BIOMASS ENERGY

India is a fast developing country with high economic and industrial growth. As a result the energy demand is
increasing day by day. The major source of energy in India is oil and coal. The estimated total consumption of
raw coal by industry in India has increased from 502.82 MT (Metric Tons) during 2007-08 to 841.56 MT(Metric
Tons) during 2016-17 with a compound annual growth rate of 5.29% whereas the estimated consumption of
crude oil increased from 156.10 MMT(Million Metric Tons) during 2007-08 to 245.36 MMT(Million Metric
Tons) during 2016-17 with a compound annual growth rate of 4.63%. Though there is a recent increase in the
use of Renewable sources, mainly solar power, Non-renewable resources have been still used in India due to
lack of awareness and acceptability of renewable energy sources by the consumers. There are many
disadvantages of using non- renewable energy resources as they have limited existence in environment, non-eco
friendly and not economical as India import all these type of energy resources. Therefore it is essential to
explore many other sustainable energy resources.

One of those non conventional sources of energy is biomass energy which can provide energy of grid quality.
Biomass is the use of organic waste material to generate energy. It can be waste from farming (like wheat stalks)
or horticulture (yard waste), food processing (like corn cobs), animal farming (manure rich in nitrogen and
phosphorus), or human waste from sewage plants.

For biomass energy to be produced, the organic material must undergo biomass conversion process. The
different biomass conversion process includes:-

1) Combustion:-
The burning of organic matter in presence of oxygen is called combustion. The heat generated from combustion
can be used for various heating purposes in homes. The heat can also be used to produce steam from water
which in turn used to run turbines connected to shaft of generator in order to produce electricity.

2) Gasification:-
Conversion of organic matter into carbon dioxide, hydrogen and carbon monoxide by heating the organic
materials in the presence of limited amount of oxygen or steam. As a result of heating, a gaseous mixture called
syngas is produced which can be used as a fuel.

3)Pyrolysis:-
The process of decomposition of organic material at high temperatures without oxygen is known as pyrolysis.
As oxygen is not present in this process the organic material doesn’t burn but decomposes into 3 forms- a liquid
known as bio-oil, a solid known as bio-char and syngas.

4) Bio-digestion:-
The process of breaking down of organic material with the help of bacteria in the absence of air to produce
biogas is known as bio-digestion. It is also call anaerobic digestion. The biogas is then collected and combusted
to generate electricity.

5) Fermentation:-
The conversion of sugar from organic material to ethanol with the help of yeast is known as fermentation. The
ethanol derived from this process can be used to generate power in automobiles.

Biomass energy consumption is in practice in India since ancient time. It is used in the form of cow dung cake,
firewood, husk and many available natural feed stocks. However, direct use of biomass in solid form was not
safe as they produce lot of smoke and ash. Therefore Biogas plant are being motivated by Indian Govt. as they
produce no smoke i.e. pollution free. Many subsidies are provided for establishment of the biogas plant. New
biomass gasification Technology was also evolved which converts biomass into syngas, which are more
efficient.
India has a potential of about 18 GW of energy from Biomass. Currently, about 32% of total primary energy
used in India is derived from Biomass. More than 70% of the country’s population depends upon biomass for its
energy needs. India has 5+ GW capacity biomass powered plants: 83% are grid connected while the remaining
17% are off-grid plants. The off- grid plants are divided between cogeneration plants that do not utilize bagasse,
biomass gasifiers for rural applications and biomass gasifiers for thermal applications in industry. Around 70
Cogeneration projects are under implementation with surplus capacity aggregating to 800 MW.

The following map shows the biomass energy potential in different states of India.

Advantages of Biomass Energy:-

1. It is cheaper compared to fossil fuels.
2. It is widely available.
3. It reduces the amount of waste we produce and converts it into a useful biodegradable product.

