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FROM RESIDUAL WASTE TO CARBON TRADING

SHARMILA CHANDRA

(Research Scholar)

Department of Geography,

Visva Bharati University,

Santiniketan.

Global warming is a much discussed and debated phenomenon today. This

obnoxious change in climate is brought about by the emission of greenhouse

gases (GHGs), the foremost among them being carbon dioxide (CO2). Figure 1

indicates that more than 21% of greenhouse gases is produced by power stations

which continuously burn fossil-fuels and generate CO2. On the other hand, only

10% of the annual greenhouse gas emissions takes place due to biomass burning.

Hence, it is much more easy to reduce carbon emissions by substituting biomass

as a fuel in place of coal, petroleum and natural gas.

Fig : 1

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India, which accounts for 85% of South Asian electricity generation, is

today facing acute problems of power shortage. The current generation is 30%

below demand. Moreover, the demand for power in India is projected to increase

three times the consumption-level of 1996, by 2020. Hence, India needs to invest

heavily in new electricity generation capacity. To meet India’s projected power

demand over the next 25 years, over 300,000 MW of new generating capacity

will have to be installed.

On the other side, it has been found that due to population explosion and

excessive burning of fossil-fuels, India has now become one of the leading

emitters of greenhouse gases in the world. However, India is committed to reduce

carbon emissions as she has signed the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. Mitigaiton of

carbon emissions and the development of alternative energy sources is thus,

imminent in the case of this country.

India has advanced well in the development of non-conventional energy

resources such as solar power, wind energy, tidal energy, wave energy and

geothermal energy. The first wind farm in India was set up in Mandavi, Gujarat

way back and Anandapur Sahib in the Punjab has already become the most

important solar city of India. However, since the rural sector constitutes a large

part of the economy of India and India still remains an agricultural country,

power generation from biomass could play an important role in improving

economic and environmental conditions in India. India has today become the

largest producer and consumer of sugar in the world and produces about 40

million metric tonne of bagasse. Every tonne of sugarcane crushed in India

produces 300 to 350 Kg bagasse. Hence, energy generation from this by-product

of the sugar mills is greatly feasible in this country.

India has as many as 575 licensed sugar mills located in various regions

of the country. Since the sucrose-ocntent of sugarcane decreases if the cane is

transported over long distances, the sugar mills are mostly located in the two,

main sugarcane belts, i.e., the U.P.-Bihar belt and the Maharashtra-Karnataka-Tamil

Nadu-Andhra belt. Maximum concentration occurs in Maharashtra, with 55 mills.

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Next comes U.P. with 51 mills and Tamil Nadu ranks third with 24 sugar

producing units. The five largest states producing sugar – Maharashtra, Uttar

Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh together contribute 2000 MW

of electricity to the national power grid by bagasse cogeneration.

Fig : 2

MAP SHOWING THE CONCENTRATION OF SUGAR MILLS IN

MAHARASHTRA

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Fig : 3

MAP SHOWING THE LOCATION OF SUGAR MILLS IN

UTTAR PRADESH

Note :- Sugar mills are particularly concentrated in Western U.P. Hence, a large

number of bagasse cogeneration plants are located in this area in Deoband,

Khatauli and other places.

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Fig : 4

MAP SHOWING THE LOCATION OF SUGAR MILLS IN

TAMIL NADU

Bagasse is the residual, fibrous substance left after extraction of the juice

from sugarcane in the sugar mills. Cogeneration refers to the production of two

forms of energy simultaneously – one being heat and the other usually electricity.

It is a very efficient and cost-effective means of saving energy on the one hand

and reducing pollution on the other. Cogeneration is normally achieved from non-

conventional sources of energy which are again renewable sources and does not

involve fossil-fuels at all. Cogeneration from bagasse produces very little ash and

absolutely no sulphur dioxide. The carbon dioxide emitted during the process is

negligible.

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TABLE NO. 1

TABLE SHOWING STATEWISE POTENTIAL FOR EXISTING

CONVENTIONAL AND ENERGY-EFFICIENT SUGAR MILLS IN

INDIA.

Serial

No.

State

Potentialforexportable

surplus,MW.

Conventional

sugar mills

Energy-efficient

sugar mills

1 Maharashtra 1,000 1,250

2 Uttar Pradesh 1,000 1,250

3 Tamil Nadu 350 500

4 Karnataka 300 400

5 Andhra Pradesh 200 300

6 Bihar 200 250

7 Gujarat 200 400

8 Punjab 150 250

9 Haryana, etc. 100 400

Total 3500 5000

Source : MNES Annual Report.

The bagasse cogeneration potential of India’s sugar industry is as high as

5000 MW of exportable surplus, as studies have revealed. However, it cannot be

denied that in spite of the obvious advantages of cogeneration, much of the

cogeneration potential in India still remains untapped. Hence, the United States

Agency for International Development (USAID) has introduced a GEP Project to

aid the development of India’s power sector. The objective of the Advanced

Bagasse Cogeneration (ABC) Component of the GEP Project is to promote year-

round cogeneration in India’s sugar mills with adequate power export.

