional cooking
devices during the past have become alarming and pose serious threat to
ecology and environment. Apart from the serious deforestation, the
domestic cooking using biomass fuels such as wood, animal dung, and crop
residues in traditional chulhas which have low thermal efficiency and high
emission factors have been a major cause for indoor air pollutant such as
total suspended particulates, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, etc. with
consequent health risks especially in women and children. It is, therefore,
imperative that traditional and inefficient cooking stoves are replaced by
more fuel efficient improved cooking devices (figure 4.1) with a view to
conserve forests and fuel wood and also to improve the health and hygienic
conditions.

a) Types of chulhas

Fig.4.1. Improved chulah There are fixed and portable chulhas available. The minimum
thermal efficiency for improved chulha is at 20 and 25 per cent for fixed
and portable chulhas respectively as against the thermal efficiency of 5 to 10 per cent of traditional chulhas.

Various types are,

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 ● Mud fixed chulhas with or without chimney
● Mud-clad pottery lined chulha with or without chimney
● Portable metallic chulha
● Portable metal-clad-ceramic lined chulha
● Portable chulha with separate hood and chimney system

Damperless fixed chulha and metallic portable chulha are available with different power ratings,
capability of using different fuels and cooking one or more varieties of foods simultaneously. Improved chulha
for community, commercial and industrial applications have also been developed. There are a number of
approved models in fixed and portable categories for family, community and commercial applications.

b) Features of improved clay stove

There are three principle features of improved clay stove.

i) A closed hearth where combustion of the wood takes place, thus protecting the fire from the
vagaries of the wind.
ii) A multi-pot design capable of carrying more than one pan, permitting a certain amount of heat
recovery from hot gases that would otherwise have gone waste and,
iii) A chimney to provide the draught necessary for bringing in air for combustion and removing
smoke from the kitchen environment.

c) Crucial design features of the improved cook stoves

Studies on some of the designs of Improved Cook stoves popular in India have shown that the
following general principles can be followed while constructing them in the houses according to the varying
needs of the different users and the type of fuel to be used.

i) Fire box

The size of the firebox can be varied according to the size of pots to be used over it. The variation in
efficiency with the variation in size is not substantial. The variations in size of the firebox studied for which the
efficiency of the cook stoves more or less remained constant are as follows:

Range of variations
Parameter studied
From To
Height of the fire box 15cm 25 cm
Width of the fire box 15cm 25 cm

The efficiency here is defined as the ratio of the gainful heat recovered in the pots to the heat input in
terms of the fuel consumed in the cook stoves.

The essential condition for the above is:

The Tunnel leading the flames and flue gases from the firebox to the second pothole should always be
maintained as high as possible from the ground, which is close to the bottom of the pot set on the top of the fire
box. The size of the tunnel is to be maintained in all cases to about 7-8 cm inside diameter.

ii) Grate

The grate will be useful in conditions where the firebox height is quite low, the front opening is small,
sufficient only to feed the fuel and when it can be kept closed most of the time during cooking.

iii) Baffle

The baffle constructed under the second pothole should be high enough and only about 2 to 3 cm below
the bottom of the pot above.

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iv) Tunnels

The essential requirement for the first tunnel that is from the firebox to the second pothole has already
been mentioned. To repeat, it should be as high as possible from the ground that is close to the bottom of the
pot set above the fire box. The second tunnel that is from the second pothole to the chimney should be set lower
than the first tunnel by 5 to 10 cm. The size of both the tunnels is to be maintained around 7-8 cm inside
diameter. The length of the tunnels should be as small as possible, yet large enough to provide enough gap
between the first and the second pot and between the second pot and the chimney. Generally speaking, a 5-10
cm long tunnel would be sufficient.

v) Damper

It has been reported from the field that the people many a times do not use the dampers. If the criteria
mentioned above, are followed properly during the construction of the improved cook stoves, they would
function quite well even if the dampers are not fully made use of. Yet the dampers must be provided and the
users be better educated to use them to drive full benefits of the improved cook stoves, particularly when there
are changes in fuels used, weather conditions, different types of meals to be cooked, etc. The closing of the
front damper, for instance, is very useful towards the end of cooking when slow heat is required, things can be
kept warm on the cook stoves for hours together.

vi) Chimney

A 7-8 cm inside diameter chimney is found to be must suitable for a two pot cook stoves. Larger size
chimney can be used for larger cook stoves. The chimney must reach out of the roof to take the smoke out of
the house. Too high a chimney would be harmful. Generally speaking, one should in no case go beyond a 5
metre high chimney, if the roof is higher than that, it is better to provide a bend in the chimney at a height of
about 2 metre and take it out of the wall of the house. Another bend has, then, to be provided outside the house
to make the chimney vertical. In no case it should be left projecting out of the wall horizontally, otherwise the
winds would be disturbing the proper functioning of the stove. Covering the chimney with a cowl is essential.
Cleaning the chimney at regular intervals is equally essential, otherwise it would be a fire hazard, as well as
hinder the proper functioning of the stove as the soot deposited inside would block the free passage of the gases
through the chimney and even catch fire.

d) Benefits of improved chulhas

i) Use of local resources
ii) Development and utilization of local skills
iii) Income generation
iv) An economically attractive option
v) Fuel wood conservation
vi) Better utilization of agro wastes and organic wastes and better crop yields
vii) Better heat retention
viii) Conservation in cooking time and total household work time
ix) Less cumbersome cooking operation
dx) A cleaner kitchen and better hygiene
xi) Less health hazards
xii) More comfort and convenience in cooking
xiii) Less safety hazards
xiv) Longer service
xv) Reduction in human input in cooking cycle
xvi) Better socialization
xvii) Better level of living and quality of life
xviii) Pride of possession
e) Guidelines for self maintenance

