Bioenergy:Techno-economic Assessment

Dr. Jyoti ParikhIntegrated Research and Action for

Development(IRADe), New Delhi

27 July, 2006

Energy Conclave-2006

Contents Biodiesel Bioethanol Biomass Gasification

Integrated Energy Policy (IEP)

• Biomass provides 1/3 of India’s total primary energy.

• Biomass based fuels provide 81% of domestic energy.

• This non-commercial energy sector is mainly managed by women without technology, management or investment involving backbreaking drudgery.

Integrated Energy Policy

Biodiesel• Biodiesel provides an option to

substitute diesel. Its economic practicability depends largely on the yields one can get from wasteland and /or returns one can get from good quality land with irrigation and fertiliser compared to other crops.

Integrated Energy Policy

Bioethanol• Ethanol is used in Brazil as a fuel for cars.• Under Indian situation, there is scarcity of

land and water , and the available quantities of ethanol.

• There is need to find more economic use of other feedstock for the production of chemicals and potable alcohol.

Biomass• Biomass can become a major energy source if

fuel wood plantations are developed. This requires land which may have other competitive use.

Biodiesel

Biodiesel System

Plantation of Oil bearing trees

Separation of seeds, kernels, Procurement of seeds plantation of Oil bearing trees

Oil extraction, blending and processing

Modification needed to use in Transport vehicles, stationary equipment, and oil cakes

Energy Policy

 

 

450 oil seeds species identified in various parts of India

For focused development only one or two species like Jatropha and Pongamia should be selected

However oil seeds which can yield suitable grade oil on economic scale can be tried to run R&D projects

Ratanjot (Jatropha curcas) Adaptability to difficult agroclimatic conditions Recommended by Committee on Biofuel Development, GOI

Karanj (Pongamia pinnata) Avenue tree and wide adaptability 27 % oil from seeds

Selection of Species

Possible Yield Levels

Under favourable agro-climatic conditions, it has potential to yield seeds up to 1 to 2 kg /plant or 2 to 5 tons /ha.

Assuming:Yield variability 2 –5 tons and average oil content

33%For producing 1 mt of biodiesel: seeds required will

be 3.3 mt

Land required for producing 3.3 mt Jatropha seeds:At yield level 2 tons/ha: 1.65 m haAt yield level 5 tons/ha: 0.66 m ha

Wasteland that can be considered for Jatropha plantation

Category of wasteland as in wasteland Atlas/ownership

Total area in the country (mha)

Minimum area criteria in a state that is available under each category

No of states

Gullied/Ravinous- Shallow Cat. 01/ community (Predominately Govt)

1.03 Exceeding 10,000 ha 11

Land with scrub Cat. 04/ community (Predominately Govt)

15.05 Exceeding 1 lakh or 0.1 mha

17

Land without scrub Cat. 05

3.74 Exceeding 1 lakh or 0.1 mha

9

Saline/Alkaline- Slight Cat. 10/Mainly private

0.41 Exceeding 500ha 5

Shifting Cultivation- abandoned Cat.11/community

1.22 Exceeding 0.1 mha 3

Degraded Forest – Scrub Cat. 13/ Government

10.84 0.2 mha 14

Total 32.29

Criteria for Land Availability

Department of Land Resources under Ministry of Rural Development, GOI has proposed the criteria:

Annual rainfall should exceed 600mm The pH of soil should be less than 9 Temperature should not fall below 00 C. The slope of land should not exceed 300 The land should not be waterlogged The land should not be barren rocky/stony

ByproductsThe marketing of byproducts is

necessary for economic viability Glycerol Oil seed cakeThere will be 1.9 mmt oil seed cake

(excluding shell) and 0.095 mmt glycerol as byproducts while producing 1mmt of clean Jatropha oil.

Overall Assessment Uncertainty about Jatropha oilseeds yields,

quotes for which range from 2 to 5 tons per ha.

Availability of land and competition of oilseeds crops with food crops.If arable land is diverted for Jatropha cultivation, economic returns should be around Rs. 30,000/ha/year.

Extent of byproducts, their potential uses and market availability and their prices

POLICY FRAMEWORK

Policy Interventions

Allocating community/forest land for Jatropha plantation

Minimum Support Price (MSP)/ Buy Back Guarantee of seeds

Bank Finance for plantation Tax Exemptions/holiday National Coordinated Research Project

Recommendations and Action Plan

Increasing the yield of Jatropha plants by using elite planting material.

Selection of varieties/strains which have more seed production and oil content.

Development of processing techniques which results in maximum oil recovery from seeds.

