BIOENERGY

AND

SUSTAINABILITY

2012

Biomass materials are used since millennia for meeting

myriad human needs including energy. Main sources of

biomass energy are trees, crops and animal waste. Until

the middle of 19th century, biomass dominated the global

energy supply with a seventy percent share. 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. 2

Oil & Gas: The early years of the twentieth century

ushered in oil which developed into one of the most vibrant

global industries of all times. One hundred years later, this

industry has reached its zenith with the panorama of entering

its twilight years in the second half of this twenty-first century.

How far in the future can the happening of this event be

deferred depends on how much we can decelerate a

runaway demand and how expeditiously we can implement

specialized renewable technologies. These measures will

give us more breathing space to develop alternate energy

forms, non hydrocarbon fuels like biomass. 3

With a rapidly growing economy and rising population,

India is the fifth largest and one of the fastest growing

petroleum oil consumers in the world. With limited

domestic crude oil reserves, India meets over 72 per cent

of its crude oil and petroleum products (diesel, aviation

fuel, etc.) requirement through imports. Energy demand in

the transport sector is growing relatively high due to the

growing economy and rising private vehicle ownership,

particularly four-wheelers. Due to rising oil consumption

and relatively flat domestic production, India is increasingly

dependent on imports to meet its petroleum demand. 4

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• What is Bioenergy?

• What is Sustainability?

• What are the connections between

them in India?

• Goals of bioenergy technologies

• Strategies to address these goals

• What is happening towards this

strategy implementation?

• Way Forward

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• What is bioenergy?

– Energy from trees, plants, crops

or from human, animal, municipal

and industrial wastes – Woody and

Non Woody Biomass.

• Woody - derived from forests,

plantations and forestry residues

• Non Woody - comprises agricultural

and agro industrial residues, algae,

and animal, municipal and industrial

wastes.

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In a social, economic, legal and political setting

What is Sustainability?

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Bioenergy- In a social, economic, legal

and political setting 9

Power, Lighting, Heating, Operation of Kilns,

Transportation, Milling, Motor Usages, Cooking.

• Solid biomass combustion and gasification for

electricity

• Slurry biomethanation for electricity and

cooking energy (gas)

• Efficient wood-burning devices for cooking

• Liquid biofuels for local usages and

transportation 10

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What are the connections between

Bioenergy and Sustainability in India?

To meet sustainability goals – social,

environmental domains

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GOALS OF BIOENERGY TECHNOLOGIES

In India, policies aim to promote modernization

and commercialization of biomass production,

combustion, densification, and electricity

generation.

A long-term techno-economic analysis using the

MARKAL model shows that biomass electricity

technologies have significant potential to penetrate

Indian market under a fair competition with the

fossil technologies. Under an optimal greenhouse

gas mitigation regime, biomass electricity

penetration can be reached in next thirty years. 13

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Myriad economic, social, technological and institutional

barriers remain to be overcome. The future prospects

of biomass technologies depend considerably on

removing these barriers. The key issue before

the Indian policy makers is to develop the market for

biomass energy services by ensuring reliable and

enhanced biomass supply, removing the tariff

distortions favouring fossil fuels and producing energy

services reliably with modern biomass technologies at

competitive cost.

RESOURCES FOR BIOFUELS IN INDIA

India's biofuel strategy continues to focus on use of

non-food sources for producton of biofuels: sugar

molasses for production of ethanol for blending with

gasoline, and non-edible oilseeds for production of

biodiesel for blending with petro-diesel.

The government's current target of five per cent

blending of ethanol with petrol has been partially

successful in years of surplus sugar production, but

falters when sugar production declines.

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• The cornerstone of India's energy security

strategy is to focus efforts toward energy self-reliance

and developing renewable energy options like biofuels

vis-à-vis fossil fuels.

• Adoption of environmentally friendly biofuels to

meet improved vehicle emission norms.

• Developing an alternative usage for crops like

sugarcane and its byproducts as feedstock for biofuels

to support farm income.

• Improve utilization of wastelands and other

unproductive land for cultivation of biofuel feed stock.

• Enhance rural employment and livelihood

opportunities by promoting production and marketing of

biofuel feed stocks

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POTENTIAL SOURCES FOR BIOMASS

Wasteland

Agricultural Residues

Forest Wasteland - forest, forest tree twigs, forest

wastes, plantation, farmlands, homesteads, degraded

lands and shrubs

Marginal Cropland

Crops – Rice, Maize, Cotton, Sugarcane

Dung – Cattle, Buffalo - cattle dung, leaf litter and

woody biomass as the feedstock, biogas can be used

for cooking

Oil bearing seeds, crops - Jatropha curcas, Neem,

Mahua, Wild Species, Sweet Sorghum, Rice Bran,

Neem, Sal, Karanja

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Energy forms which are available –

– gaseous (biogas, producer gas)

– liquid (ethanol, methanol, biofuels)

– solid (briquette) fuels

Penetration of bioenergy technologies has been

marginal in comparison to the target inspite of

large number of programmes

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Lignocellulosic ethanol technologies by biochemical

conversion using enzymes are the focus of a

considerable amount of research, notably in the

United States. Thermochemical conversion, by

gasification and the Fischer Tropsch synthesis of

the gases into petroleum substitutes, is also under

evaluation at a demonstration scale. There is no

clear consensus about when lignocellulosic

technologies will be commercially competitive.

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The National Programme for Improved Cook stoves

(NPIC) was launched to disseminate mud based improved

cook stoves, equipped with chimneys, and portable metallic

stoves to increase the fuel use efficiency and to reduce

indoor air pollution.

ƒThe National Project on Biogas Development (NPBD),

to set up family type biogas plants.

ƒThe Village Energy Security Programme (VESP) was

started by the MNRE with an objective to provide total

energy requirement of villages_ lighting, cooking, and

motive power with the involvement of local community.

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Biomass based power systems come under the

purview of the Electricity Act. Further, the Rural

Electrification Policy (2006), National

Electricity Policy (2005) and the Integrated Energy

Policy (2005) provided the required enabling

environment for the promotion of electrification to

the entire country. The National Policy on Biofuels

was approved by the Government of India (GOI)

on December 24, 2009.

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

alternative use of biomass as fodder or

industrial raw material

collection efficiency

actual availability of so-called waste

lands, forest lands and other types of

lands

availability of water, geographical and

weather conditions

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The most vital issue for biomass energy in India is

the development of market for biomass

energy services.

Two broad responses to this are:

i) ensuring reliable and enhanced biomass

supply, and

ii) provide energy services reliably with biomass

technologies at competitive cost.

WAY FORWARD

Training programmes for creating pool of skilled

personnel

Entrepreneurship Development

Effective Monitoring and Evaluation for quality control

Economic/Financial Viability by means of pilot projects,

transparent feasibility studies, prototype business

plans

Coordinated R&D policies

Incentives for private sector participation

Development of information package in technologies

and subsequent dissemination to entrepreneurs, end-

users, policy makers, manufacturers 30