Briquetting

The process of briquetting consists of applying pressure to a mass of particles’ without/with a binder
and converting it into a compact mass. The end product may be in a solid geometrical from or in the form of
hollow cylinders, which may be a solution to the large volume-low-density-high transportation/handling cost

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problems associated with biomass. Cow dung cakes, fuel balls made with coal dust, half burnt cinder as well as
hand compressed special ‘chulhas’ using saw dust and wood are some of the prime examples.
The vital requirement of briquette formation from woody biomass is the destruction of the elasticity of
the wood, which could be done either by high pressure or by previous heat treatment or by a combination of
both.

i) Process of briquetting

There are two processes of briquetting, namely; direct compaction and indirect compaction after
pyrolysing or carbonization of the residue.

Direct Compaction

In this case, the briquettes may be prepared with or without binding agents.

i) Without binding agents: This process involves two steps

1. Semi-fluidizing of biomass: biomass is semi-fluidized through application of high pressure in the

range of 120-200 MPa at which condition the biomass gets heated to a temperature of about 182ºC and
the lignin begins to flow and acts as binder.

2. Extracting the densified material: The semi-fluidized biomass is densified through briquetting
machines available in the capacity range of 100-300 kg/, operating by electric power.

ii) With binding agents: in this process, the briquetting machines operate at lower pressure range of 50-100
MPa and are powered by electricity, This process requires additional binders like molasses, lignasulphonate,
sodium silicate, dung slurry etc. Such machines are available in the capacity range of 0.1 to 0.4 t/h.

ii) Indirect compaction

Pyrolysis is the process of destructive distillation of organic materials heated at slow rate at about
270ºC in the absence of oxygen. During the process of pyrolysis: solid tar, liquid char and combustible gases are
produced besides organic liquids. The nature and quantum of these products depend on various factors such as
composition of biomass, and residence time in kiln and temperature. During the pyrolysis, the fibre content of
the biomass is broken which latter facilitates in briquetting of charcoal. The obtained charcoal is briquetted
through extrusion process.

iii) Briquetting machines

The available briquetting machines are either manually operated or animal or power operated.

Manually operated briquetting machines: There are two versions of manually operated briquetting
machines. In the first version, the machine uses a screw and nut arrangement. The screw carries a flywheel at
the upper end and at the lower end, holds the punch. While the screw rotates along with the flywheel, the punch
compacts the biomass in the form of briquettes which are ejected by means of simple mechanism. The other
version consists of a vertical flywheel and a crank with sliding mechanism for making the briquettes. The
machine gives an output of about 25-30 kg/day of 8 hours shift.

Power operated briquetting machines: A number of briquetting machines operated by electricity have
been developed with the capacity ranging from 80 kg/h to 4 t/h

iv) Economics and usage of briquettes

The availability and cost of biomass, their present utilization, capacity of briquetting machine, its
capital and operational costs are the important factors to determine the cost of any biomass. Briquettes can be
used easily anywhere in place of coal, fuelwood and diesel. Effectively they can be a substitute for such non-
renewable fuels without loss of efficiency. The following applications of briquettes appear feasible.

As fuel in cooking stove for household purpose: The present rural domestic fuels are fuelwood, hard coal and
dung cake. With extreme fuelwood shortage already existing, briquettes offer an attractive alternative at

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reasonable cost. It is estimated that the rice husk available from a rice mill of one ton per hour capacity will be
sufficient to provide smokeless charcoal briquettes for 212 families/day.

As fuel for industrial boilers: This offers the most attractive short-term market for briquettes, which can replace
B or C grade coal (used in most industrial boilers). There is an added advantage to use briquettes as fuel
because no corrosion of boiler equipment takes place (resulting into negligible cleanup costs). A typical case of
such utilization is curing of Virginia tobacco. Besides this, the rice husk briquettes have been successfully used
in Lancashire boilers. Similarly, their use in thermopac boilers has been found quite satisfactory.

4.3 Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of biomass at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen.
When biomass is heated in this way a sequence of physical and chemical changes occur which yield a medium-
energy gas, a complex pyrolysis liquid and solid charcoal. Under atmospheric conditions, 30-35% charcoal and
18-20% organic liquids are the typical yields when the weight of the product is compared to the weight of the
dry feedstock.

For production of charcoal-which is by far the largest application of pyrolysis at present-the simplest
technique involving the minimum capital investment is to burn part of the biomass feed to provide the initial
heat necessary to begin the carbonization process. The oxygen supply is then cut off and the subsequent
exothermic reaction is allowed to proceed by itself. No provisions are made to collect gaseous and liquid
products to reduce the equipment costs.

4.4 Gasification

This process takes place with excess carbon or biomass. In this process solid carbon and hydrogen of
the biomass is thermo chemically converted into combustible gaseous mixture. The gas produced is called
producer gas or low btu gas. The heating value of the gas is to 6 MJ /m3. The producer gas contains carbon
monoxide (15 to 20%), hydrogen (12 to 17%), methane (1 to 3%), nitrogen (45 to 55%), carbon dioxide (8 to
12%), water vapour, some solid particulars and tars. Producer gas after proper conditioning can be used as; fuel
in spark ignition engines, supplementary fuel in compression ignition engines, boiler fuel and feedstock for
chemical industries.

a) Chemistry of gasification

During gasification the fuel column is ignited at one point and exposed to the air blast (30-40% of
stoichiometric air). Carbon and hydrogen of the biomass are oxidized to carbon dioxide and water vapour in
accordance with the following reactions:

C + O2 = CO2 + 393.8 MJ/kg mole

H2+1/2 O2 = H2O + 286.47 MJ/kg mole

In the fuel column where oxidation takes place is termed as oxidation zone. The above reactions are
exothermic. Temperature in this zone of the gas producer reaches to about 1200ºC. Carbon dioxide and water
vapour leave oxidation zone at high temperature and move into reduction zone.

