Heat Estimation of Road Side Herbs:

GT Road, Wah Cantt

Muhammad Ishfaq Khan1, Liaquat Ali Najmi2, Habib-Ur-Rehman Khan3
1
International Islamic University, Islamabad, 2SCET(U.E.T., Taxila), WahCantt,
3
SCET(U.E.T., Taxila), WahCantt,
1
ishfaqkhanniazi@hotmail.com 2najmil@hotmail.com

Abstract: Energy has become a prime concern in the recent generating electricity, heat production, and for cooking.
past due to ever increasing demand of hydrocarbons and It is observed that briquettes decrease pollution by
their depletion at an alarming rate. The issue has drawn producing lesser pollutant gases than its other
attention of scientists and engineers, who are exploring
counterparts. They also provide cheaper energy source
alternate renewable energy avenues like solar energy, wind
when used for firing industrial boilers. Along with
energy, wave energy and biomass; the latter has also
become an avenue that is being explored by scientists.
higher calorific value, biomass briquettes on an average
The research work has extended the concept of Biomass saved 30–40% of cost as fuel for boilers [3].
with respect to Pakistan by estimating raw heat energy The other form in which biomass is used as
available from a strategically chosen sample area in Wah various heating source is of pellets. The pallets have a
Cantt region along G.T. Road, to get conservative large array of compositions, hence, calorific values. The
estimates. The samples collected and analyzed depict most common ingredients being saw dust and various
encouraging results. grasses. They are very efficient in stove and boiler
Key Words: Renewable Energy; Gross Calorific Value;
heating, and their efficiency is up to 80% [4].
Energy Farm
Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the idea of employing
biomass as heating source has not been adopted or
INTRODUCTION:
implemented on the scientific bases as it has been done
Since, in rural parts of the country, Natural Gas is
in other countries. Masses in general utilize Biomass of
not available for domestic usage, hence people are left
various crops like wheat, cotton and sugarcane to meet
with the option of using wood to meet their domestic
their domestic needs. Mostly these biomasses are used
heating needs. The practice is heavy on both
either as manure for lands or as feed for cattle. So, a lot
environment of the country and on the economy of
of potentially available energy is wasted.
domestic users of wood, as due to expansion of
While, countries like Sweden has introduced the concept
agricultural area and rapid utilization of the available
of Biomass Energy Farms and are working on
lean wooden resources, the availability of wood is
converting the idea into reality. Pakistan, despite, having
becoming scarcer and cost going higher.
a huge supply of the Biomass Energy in the form of road
The situation may be remedied by employing the
side herbs and shrubs, has taken no steps to harness the
road side biomass in the form of herbs and shrubs as
energy.
source for domestic heating. The idea has been
The current research work is an endeavor to
implemented successfully in many countries like
estimate the amount of energy available from the
Sweden, USA and India.
biomass from a strategically chosen area. The scope of
Sweden has used forest biomass not only for domestic
the work is to identify the types of Biomass available
heating but also generation of electricity. It is reported
along the strip of G.T. Road that passes through an area
that in Sweden up to 32% total energy consumption
which has relatively high population density, hence zero
comes from biomass with projection of further rise of
population density of shrubs and relatively low herb
10% [1].
population density, to get very conservative estimates of
The country has expanded the idea by cultivating
the available energy.
biomass as farms; a lot of energy can be extracted from
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
them. Thomas et al. have found out that:
ROAD AND AREA SELECTION:
“Biomass harvest in September to October, when the
The Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) is a major Highway
hemp is used for biogas production, yielded 14.4 Mg/ha
of Pakistan and has its nexus throughout the country.
and 296 GJ/ha; harvest in February to April, when the
The Highway Authority owns thousands of acres of land
hemp is used as a solid fuel, yielded 9.9 Mg/ha and 246
in the form of two narrow stripes along corners of the
GJ/ha” [2].
road.
Biomass briquettes are made of green waste and
other organic materials. They are commonly used for

