THE ENERGETIC UTILISATION

OF RICE HUSKS IN RICE MILLS

IN THE PHILIPPINES

Jeriel G. Militar
Project Director
Affiliated Renewable Energy Center
Central Philippine University (CPU-AREC)
Iloilo City, Philippines
PRESENTATION CONTENT

 Background
 Rice & Rice Residue Statistics
 Rice Husk Utilisation Considerations
 Rice Husk Energy Potential
 Ongoing Rice Husk Study Deliverables
 Technologies Using Rice Husks
 Related Policies on Rice Husk Utilisation
BACKGROUND

 Presentation is part of an ongoing “Study

on Rice Husk Potential as Energy Source in
Panay”

 Funded under the BMZ IZR Project

“Powering Agriculture”
BACKGROUND

PANAY ISLAND
BACKGROUND

Why Panay?
 Panay is among the top rice producing regions
in the country
 Situation in Panay is comparable to other large
rice producing regions in the country
 Iloilo, the 3rd top rice producing province, is also
located in Panay
 Previous study included Iloilo as among feasible
area for rice husk power plants
RICE & RICE RESIDUE STATISTICS

 Rice is the main Philippine agricultural crop

 Cropping is done 1 to 3 times a year
 Rice straw is approximately 29% of rice
production by weight:
1 ton of Rice = 290 kg Straw generated
 Rice husk is approximately 20% of rice
production by weight:
1 ton Rice = 200 kg Husk generated
 RICE & RICE RESIDUE STATISTICS

Annual Rice & Rice Residue Production

in Million Metric Tons, 2011-2013 Average
AREA Rice Straw * Husk *

PHILIPPINES 17.72 5.14 3.54

PANAY 1.68 0.49 0.34

Iloilo 0.93 0.27 0.19

* Straw and Husk are computed at 29% & 20% of

Rice production values.
 RICE RESIDUE UTILISATION

 Rice straw - usually left on the paddy field to

decay or burned
 too bulky to store or haul as fuel
 used to cook pottery by open-field firing

 Rice husk still considered as waste and a

disposal problem by many rice mills
 Utilisation as fuel still limited and in small

scale in many areas

 Fuel for cook stoves, kilns, ovens, dryers
RICE HUSK UTILISATION CONSIDERATIONS

Positive characteristics:
 High calorific value ( >3,000 kcal/kg )
 Renewable, usually free and already
concentrated at mill site
 Carbon-neutral fuel

Negative characteristics:
 Difficult to ignite & burn

with open flame

RICE HUSK UTILISATION CONSIDERATIONS

Negative characteristics:
 Difficult to haul & store - bulky and dusty
(normal density of 70-110 kg/m3 )
 Ash content (17-26%) is a lot higher than fuel
wood (0.2-2%) and coal (12.2%).
 Very abrasive and wears contact equipment

very quickly.
 Low melting point of ash - problem of stench

and clogging during firing

RICE HUSK UTILISATION CONSIDERATIONS

Important findings of previous studies:

 Direct combustion is recommended for most
heat applications
 Gasification is recommended only for small to

medium scale utilisation

 Hauling & storage costs are high, so…

 Energetic utilisation is best done at the mill site

 Rice Husk Energy Potential

Energy Equivalence:*
1 Ton Rice Husk = 410 to 570 KWh
50% of ENERGY
ANNUAL HUSK EQUIVALENT MW
AREA GENERATION, In Million KWh CAPACITY
in MMT

PHILIPPINES 1.77 726.46 82.93

Panay 0.17 68.99 7.88
Iloilo 0.09 37.95 4.33

* From http://www.bioenergyconsult.com/tag/rice-husk/
Ongoing Rice Husk Study Deliverables

 Map of rice husk availability and locations of rice

mills by municipality
 List of issues related to energetic rice husk
utilization
 List of rice mills for possible hosting of rice husk
fueled power plant– could be visited for trade
mission or similar purposes
 List of rice mill owners and other groups willing to
invest in energetic utilisation of rice husk
Technologies Using Rice Husks

Flatbed Paddy Dryer Using Direct Combustion

Nueva Ecija, Philippines (by Alexis T. Belonio)
Technologies Using Rice Husks

Flatbed Paddy Dryer Using Gasifier

Nueva Ecija, Philippines (by Alexis T. Belonio)
Technologies Using Rice Husks

1-MW Power Plant of

Isabela La Suerte Rice
Mill Corporation
Located in
San Miguel, Isabela
Status: Operational
since 2008

(An offshoot of an
EAEF-funded study
made in 2005)
Technologies Using Rice Husks

2-MW Power Plant of

Golden Season Grains
Center, Inc.
Located in
Luna, Isabela
Status: Operational
since 2011

(An offshoot of an
EAEF-funded study
made in 2005)
Technologies Using Rice Husks

Golden Season Grains Center Rice Husk Fired

Mechanical Dryer
Technologies Using Rice Husks

Golden Season & Family Choice Rice Mills

Power Plant Specifications:
 Technology (CHP) was designed and supplied
by Kokholm Energi-Miljo Tecknik A/S (K.E.M.) of
Denmark
 Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC)
by Nviro Filipino Corporation.
 Turbo-generator set was sourced from M+M
Turbinen Technik GmbH of Germany
Related Policies on Rice Husk Utilization in
the Philippines
Incentives under the Renewable Energy Law:
 Feed-In Tariff for Biomass = PhP 6.63 /KWh
 Net Metering – end-user with RE generation can
supply the DU up to100 KW of excess generation
 Priority Dispatch – qualified/registered RE
generators enjoy priority dispatch by the grid
operator.
 Duty-free importation of RE equipment & other tax-
based incentives
Danke!