Bioethanol

Indian Government Initiatives The Government of India has already

announced the use of 5% ethanol-blended petrol from 30th Sep. 2003 in certain regions of nine states, the proportion of which would be increased to 10% in the later stage.

The price of ethanol is less than Rs 19 with no incentive for oil companies.

Potential of ethanol production

Potential of ethanol production from sugarcane

Year Area Under Cane

Cane Prod.

Sugar Production Addl. Alcohol Prod. (in million liters)

Target Revised Prod.

From Addl. Molasses Prod.

From Addl. Cane Available for Alcohol Prod.

2002-03 4.36 309.9 182 192 69 475

2003-04 4.53 321.6 192 202 99 795

2004-05 4.63 333.3 199 212 128 1000

2005-06 4.79 345.1 206 223 168 1222

2006-07 4.96 356.8 213 233 198 1485

Sugar Industry In India, about 60% the cane is

utilized for sugar production, 30% for alternative sweeteners and balance 10% for seeds.

In Brazil, 45% goes for sugar production and 55% for production of ethanol directly from sugarcane juice.

Barriers and Constraints

Market constraints Biofuel Prices State government clearance Pricing of Ethanol Interstate movement of ethanol Concessional excise duty

surcharge

Technological Constraints

Lower Plant Capacity Use of batch fermentation process Pollution control technologies in

India Non-economic returns from the Co-

products and Effluents

Policy Interventions

At National Level Detailed timeline for implementation of

the programme Incentive similar to other renewable

sources of the energy (reduced taxes, duties etc.).

R & D for alternative subtract, processing technology

Institutional framework among different stakeholders involve in the production and distribution of the ethanol.

At national level…….

Uniform tax policy for all states and UTs Institutional support for the fuel grade

certification, labeling, and standardizing Centralized agency for license to the agents

involved in the supply and distribution Maximizing the research and development

effort in this field to develop efficient technology for processing and production of ethanol

At State Level Clear cut state policy on the charges, levies fees

etc related to the production and interstate transportation and use of the ethanol.

Proper incentives, licensing facility and cooperation for alcohol industry and entrepreneurs to set up ethanol plants.

Less interference of state excise department for the repair, modification, and expansion of the ethanol plants.

Remove restriction on the use of subtracts involve in the production of ethanol like sugarcane, bagasse, cane juice etc.

Recommendations and Suggestions

Elite planting material for producing sugarcane.

Uniform policy for Sales Tax on molasses and rectified spirit.

Removal of ‘Export Pass Fees’ for inter-state movements

Permission to sugar mills to manufacture alcohol from cane juice

Use of secondary juice for fermentation and production of ethanol.

Biomass Gasification

Potential of Biomass Gasification in India

In the area of small-scale biomass gasification, significant developments in technology have made India a world leader.

Barriers

Technical barriers The induction of a gasifier system into a specific

industry is not a simple add-on job. Many small, trivial matters related to operation and

maintenance procedure are act as barriers. Financial barriers

Both the small industry user and conventional financing institutions hesitate to invest in new technologies such as gasification.

Barriers cont…

Social barriersBiogasifiers are feasible given the inequalities with in villages, lack of skilled manpower to install and operate systems.

Institutional barriers The lack of in-house capabilities of small and

medium industries in solving operational and maintenance problems

Policy Interventions

Financial IncentivesA host of fiscal incentives and facilities should be available to both manufacturers and users of biomass gasification systems, including:

100% accelerated depreciation for tax purposes in the first year of the installation of projects/systems.

No excise duty on manufacture of most of the finished products.

Low import tariffs for capital equipment and most of the materials and components.

Soft loans to manufacturers and users for commercial and near commercial technologies.

Five year tax holiday for power generation projects.

State government's policy

A number of States have announced policy packages including Wheeling, Banking, Third Party sale and Buy-Back which have been outlined.

In addition some of the states are providing concession/exemption in State Sales Tax and Octroi etc.

Recommendations and Action Plan

Define mission statement Support the development of gasification

technologies for the conversion of biomass into clean, sustainable energy and other products

Conduct situation analysisIt will lead to conclusions defined in terms of:

Science : Not sufficientTechnology : Barriers existMarket : Large potential existsAwareness : Limited

Recommendations and Action Plan

Define strategic elements/goals Build on successful and existing

technology platforms Plan and implement a robust R & D

program Establish supportive infrastructure Promote public communication

programsImplement strategic planning process

Conclusion The availability of land was considered as a

major barrier in IEP for the development of bioenergy in India.

A massive programme is needed to develop energy plantations consisting of oil seeds species on large tracts of wastelands and fast growing tree species in pockets around villages for a national network of small, decentralised biomass gasifiers power plants.

The irrigated crop area could be used for sugarcane growing for bioethanol production.

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