978-1-4673-6813-1/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE

These stripes of land host a large array of herbs and strategically 3 samples from each sub-region TABLE 1
shrubs, both in quality and quantity, that needs to be Types of Herbs Present in the Samples Collected
cleaned up quarterly for the safe running of the traffic, i.e. one from area with the lowest population density,
and most of the waste is left there to rot, while there are the second from mediocre and the third from the most
various avenues where the biomass may be used ranging
from wood industry to heat production. So, an estimate Sa Mass Mass Mass of Mass of Tot
about the quantity of the Biomass available from the mpl of of Ammop Cynodon al
area may prove very useful. e Cann Parth hila Dactylon mas
However, the estimation of the quantity is not a simple abis eniu Arenari s
affair as the population density of the area ranges from Sativ m a
zero to the highest depending on the terrain, weather and a
human population density. So, the area chosen for S1a 0 238g 0 0 238
sample collection must represent minimum possible i
adequacy in terms of terrain, weather and human S2a 0 172g 0 0 172
population i.e. area having a high human population ii
density, less biomass friendly terrain and weather, to S1a 0 38g 0 0 38
attain more conservative results and heat content iii
estimations. S1b 0 252g 14g 0 266
So, a 600 meter long strips along GT Road i
passing through Wah Cantt which has population S1b 0 202g 0 0 202
density of 3,861 inhabitants per square km. [5] ii
The dimensions and specifications of area are as under: S1b 0 150g 0 40g 190
I. Length of the Selected Area=600m iii
II. Width of the Sub-Area a =15ft=4.57m S2a 0 76g 0 0 76
III. Width of the Sub-Area b =30ft=9.144m i
IV. Area of S1=600*4.57=2742m2 S2a 0 65g 3g 0 68
V. Area of S2=600*9.144=5486.4m2 ii
S2a 0 18g 0 0 18
Total Area Populated with the Herbs are grown
iii
=8228.4m2
S2b 0 316g 60 0 376
Each of the two strips a and b, was further sub-divided
i
into three sub-regions each 300 m long, giving rise to
S2b 0 114g 0 0 114
total 6 sub-regions denoted as S1a, S2a, S3a, S1b, S2b
ii
and S3b.
S2b 0 23g 0 45g 68
Pictorial description is as follows:
iii
G.T Road
S3a 0 0 552g 0 552
S1a Herbs Covered Area a S2a S3a i
Water way S3a 72g 0 0 0 72
S1b Herbs Covered Area b S2b S3b ii
G.T Road S3a 0 36g 0 0 36
iii
SAMPLE COLLECTION: S3b 308 0 130 0 438
Upon visiting the site, it was observed: i
I. the population densities of the biomass were S3b 0 128g 0 0 128
mediocre, ii
II. the population density of the herbs varied even S3b 0 0 0 116g 116
within a sub-region, and iii
III. the shrubs with wood structures were totally populous section of the sub-region.
absent. This lead to total 18 numbers of samples collections
from the total area. Each sample was named by adding
To tackle the problem of mediocre density, the sample small Roman Numerals to their subsection name leading
area was set to 4 ft2, in the form of a square piece of to names like S1ai, S1aii, S1aiii, S1bi, S1bii, S1biii, and
card board of 2’ x 2’ dimensions. , while, the problem of S2ai, so on and so forth.
uneven population density was dealt with, by collecting The sample area was marked using lime powder and the
2 x 2 card board. Then the sample was cut out using
sickles. Each sample was tied and marked with its S1 0 222 13 0 235
concerning name like S1ai. bi
Sample Drying & Storage: S1 0 185 0 0 185
Data and Analysis: bii
Wet Samples: S1 0 124 0 39 163
The samples were observed and analyzed individually. biii
The following types of herbs were figure out in all of the S2a 0 50 0 0 50
samples: i
S2a 0 45 3 0 48
TABLE 2. Weights of Herbs Present in Each Wet ii
Sample S2a 0 14 0 0 14
iii
Common Scientific name S2 0 281 54 0 335
name bi
Hemp Cannabis S2 0 80 0 0 80
sativa bii
Marram Ammophila S2 0 18 0 42 60
grass arenaria biii
Hazar dani Parthenium S3a 0 0 541 0 541
hystrophorus i
Grass Cynodon S3a 70g 0 0 0 70
Dactylan ii
S3a 0 35 0 0 35
Weights of the samples along with its contents were
iii
recorded and tabulated as:
S3 263g 0 122 0 385
bi