In reduction zone carbon dioxide and water vapours are reduced to carbon monoxide, hydrogen and
methane in accordance with the following reactions:

Boudouard reaction: CO2 + C = 2CO -172.6 MJ/kg mole

Water shift reaction: CO2 + H2 = CO + H2O +41.2 MJ/kg mole

Methane production reaction: C + 2H2 = CH4 +75.0 MJ/kg mole

H2O + C = CO + H2 -122.6 MJ/kg mole

Heat generated in the oxidation zone is used for reduction reactions. Reduction continues till the gas temperature
drops to about 500ºC.

Apart from the oxidation and reduction reactions, pyrolysis and drying also takes place in gasification.

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Pyrolysis takes place adjacent to the oxidation or reduction zones depending upon the type of gas producer at
200ºC.The sequence of different reaction zones differ with the type of gas producer.

b) Types of gas producer (gasifier)

Gas producer called as gasifier can be classified as moving bed or fluidized bed gasification reactor. In
moving bed further classification is done according to the direction of flow of air /gas and the material in the
reactor. The moving bed gas producers accordingly are classified into up draught, downdraught and cross
draught types.

i) Up draught gasifier
In up draught gasifier, the gas and material flow are in counter current
direction (figure 4.4). Products formed during pyrolysis and drying exit with the
producer gas from the top of reactor making the producer gas rich in tar, water vapour
and other condensable organic acids. The advantage in this type of gas producer is
that it can accept wide variety of biomass. The other advantage is the low temperature
of the producer gas leaving the gas producer. The producer gas from these gas
producers has not been extensively used as I.C. engine fuel due to high tar and
condensable organic contents. However, the gas could be used to fuel I.C. engines
after cooling and cleaning. The gas has greater potentials as fuel for industrial boiler
furnace because no tar removal is necessary.
Fig.4.4 Updraught
gasifier
ii) Down draught gasifier

Down draught gasifier have unidirectional flow of air /gas and the feed
material. Swedish design concept of downdraught gasifiers (figure 4.5) is widely
accepted and is used in various research organizations and commercial sectors of
developed and developing countries. In this design the gasifier has a small diameter
section called throat. Air enters the gas producer near the throat and move downward.
These gas producers are more commonly called imbert gas producers.

The gas has considerably low content of tar and other condensibles and can
be used as I.C. engine fuel only after slight cleaning. In general, the down draught gas
producers is considered the best for generating engine quality producer gas. It accepts
highly selective fuels. The most suitable fuel is wood pieces of size depending upon
Fig.4.5 Down draught the diameter of the throat. However, other woody crop residues like cotton sticks,
gasifier maize cobs, arhar sticks can be used as feedstock in these gas producers.

iii) Down draught throat less gasifier

Design, development and application of throat less down draught gasifier is

recent. A small producer capable of supplying gas to 3 hp gasoline engine was
designed and developed by University of California. The gasifier operated
satisfactorily. In throat less gasifier (figure 4.6), material is ignited at the bottom near
the grate and the reactor column is filled with fuel. The reactor remains opened from
the top and gas leaves the reactor below the grate. Fire or oxidation zone keep on
moving up during the operation. The fire reaches the top
of the reactor indicating that the fuel has been used up.

iv) Cross draught gasifier

Fig.4.6 Down draught
throatless gasifier
In this gasifier the air enters through a low inlet
on one side and the gas exit on the opposite side at about the same level (figure 4.7).
This gas producer operates at very high temperatures. Temperatures of up to 2000ºC
are obtained and normally water-cooling of the cast iron or steel tuyers is essential.
Fuel is fed from the top. The producer gas contains tar some ash is also carried
along, which could be a problem if used in engine. Cross draught are generally
characterized by their simplicity of construction and quick starting.
Fig.4.7 Cross draught gasifier

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v) Fluidized bed gasifier

In this type of system a wide variety of fuels can be used

provided it is small in size and uniform. A turbulent, fluidized bed of inert
material is created by air (figure 4.8). Material is forced into the inert
fluidized bed at high temperature and gasification takes place. The
oxidation takes place as the material comes in contact with hot material
bed in presence of air. Reduction takes place in the upper layer of the
reactor.

In fluidized bed gas producer the operating temperature can be Fig.4.8 Fluidized bed gasifier
controlled to any desired level. The greatest advantage is that high silicious
material with low ash fusion point like rice straw and cotton gin trash can be gasified in such reactors. The
producer gas temperature remains quite high. The gas quality in this type of reactor depends upon the operating
conditions such as operating temperature, air fuel ratio and fuel moisture content.

c) Operating parameters for the gasifiers

Various operating parameters, which affect the overall performance of the gasification process are;
quality of biomass i.e. moisture content and size of the biomass, operating temperature, operating pressure and
air/fuel ratio.

i) Moisture content

Moisture content i.e. inherent moisture and the surface moisture have a marked effect on the process
efficiency, optimal gas yield, heating value of the gas and ease of operation. As the moisture increases,
hydrogen content of the gas increases up to fuel moisture content of 35 % and starts decreasing thereafter.
Carbon monoxide keeps on decreasing with the increase in moisture content. It has been determined
experimentally, that the best gasification efficiency is obtained when the moisture content is about 15%.

