Need for alternative fuel

Industrial growth over the past century has seen an everincreasing demand on the earths fossil fuel resources such as coal & oil .These fuels have been favoured due to their ease of extraction & cost-effective conversion into usable energy. However recent discussion into the effects of fossil fuels on the environment have encouraged investigation into renewable energy sources as a way of alleviating negative environmental effects & their existing nature.

Reasons for low utilization of biomass

Biomass is comparable to solar energy in one respect that it occurs in a highly diffused form, scattered throughout the country. Just as concentrating solar energy at one point is difficult to collect & transport the relatively light biomass from its point of origin to a centrally located processing facility. Although it is stated above that the biomass either in the form of agro-waste or in the form of dry grass had no commercial value, it still needs to be collected & transported by somebody to the processing facility just a few Km away, cost about Rs.1000/ton. In addition to the above expense, one should not expect a farmer to surrender this agro-waste to a processing plant without any payment. Because villagers are seen to use biomass, as a free of cost material for a variety of purposes, even the so-called experts make the mistake of considering plant biomass as a no-cost raw material for industrial scale processing operations too. This lack of awareness of the ground realities has done more harm than good to cause of biomass energy.

What is BAGASSE?

Sugarcane is a seasonally-grown food and feed crop, the processing of which creates bagasse, a low-cost biomass material, as its by-product. Bagasse is a commodity that is readily available for usein 1992, 610 million tons of bagasse was produced worldwide. It is suitable for production of energy, ethanol, animal feeds, paper products, composite board, and building materials; and it is a feed stock for fluidized-bed production of a range of chemicals.
Selection of Bagasse as an alternative fuel

Biomass is a readily available renewable resource that has been used throughout the past as a source of heat energy by means of combustion. In recent there has been increased research into the feasibility of converting biomass such as bagasse into other form of usable energy. Bagasse is comprised of lingo cellulosic residues & is a by-product of many agricultural activities. Bagasse is essentially the fibrous waste left after the sugar- cane has been extracted for crystallizing into sugar. The fraction of bagasse obtained from raw cane crushed is approximately 20% - 30%. Previously, bagasse was burned as a means of solid waste disposal. However, as the cost of fuel oil, natural gas & electricity increased after the energy crisis in 1970, special attention was paid to alternative fuels in an efficient way. Consequently, conception of bagasse combustion changed & it has come to be regarded as biomass fuel rather than refuse. The actual tendency is to use bagasse as fuel, especially for cogeneration of electric power & steam, to increase its contribution to the countrys energy supply. This report will investigate that food waste recycling rate just was 1% & how the sugar industry is using the principles of cleaner production to minimize waste from the cane milling process by using the energy stored in bagasse to power the process & in many cases add green energy to the main electricity grid. It

will also investigate the economical & environmental effects of other options available to process the bagasse into usable products such as FUEL.
Renewable energy program Govt. of INDIA

1. The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) was set up by the Ministry of Energy in 1987 to provide assistance to manufacturers &users of renewable energy system. 2. In 1992, the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources (MNES) was established as a department in the Ministry of Energy. 3. The Ministry implements the Integrated Rural Energy Program transferred to it from the Planning Commission. 4. A National Program on Biogas Development is a major Program of Ministry.
Waste collected (% by weight) Industry waste 51% food waste 40% others 9% Industry waste food waste others

2 PROPERTIES OF BAGASSE
Physical properties

1. White & light green. 2. It is odorless. 3. The typical specific weight is 250 Kg/m3. 4. The main content: - 45% moisture, 50% cellulose - (27.9% hemicellulose, 9.8% lignin & 11.3% cell contents) & 6% others. 5. Energy content: - 19400 KJ/Kg dry ash free.
Chemical properties

The percentage distribution by dry wt. of major elements composing the bagasse is present in the below table. Components C H O N S Ash % by wt

(dry basis) 49 6.5 42.7 0.2 0.1 1.5

Chemical formula

Estimation of the chemical formula of bagasse:1. The percentage distribution of the elements with & without the water contained. Give: - !00 Kg bagasse based on 45% of moisture content.
Component C H O N S Ash Weight in Kg (without water)

27 3.6 23.5 0.11 0.055 0.735

Weight in Kg (with water)

27 8.5 63.5 0.11 0.055 0.735