S3 0 75 0 0 75
bii
S3 0 0 0 110 110
biii
Tot 333 1551 733 191 2808
al
Av 18.5 86.17 40.72 10.61 156
g./0 2
.37
Figure 1. Wet Weight Graphs of the Samples
16
m2
DRIED SAMPLE:
Tabulation of weights of the samples along with its
contents, when the tests were conducted, are as:
TABLE 3 Weights of Herbs Present in Each Dry
Sample
Sa Mass Mass of Mass Mass Total
mp of Partheni of of mass
le Cannab um Amm Cyno
is ophil don
Sativa a Dacty
Aren lon
aria
S1a 0 225 0 0 225
i Figure 2. Dried Weight Graphs of the Samples
S1a 0 165 0 0 165 Tests
ii Gross Calorific Values (GCVs) of Ammophila Arenaria
S1a 0 32 0 0 32 and Parthenium Hystrophorus were experimentally
iii found out to be 7668.12 BTU/kg and 7122.1 BTU/kg
respectively, using Bomb Calorimeter at the laboratories Figure 3. Total Gross Caloric Energy Available from
of Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Area
(PCSIR), Lahore.
While, Cynodon Dactylan has 5685 Kcal/kg =
CONCLUSION:
23786.04KJ/Kg and Cannabis Sativa has 17.76 MJ/Kg
The results of the study reveal that 60.5666 GJ of GCV
[6] [7].
Heat Energy can be harnessed from the selected strip
CALCULATIONS:
along the National Highways through Wah Cantt. It is a
Average mass of each herb for each was calculated per
reasonable amount of energy available and can be
2’ x 2’ using the following formula:
attained at negligible rates. If the methodology adopted
in the research work is adopted as such, no costs other
than transportation and labor are required; making the
Where, x = a/b. expected cost per unit of the heat energy for a local
Then the results are extended to total area yield for each domestic user to remain very low.
herb using simple unit method. The idea proposed in the research work can be expanded
RESULTS: to other sections of the National Highway in Pakistan,
Total Energy Available from Total Area: however, technological, economical, ecological and
environmental aspects of the idea need to be worked out
Mass thoroughly.
Total
Scie GCV Available
Energy
ntific (MJ/K from REFERENCES:
Available
name g) 8228.4 m2 1- “Biomass Generates 32% of All Energy in Sweden”, June 02, 2010,
(GJ) Seattle, USA,
(Kg)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/06/biom
Cann
ass-generates-32-of-all-energy-in-sweden
abis 2- Thomas Prade et al, “Biomass and energy yield of industrial hemp
17.76 409.648 7.275
Sativ grown for biogas
a and solid fuel” , Department of Agriculture e Farming Systems,
Technology and Product Quality, Swedish University of Agricultural
Am Sciences, P.O. Box 104, SE-23053 Alnarp, Sweden.
mop 3- "Biomass Briquette." Www.gcmachines.com. Web. 30 Nov. 2010,
17.83
hila 901.713 16.083 http://www.gcmachines.com/News/Biomass-Briquettes.html
6 4- “The Case for Pellets", 2012 VT Wood Chip & Pellet Heating
Aren
Conference, 23 January 2012.
aria 5- “District of Wah Cantt”.
Parth http://www.mycities.co/pakistan/district_wah-cantt_punjab-north.html
eniu 6- N EI Bassam, “Handbook Bioenergy Crops A Complete Reference
m 16.56 to Species”, Devleopment and Applications, 2010, p-222,
1908.076 31.620 7- Liena Poisa, Aleksandrs Adamovics, “Evaluate of Hemp (Cannabis
Hyst 6 Sativa L.) Quality Parameters for Bioenergy Production”, Latvia
roph University of Agriculture, Jelgava, 26-27/05/2011
orus Authors
Cyno 1- Engr. Muhammad Ishfaq Khan
He was born in Mianwali, Pakistan. He has graduated in Mechanical
don 23.78 Engineering from U.E.T., Lahore in 2007, and completed his MS in
234.939 5.588
Dact 6 Structural Mechanics from BTH, Sweden in 2012. The author is now
ylan enrolled in Ph.D. at IIU, Islamabad.
2- Dr. Liaquat Ali Najmi
A graduate of UET, Lahore, did his Masters and Doctoral degrees
from USA. He has been serving SCET (U.E.T., Taxila) as HOD for
last four years. He has established the Department and the College
with his hard work and leadership abilities.

3- Habib Ur Rehman Khan

He is a fresh graduate of SCET (U.E.T., Taxila), Wah Cantt, and
represents the pioneer lot of the college. He is very industrious and
hard working person and plans to continue his studies but at the
moment he is searching for a professional job.