Because of the moisture content of wood, considerable amount of heat is used up in evaporation of the
moisture and that heat is normally not recovered in the process. It causes lower efficiency of the process; other
problem associated with the high moisture content of wood is the bridging of material in the gas producer
making the operation highly unreliable. The optimum level of moisture content of fuel for gasification is 15%.

ii) Size of fuel

Fuel size influences the pressure drop across the gas producer and therefore, the power that must be
supplied to draw the gas. The fuel size also affects the flow properties of the material in the gas producer.

iii) Operating temperature

As the gasification temperature increases the CO and hydrogen content increases where as the CO 2
decreases. This suggests better operation of the system at higher temperature.

In the case of wood and other biomass the softening and melting point of most of ashes is about
1000ºC. In case, the biomass have high ash content there is a possibility of ash slagging in the gas producer, if
temperature exceeds its softening temperature. In that case the gas producer temperature should be kept below
the ash softening point to ensure smooth operation.

iv) Operating pressure

Higher pressure has no significant effect on the gas quality. It may be concluded that up to 15 atm
pressure increases, the gas quality or the process efficiency remain unaffected.

v) Air fuel ratio

It is determined that the best process efficiency is obtained when the equivalence ratio is 0.35.
Although the heating value or gas quality is better at low equivalence ratios but the process efficiency is low

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probably because of low gas production rate. When the gasifier is operated with equivalence ratio greater than
0.37, the gas quality and efficiency drops quickly.

d) Application of producer gas

Producer gas can be used for shaft power and direct heat applications. Shaft power application includes
the pumping of irrigation water, electricity generation and small engine operations. It can be used in both spark
ignition (SI) and compression ignition (CI) engines without major modifications. Spark ignition engine would
operate on producer gas alone. Modification necessary to use spark ignition engine with producer gas is the
replacement of gasoline carburetor with air fuel mixer, power recovery of a gasoline engine on producer gas is
40 to 60%. However, a small increase in power recovery can be gained by increasing the compression ratio and
advancing the ignition timing up to 20%. The compression ignition engine will operate in a dual fuel mode i.e.
producer gas and diesel oil. Power recovery of Cl engines operating on diesel oil and producer gas is 80-90%.
Oil requirement is 15-25% of the normal amount of fuel.

The gas as such contain tars, solid char and ash particles which need to be removed before using the
gas as engine fuel. However, no cooling and tar removal is necessary if the gas is used for heat applications,.
The complete system for gasifier-engine system may be comparing of gasifier, cyclone separator, water
scrubber, dry filter and engine.

4.5 Biogas Technology

Biogas is among the cheaper sources of energy compared to many of the conventional sources such as
macro hydel, coal based thermal, nuclear etc., when viewed in a much more broader perspective than mere
generation costs. Biogas as an energy source in addition is renewable, decentralised and non-commercial and
can be put to a number of end uses. Thus biogas can be made to occupy an important component of the total
energy mix of renewable energy sources to overcome the energy crunch especially in rural areas. Biogas
technology is time tested and developments are being made towards cost of production as well as towards other
applications and use of other biomass resources for biogasification. On the one side it has been frequently found
that cattle dung availability in the country has been based on the 1991 cattle census showing a cattle population
of 360 million. The dung output from these has been estimated to be about 15 kg/animal/day. In the southern
states especially in the semiarid tracts the cattle have lower body weight and are generally grazed as opposed to
stall-feeding of their northern counterparts. As a result of these two factors it has been found that the expected
dung yield is not realized in these parts. In most of the Indian villages, it was estimated that the dung yield
varied between 2.80 and 7.03 kg/animal/day. Even a small family size biogas plant requires about 50 kg dung
per day for its normal operation. From the above it can be seen that more number of cattle than conventionally
expected are required for operating even a small plant. There has been a steady decrease in the cattle population
in these areas following several droughts. It thus becomes imperative to find other inputs to augment the
reduced cattle dung availability.

On the other hand there has been a steady decline in the use of cattle for agricultural operations while
the energy used in agriculture is on the increase. There is a growing need for shaft power for applications such
as water lifting, land preparation, post harvest operations, transportation etc. Biogas as an alternative energy
source can cater to many of these shaft power needs and also provide for the much needed organic manure.

The present day cattle dung based biogas plant design has come a long way from the “Gramalaxmi”
design conceived at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute” in the early fifties. While considerable effort has
gone into the improvement of the digester design there is still very little work done towards the improvement of
the fermentation process as such. This talk addresses itself to some of the common aspects of the fermentation
process and shows how several technology improvements have been carried out towards the improvement of the
process.

a) Chemical reactions leading towards biogas formation

Biogas fermentation also referred to as anaerobic fermentation, is a process by which organic matter
(mostly of biological origin) is microbiologically broken down to methane and carbon dioxide in an
environment devoid of oxygen. This transformation of organic matter is a naturally occurring process normally
found in several anaerobic environments such as marshes, lake sediments, rumen etc. In a biogas plant this
process is carried out at a faster rate than in nature. Organic matter especially that of plant origin has a lot of
complex biopolymers such as cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, proteins, lipids and fats etc. These complex

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biopolymers are broken down to the end products methane and carbon dioxide in a stepwise manner. The first
set or group of organisms break down polymers to simpler substances and then to an intermediate product
Volatile Fatty Acids (VFA) namely acetic, propionic and butyric acids. This process can be named acid
production step or simply acidogenesis. In the next step an even more specialized group of organisms namely
the methanogens breaks down several of these intermediate compounds to finally produce methane and
carbondioxide.