Disadvantages of Biomass Energy:-

1. Though biomass sources are renewable, but uncontrolled mass production may lead to deforestation.
2. Requirement of water is high.
3. It is inefficient as compared to fossil fuels.
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Geothermal Energy is a renewable source of energy that is being continuously generated from the natural heat
that is produced deep beneath the Earth’s surface. The Earth core is made of high temperature magma which
builds up continuously by the decay of radioactive elements or by vigorous movement of tectonic plates. These
high temperature magma pushes the rocks near the earth surface and as a result the rocks absorb the heat from
the hot magma. When the underground water comes in contact with these hot rocks, the underground water
converts itself into steam and as the steam reaches the surface of earth it bursts out of the surface as hot water
springs or fountains. The steam that is formed from these hot water springs or fountains is then used to run the
blades of a turbine and generate electricity. Major geothermal fields are situated in circum-pacific margins, rift
zones of East Africa, North Africa, Mediterranean basin of Europe, across Asia to Pacific. Italy, New Zealand,
USA, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Indonesia are some of the countries which are using geothermal energy for
electricity generation and thermal applications. The study and exploration of different geothermal fields in India
was carried by The Geological Survey of India (GSI) since 1970. Currently there are 350 potential geothermal
locations of capacity more than 10,000 MW have been identified in India. Some of these major geothermal
energy sites in India are :-
 Tattapani in Chhattisgarh

 Puga in Jammu & Kashmir

 Cambay Graben in Gujarat

 Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh

 Surajkund in Jharkhand

 Chhumathang in Jammu & Kashmir

The following map shows the major geothermal regions and important thermal springs in India.
Engineers have developed different ways to produce power from Geothermal reservoirs drilled inside the ground. These
ways are:-

1) Dry Steam Plants:-

This is the most common type of geothermal technology used today. The underwater steam is directly used to run the
turbine which drives a generator to produce electricity.

2) Flash Steam Plants:-

In this technology, a pump pushes the hot fluid into a tank at the surface where it cools. As a result the fluid quickly turns
into vapour or flash vaporises. This vapour then drives a turbine and generates the power.

3) Binary Cycle Plant:-

A binary plant uses two fluids- a hot fluid and a cold fluid. Hot fluid from underground heats the cold fluid in a
heat exchanger. The cold fluid having lower boiling point than the hot fluid then flashes into vapour at a lower
temperature and this vapour is used to spin the blades of turbine which is used to generate electricity.
Advantages of Geothermal Energy:-

1. It can be found on any location of Earth. However there are only few places known as the Geothermal
hotspots where the amount of energy generated is very high.
2. It is easy to maintain.
3. It is not weather dependant unlike solar power or wind power.

Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy:-

1. The requirement of land for establishing the plant is large.
2. It can release harmful gases that can escape through the holes while drilling wells.
3. Generation potential of this energy is small.

TIDAL ENERGY

Tidal Energy is a form of hydropower that converts energy from the rise and fall of tides into electricity. Tides
are formed due the combined effects of gravitational pull between the Sun, Moon and the rotation of Earth. The
Tidal Power Plants can only be installed near the coastlines. Coastlines often experience two high tides and two
low tides on a daily basis. The difference in water level must be at least 5 meters high in order to produce
electricity. There are several technologies to develop tidal energy. Some of these technologies are:-

1) Tidal Barrages:-

Tidal Barrages utilizes the potential energy that is generated due to difference in heights of high and low tides.
This change in height spins a turbine or compresses the air which is used to produce electricity. When there is a
high tide on the ocean side and low tide on the basin side, the sluice gates are opened so that the tides flow
through the turbine blades and rotate the turbine blades till the level of tides become same. At this point the
sluice gates are closed and are opened when there is high tide on the basin and low tide on the ocean side thus
rotating the turbines.
2) Tidal Fences:-

Tidal fences are vertical axis cross flow turbines that are mounted together to form a fence like structure. It uses
the kinetic energy of the tidal waves to rotate the turbine blades and generate electricity.

3) Tidal Turbines:-

Tidal Turbines are similar to wind turbines under water. The tidal current generated by the tides is used to run
the turbines in order to produce electricity.

Recently, it was estimated that India is having a tidal energy of 8000 MW according to a study conducted by
IIT, Madras. This includes about 7000 MW in the Gulf of Cambay in Gujarat, 1200 MW in the Gulf of Kutch
and 100 MW in the Gangetic delta in the Sunderbans region of West Bengal.
Advantages of Tidal Energy:-

1. It easy to install and renewable.

2. It has low greenhouse gas emissions and low environmental impact.
3. Since the ocean tidal patterns are easily predictable therefore it is a good source for electrical power
generation.

Disadvantages of Tidal Energy:-

1. The power generated from Tidal energy is very low.

2. Cost of installation is very high.
3. It can only be installed near the coastlines.