Biogas production being a biologically mediated reaction it is affected by several physico-chemical

factors such as temperature, composition and type of material available for fermentation, nutrition, chemical
environment of the growth medium etc.

b) Temperature

Temperature is an important physical factor, which governs the biogas production rate. Optimal biogas
production can occur at two temperature regimes one at around 55ºC called the thermophilic range and other at
nearer ambient 35ºC called the mesophilic range. The mix of bacteria that carry out the biogas reaction at these
regimes are different. Even though many species can survive the other temperature range their contribution to
biogas production outside their optima is negligible. Under normal biogas plant operations mesophilic bacteria
are active. However in most cases the biogas plant temperature is far below the mesophilic optimum. In a place
like Bangalore even though the day temperature may rise to as high as 35ºC the biogas plant temperature i.e. the
temperature of the slurry inside would only about 25ºC. In order to operate this plant at near optimal
temperatures waste heat from I.C. engines, solar heating etc. have been attempted.

c) Biogas production from other sources

Cattle dung is one of the poorest substrates for biogas production because it has already undergone
decomposition in the cattle’s rumen. However, inspite of this there is still a substantial amount of
undecomposed material in cattle dung, which have not been used by cattle. In addition to this the material is
ground fine by its chewing habit and a large amount of biogas forming bacteria are added into this. In other
words the particle size has been reduced enormously and the required inoculum is added during the passage of
the plant material through the animals gastrointestinal tract. These two factors enable easy operation for biogas
plants with very little human interference in the fermentation process. However, when biomass other than dung
is to be used for biogas production many factors, which pertain to its digestibility, has to be looked into to
carryout successful and sustainable biogas production. These may be briefly listed as follows
.
a. Chemical composition with respect to the decomposable substances present.
b. Adequacy of organic and inorganic nutrition with respect to bacterial decomposition.
c. Physico-chemical properties such as density, particle size, hydration of polymers, etc.
d. Presence of toxic and interfering factors such as amount and type of lignin complex material present,
heavy metals etc.

f) Types of plants

According to size of the plant, the plants are classified as

i) Family size plants

Biogas can be used as a high quality fuel for cooking and lightings. The gas, which comes out of the
biogas plants, is quite similar to natural gas. But since the consumption of biogas is different from the natural
gas, the appliance like burners of lamps to be used have also to be of special design for maximum efficiency.
For lighting, biogas can be fed into any gas lamp with a mantle. For the family of 5 to 16 members, the
requirements of gas will be from 2 to 6 m3. This type of plants are referred as family size plants.

ii) Community biogas plants

It has been estimated that a community plant for 56 families is 6 times costlier than a single-family unit
biogas plant. However, if it is to be successful, the cooperative involvement of all states of society in
maintenance and day-to-day management is essential.

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 The community biogas plant has to be designed taking into account of locally available amount of cow
dung, social acceptability and managerial infrastructure etc. Thus there cannot be standardized design and
package of practices for universal application in meeting the energy requirements of rural areas. The design and
development of community plant is thus need-based and location specific. There is a need to approach the
construction of community plants with little bit of caution as any failure in the application of technology will
lead to lot of criticism.

g) Size Estimation

It is important to estimate the proper size of the plant before starting the work. The size selection
depends upon:

Availability of raw material: The quantity and kind of waste organic material available will determine whether it
pays to build a biogas plant or not. There should be enough of them to produce the amount of biogas and or
sludge required. The biogas plant should be large enough to handle all the organic wastes in order to control
pollution. The amount of raw material available per animal and the number of animals will determine the size of
biogas plant to be constructed. The quantity of raw material available from the animals depends on the size of
the animal and the amount of feed given.

On an average the following are the figures from different sources.

● Buffalos : 15kg per day

● Bullock or cow : 10kg per day
● Calves : 5kg per day

Purpose of utilization: The gas produced from one kg .of dung is approximately 0.04 to 0.05 cum. The gas
requirement for various purposes are as given below:
● For cooking - 0.40 m3 /person/day
● For lighting - 0.10 m3 /40 watts/h
● To run engine - 0.45 m3 /BHP/h

h) Planning
Planning for the installation of biogas plant depends upon:

i) Selection of site
● An elevated dry and leveled open area.
● Exposed to the sunshine for a greater part of the day.
● At an optimum location between the kitchen and cattle barn.
● Availability of sufficient quantity of water from the nearby area.
● Sufficient space for the gas plant and manure pit.
● 15 metre away from drinking wells.
● 3 metres depth water table area.

ii) Location
In places like where some exposure of the slurry may give rise to complaints from neighbours, such as
near eating places or residential areas, it may be necessary to construct the plant in the buried condition with the
closed inlet/outlet tanks.

i) Popular biogas plant designs

There are three popular Indian designs of biogas plants namely, Khadi and Village Industries
Commission (KVIC), Janata and Deenabandu biogas plants.

i) KVIC plant
It was around the year 1945 that scientists at Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi
worked on semi continuous flow digesters and in the year 1961 Khadi and Village Industries Commission

10
(KVIC) patented a design, which is being popularized by various agencies in many countries. This design
consists of a deep well shaped under ground digester connected with inlet and outlet pipes at its bottom, which
are separated by a partition wall dividing the ¾th of the totals height into two parts. A mild steel gas storage
drum is inverted over the slurry, which goes up and down around a guide pipe with the accumulation and with
drawl of gas. Now fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) and ferro-cement gasholders are also being used in KVIC plant
(figure 4.10).

ii) Janata plant

The Janata plant is a fixed dome biogas plant. This is also a semi-continuous flow plant. Main feature
of Janata design is that the digester and gasholder are part of composite unit made of bricks and cement
masonry. It has a
cylindrical digester
with dome shaped roof
and large inlet and outlet
tanks on two sides. It
requires shuttering for
making the dome
shaped roof and skilled
and trained master mason
is a must for the
construction of Janata
biogas plant. This plant
costs about 20-30%
less than the cost of KVIC
floating drum type
plant (figure 4.11).
Fig.4.10. KVIC Biogas plant
iii) Deenbandhu plant

Deenbandhu biogas plants are built with locally available

building materials such as bricks, cement and sand. Unlike Janata biogas
plants for constructing plants of this design no shuttering is required for
making the dome shaped roof. This also results in less labour and time
required for completing the construction.

The design essentially consists of two spheres of different

diameters joined at their bases. The structure thus formed acts as the
digester and as the storage chamber. The higher compressive strength of
the brick masonry and concrete makes it preferable to go in for a structure
which could be always kept under compression. A spherical structure
loaded from the convex side will be under compression and therefore, the
internal load will not have any residual effect on the structure (figure
4.12).
Fig.4.11. Janata plant j) Components of common (popular) plant models
(fixed dome type)
There are many designs and models of biogas plants in operation, each
one has some special characteristics; however, each popular model has some
basic components. Other than these, the fixed dome plant e.g. Janata and
Deenbandhu model, have some special components for proper functioning of
these designs.
i) Basic components

The basic components of plants that are common to all the popular
models are:

a) Digesters or fermentation chambers: This Fig.4.12. Deenbandhu plant

is a vertical, horizontal cylindrical/spherical

11
shaped structure, generally constructed under ground, using bricks and cement masonry work over the
foundation. It is also known as “Reactor” or “Fermentation” chamber or “Decomposition” chamber of the plant.

1. The volume of digester (reactor) in a floating gasholder (KVIC model) plant is kept between 30-55
times (depends upon the geographically location based on the average temp.) that of the daily material
to be fed.
2. The volume of digester of Janata plant is kept as 30-55 times the daily feed.
3. The volume of digester of Deenbandu plant is kept as 40-55 times the daily feed.

b) Gas holder or gas storage chamber: It is that component of the plant where the gas produced in the digester is
stored under some pressure (8-10 cm of water column in floating drum and 0-90 cm of water column in fixed
dome) till it can be used. In a fixed dome plant (Janata model and Deenbandhu model) it is commonly known as
“Gas storage chamber”. The capacity of gasholder varies from 30 to 60 % of the average theoretical (rated) daily
gas production, the ideal minimum storage being 33 1/3 % or approximately 8 hours gas production during the
nighttime.

In a moveable (floating) gasholder plant the biogas is normally stored at a constant pressure of 8-10 cm
of water column. The recommended storage capacity of the popular design the KVIC model (floating gas
holder) is 50-60% (or about 12-14 hours) of rated daily gas generation capacity of the plant.

c) Inlet: It is that component of the plant which is used for feeding of fresh organic material (slurry or semi-
solid) to the digester. The top end of the inlet is connected to the mixing tank or to the animal (livestock) shed or
latrine directly; whereas the bottom end either goes into the digester (e.g. KVIC model) or is connected to the
side of its digester wall (e.g. Janata plant and Deenbandu plant)

1. The inlet can either be made of ACC or RCC pipe e.g. KVIC model.
2. On the other hand, the inlet can also be made in the form of a tank (as in the case of Janata model) with
brick and cement mortar. In case of Janata plant the inlet has an inverted bell mouth shape to facilitate
easy entry of feedstock inside the digester.
3. In Deenbandhu plant the inlet is made of ACC or RCC pipe.

d) Outlet: It is that component of the plant which is used for discharging the digested (spent) slurry semi – solid
material out of the digester (fermentation chamber), normally after a period of 30-55 days digestion cycle. One
end of the outlet is connected to the digester (or comes out from inside the digester), just on the opposite end of
the inlet. The other end of the outlet leads to the spent (digested) slurry tank or channel leading to the compost
pit.

1. In the KVIC model plant the outlet is either made of ACC or RCC pipe.

2. In the case of Janata model plant and Deenbandhu model plant the outlet is made in the form of a tank
of bricks with cement mortar.

e) Mixing tank: The mixing tank is constructed on the top end of the inlet. This is used for proper mixing of
fresh feedstock with recommended quantity of water to prepare a homogeneous slurry before feeding it into the
plant. It is important to prepare a homogenous slurry, in order to achieve maximum efficiency of the biogas
plant.

f) Gas outlet pipe: One end of this pipe is fixed on top of the gas holder in case of the moveable (floating) gas
holder plant and on top of the roof (dome) in case of fixed dome plant. The other end of the gas outlet pipe
connects the main gas pipeline for conveying biogas from the plant to the point of utilization. Normally, a gate
valve is fixed in the gas outlet pipe for closing, opening and controlling the flow of biogas from gas holder (gas
storage chamber) to the main gas pipe line.

ii) Special Component

In addition to the six basic components described above the four special components provided in some
of the model due to the special function performed by them are described in the subsequent paras.

a) Inlet and outlet displacement chambers

12
 1. The displacement chambers are the top portions of the Inlet and Outlet tanks in Janata model plant and
are respectively known as Inlet and Outlet displacement chambers. The function of IDC (Inlet
displacement chamber) and ODC (outlet displacement chamber) is to accommodate the volume of
slurry displaced from gas storage chamber (GSC) due to the accumulation of biogas in the latter. The
combined volume of the IDC and ODC is equal to the volume of GSC.

2. In the Deenbandhu plant, which has been designed to work as a semi batch fed digester as well as, only
has ODC, the total volume of ODC is equal to the volume of GSC.

b) Plant dome

It is hemispherical roof of the fixed dome (e.g. Janata model & Deenbandhu model) generally made of
brick and cement mortar. The plant dome acts as a “gas leak proof” cover to the fixed dome (roof) plant for
holding the generated biogas till utilized during the prescribed time period. While designing the “gas storage
chamber” of the fixed dome (e.g. Janata & Deenbandhu) plant, it is assumed that whatever gas is collected in the
“plant dome” cannot be used, as it will normally be only at a slightly higher than zero pressure (over
atmospheric) for correctly constructed plant.

c) Inlet and outlet gates

The main function of these two gates (Inlet and Outlet) is: (i) Removal of shuttering and framework,
after the dome has been casted and cured. (ii) To be used as opening for entry and exit of man during the plant
construction (work inside the digester) (iii) Use as the openings in the future for emptying and cleaning of
digester (iv) Use as the opening for stirring the slurry by means of long bomber poles (v) Act as entrance for
inflow and exit for outlet of fresh an spent (digested) slurry respectively. (vi) Facilitate outward movement of
displaced slurry due to gas accumulation in gas storage chamber and inward movement of slurry from the two
displacement chambers (IDC and ODC) at the time of gas utilization.

The Inlet and Outlet gates are provided only in the Janata model plant. The dimensions of these two
gates are the same and are located at the fixed height of the digester, opposite to each other. In the case of
Deenbandhu biogas plant only outlet gate is provided.

k) Factors affecting design of biogas plants

There are many factors, which affect the design of biogas plant. However some of the important
factors, which are to be kept in mind for selection and designing of a particular type of biogas plant, are
described.

i) Feed stock as input

a) If the feedstock to be used for digestion is animal dung, which can be easily made into a
homogeneous slurry then continuous or semi-continuous feed digester would be most suitable.

b) However, if agricultural or vegetable waste or crop residue, garbage were to be used as feedstock
then batch fed digester would be most ideal choice.

c) On the other hand semi-batch fed digester would be most appropriate for places where etc. are
available in plenty in certain seasons for batch loading and the plant owner also has a few animals and also has
no inhibition of attaching latrines to the plant.

ii) Purpose of plant

a) If the manure is important output required then batch fed plants will be ideal choice.
b) If gas and manure both are required than either semi-batch fed or semi-continuous fed plant would
be most appropriate.
c) If the treatment of waste before disposal is important: e.g. sewage treatment then either an upflow
design with either continuous of semi-continuous would be an ideal choice.

iii) Average atmospheric (ambient) temperature of the region

13
 a) If the (semi-continuous of continuous flow) is designed for a region where the function of average
ambient temperature throughout the year is not much and remains in the range of 23-35º C, then the average
detention time (DT) or hydraulic retention time (HRT) will range between 30 – 45 days.

b) If the regions have cold winters then average DT or HRT will range between 45-60 days.

c) In hilly regions severely cold winters the HRT of the plant digester should be kept between 55-75
days.

d) For high mountain and snow bond regions, the plant designs have to be special with proper
insulation and heating arrangement to keep the slurry temperature above 15 º C during winter months.

e) Similarly for batch fed plant the Detention time (DT) of digester will very from region to regions
depending on the average ambient temperature for various seasons.

iv) Quantity of raw material

a) If the quantity of feedstock to be recycled is less, then the design plant can be simple.

b) If bulk quantity of material is to be handled then the design can be made sophisticated with
arrangement for incorporation of partial or total heating so that the digester volume of the plant can be reduced
thereby reducing the over all cost and saving in space for installation.

v) Application of plant

a) If the plant is to be used for recycling of common organic material for gas and manure then a simple
plant design would be required.

b) However, for the treatment of industrial waste, a sophisticated plant design would be necessary.

c) Similarly, for a family size plant a simpler plant design would be all right whereas for community
biogas system a sophisticated design would be suitable for better efficiency.

4.6 Alcohol
As we entered the new millennium, the country faces two major challenges namely the energy crisis
and environmental degradation. The crying need of the day is energy, more energy and cheaper energy, which in
simple terms mean fuels, more fuels and cheaper fuels. The ever-increasing expenditure on fuel oil imports is
causing economic imbalances, price hikes and hardships for the people. Price of items like gasoline have
increased several manifold and the oil import bill has shot up to Rs. 75,200 crores from Rs. 29,000 crores within
two years. More over the growing use of petroleum fuels in the ever-increasing number of automobiles is
causing rapid degradation of the air environment in our major metropolitan cities, due to vehicular exhaust
pollution.

To meet these twin problems of fuel oil scarcity and air pollution caused by the growing use of
petroleum fuels, alternate renewable clean burning fuels should be explored for use in motor vehicles. Most
prominent eco-friendly fuel candidates are the bio-solar fuels like ethanol, natural gas and hydrogen. Amongst
these the most suitable for a developing agricultural country like India is ethanol.

a) Ethanol sources

Ethanol is a renewable, clean burning and alternate fuel, which can be produced from an astonishingly
wide range of raw materials. These include vegetable matter, crops, industrial waste like sulphite liquor from
paper and pulp industry and molasses from sugar industry, waste organic matter such as straw and saw dust,
cassava, agricultural waste, rotten fruits etc. In fact any substance, which contains sugar, starch or cellulose, can
be a material for production of ethanol, although the highest yield per tonne of raw material is from sugar
containing substances, such as molasses.

India, where ethanol (alcohol) is mainly produced from molasses, is one of the largest producers of
alcohol in the world, with potential to increase its production manifold by raising the production efficiency in

14
the distilleries up to their installed capacity and utilizing abundantly available other raw materials such as
cassava and millions of tons of country’s annual agricultural and farm waste.

b) Unit operations

The unit operations involved in Alcohol production are

i) Cleaning: The raw material is cleaned with water to remove mud and dirt sticking on the outer surface.

ii) Peeling:

a) Manual Peeling: The outer skin is removed manually by peeling.

b) Chemical peeling: Peeling can also be done by chemical treatment. The material is put in hot water with
sodium hydroxide and then it is washed off by water under pressure to remove the outer skin.

iii) Cutting: After peeling the material is manually cut into chips using knife.

iv) Crushing: The cut material is ground by means of a hammer mill.

v) Cooking: The crushed starchy material is cooked for one hour at 2-3 atmospheric pressure to gelatinize the
starch present. In its native state, starch consists of microscopic crystalline granules in which the amylose and
amylopectin molecules are arranged in complex folded and stratified manner. At ambient temperature these
granules are practically insoluble in water and not very susceptible in enzymatic hydrolysis. However, when
treated with hotwater the starch granules swell and gradually rupture. The amylose and amylopectin molecules
unfold and disperse into solution and this process is referred as gelatinisation of starch.

vi) Hydrolysis: Hydrolysis is the enzymatic reaction that converts starch to sugars. Hydrolysis is the chemical
reaction involving water and another substance in which the water molecule is ionized, and the compound
hydrolyzed to split. It may be done by acid or enzymatic hydrolysis. Acid hydrolysis is the one step process, in
which the feedstock is mixed with a mild solution of sulphuric acid. Enzymatic hydrolysis is the process in
which the material is mixed with an enzyme solution.

vii) Fermentation: To the hydrolyzed material, yeast is added and aeration is given for the yeast to multiply.
Fermentation is the process of conversion of sugars to ethanol and carbondioxide.

viii) Distillation: Distillation is a separation process of two or more liquids in solution that based on the relative
volatilities and takes advantages of the different boiling temperature. The fermented liquid mass is subjected to
distillation.

i) Condensation: The distillate is condensed with cold water in a condensation unit to obtain ethanol. Again
redistillation is carried out to obtain ethanol with high concentration.

c) Ethanol as motor vehicle fuel

The principle interest in ethanol as motor vehicle fuel lies in its use as blends with gasoline. It’s very
high octane rating makes it an effective knock suppresser with an additional advantage of being a fuel in itself
with no hazardous component like lead, which causes lead pollution. Its blends can permit higher compression
operation of the engine without knock.

Thus for example a 30% ethanol gasoline blend can effectively operate on engine compression ratio
about 23% higher than that for gasoline, with consequent improvement in engine power output and efficiency.
Its higher latent heat of vaporization, uniform composition, stoichiometric air requirements, higher flash point,
etc. impart to its blends (certain useful properties), which not only improve engine performance but also reduce
engine emissions and make the blends safer as compared to gasoline. Its lower calorific value, higher tension,
greater solvent power etc. restrict its use as a complete motor vehicle fuel.

It can be best utilized as a blend constituent with up to around 30% ethanol-gasoline blends useable in
the present day automobiles without requiring any major engine modifications; and giving reduced levels of
exhaust CO and HC emission.

15
d) Ethanol blended fuel’s field trials

With a view to achieve the twin objectives of reducing gasoline fuel consumption and motor vehicle
pollution field trials were conducted in Delhi. The fleet of vehicles comprising of Ambassador cars, Mahindra
Jeeps, Maruti gypsy and Maruti Vans, belonging to various departments of the government, continued to ply on
their respective routine routes/duties assigned by their parent departments with the obligation to run on blended
fuel with their kilometreage, fuel and lubricant oil consumption. Exhaust CO and HC emissions were regularly
monitored, recorded and analyzed to assess the effect of ethanol substitution on their performance, fuel
economy/consumption, exhaust emissions, lubricant off deterioration and engine components materials
comparability/wear.

Table 4.5 Summary of biomass energy conversion processes

Process Yield
S. Conversion Conver-sion Characteristic (% of
Process Input Feedstock Product Form
No Tempera-ture Pressure of Process Original
Mass)
1. Anaero-bic Aqueous slurry 20º to 50ºC Atmos-pheric Fermentation of wastes 50 to 70% 20 to 26%
ferment-ation (3-20% or algae grown on Methane
solids) wastes of energy crops Remainder
CO2 (Biogas)
2. Acid 5% acidified 20º to 50ºC Atmos-pheric Glucose fermented to Ethyl alcohol
hydrolysis slurry (H2SO4 ethyl alcohol.
with cellulose) Cellulose hydrolyzed
to glucose
3. Enzyme Aqueous slurry 20º to 50ºC Atmos-pheric Extra cellular Ethyl alcohol 90%
hydrolysis (cellulose-rich) enzymatic conversion
of cellulose to sugar to
alcohol
4. Combu-stion Dried feedstock 1200º to 1300 ºC Atmos-pheric Augments (i.e. 5 to Heat, Steam,
(10% to 25% 20%) boiler fuel (i.e. can be
H2O) coal, oil or gas)
converted to
electricity
5. Pyrolysis Dried feedstock 200º to 600ºC Atmos-pheric All of the gas and 1/3 Oil 40%
of the char produced is Char 20%
used to supply heat in
Gas
typical process.
Oxygen- free
environment used
6. Gasifi-cation Biomass 750º to 1200ºC - Uses limited (30-40%) CO, CH4, H2, 85%
air for conversion CO2, N2

16