The cogeneration process in India is neither expensive nor complicated. It

involves the use of boilers and turbo-generators. Bagasse, the residual product

left after extraction of the juice from sugarcane, is taken to the cogeneration

plants and is fed into the boilers. It is burnt to superheat water to 515o C to

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produce high-pressure steam. This steam is then sent to turbo-generators and

rotates the generator blades to produce electric current. Recently, extra high-

pressure boilers have been introduced in the cogeneration plants with

configurations of 67 Kg/cm2 or 105 Kg/cm

2 so that additional steam and energy

are produced both during season and off-season. This will help the sugar mills to

operate beyond the crushing season, i.e., for about 300 days in a year instead of

the season operation of 150 to 200 days.

Fig : 5

THE SUGAR CYCLE

Higher sugar production, higher

Higher sugarcane utilisation availability of sugar

for sugar production

Decline in sugar prices, lower profitability

Increase in area under cultivation,

more production Delayed payment to farmers, high sugarcane arrears

Smaller area under sugarcane, lower production

Prompt payment to farmers,

lower arrears

Decline in sugarcane utilisation for sugar

Increase in sugar prices, better production

profitability

Lower sugarcane production,

lower availability of sugar

The sugar mills in India suffer from fluctuations in production which run

in a cycle (Figure 2). Higher sugar production means higher availability of sugar

in the market. As a result, there is a fall in the market prices of sugar and mill-

owners are affected by low profitability. They, in turn, delay their payments to

the farmers so that arrears accumulate. As it is, the sugar industry presents a poor

picture, particularly in the U.P.-Bihar belt where most of the mills are not run on

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a co-operative basis and plots are fragmented. If the farmers do not get their

payments on time, they devote even less area to sugarcane production and

production of sugarcane falls. The result is a decline in sugarcane utilization for

sugar production. The net result of all this is a fall in sugar production so that

now there is a shortage of sugar in the market. As a consequence, prices rise and

there is greater profitability for the mill-owners who clear their arrears promptly.

The farmers now get an incentive and increase the area under sugarcane

cultivation. Production of sugarcane goes up and there is better utilization of

sugarcane for sugar production. Higher production again leads to a rise in market

prices and the cycle goes on. Due to fluctuations in production, farmers often

abandon sugarcane cultivation and switch over to other crops. In this situation,

had it not been for cogeneration, many mills would have closed down.

By the cogeneration process, sugar mills can meet their own requirements

of energy. Not only so, off-season operation of the sugar mills has been made

more lucrative by the fact that the extra power available can be fed to the public

power grid and thus, an exportable surplus is produced. There are as many as

174 mills with cogeneration potential in India. Since India is facing an acute

shortage of power at present, the State Electricity Boards look up to these mills

as economical sources of power. High technology has made these sugar mills

efficient by improving the economic viability of the mills in terms of higher

production of electricity per unit of bagasse.

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TABLE NO. 2

TABLE SHOWING FUEL CONSUMPTION AND POWER

PRODUCTION IN VARIOUS IMPORTANT SUGAR MILLS (1999-

2000).

Fuel consumption and power production

data of some

sugar mills (1999-2000)

EID

Parry

Thiru

Aroonan

Shamanur

Sugars

Installed capacity (MW) 24.50 18.00 22.00

Gross energy generation (mu) : S 124.74 65.52 49.75

Gross energy generation (mu) : OS 26.39 35.34 0.0

Power export (mu) : S 76.18 35.86 33.70

Power export (mu) : OS 21.46 29.49 0.0

Operating days : S 249 213 167

Operating days : OS 65 125 0

Average plant load factor (%) : S 85.20 71.21 56.42

Average plant load factor (%) : OS 69.05 65.44 _

Fuel used (MT) – in-house bagasse 324319 151574 87748

Fuel used (MT) –bought-out bagasse 100700 49872 24972

Fuel used (MT) – other biomass 6738 682 0

Fuel used (MT) – fossil fuel 0 23224 0

Note :- S – Season, OS – Off-season, mu – million units, MT – metric tonne.

The benefits of cogeneration are manifold. It utilises the by-products

from the industries feasibly. Cogeneration produces two forms of energy at the

same time and also generates an exportable surplus. It is extremely environment-

friendly as it creates almost no pollution at all. This is because the cogeneration

process does not involve fossil-fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas.

Therefore, bagasse cogeneration would help to reduce India’s petroleum imports.

Cogeneration uses non-conventional sources of energy. Therefore, it alleviates the

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reliance on fossil-fuels and helps to conserve them on the one hand and on the

other, it effectively reduces the emission of CO2, so that global warming is

checked. Since sugarcane plants absorb much more CO2 than is emitted during

the cogeneration process, bagasse cogeneration helps the country to qualify for

Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). This will ensure the earning of carbon

credits for India and help the country to keep her commitment to the Kyoto

Protocol. Moreover, for a relatively poor country like India the earning of carbon

credits is extremely important as it will help to alleviate poverty and improve the

economic condition of the country in the long run. Considering the advantages of

cogeneration, India should strive to set up new cogeneration plants and also

improve the potential of the existing plants. Bagasse should not be treated as a

waste product but as a source of potential wealth and even the roadside sellers of

sucrose in the major cities of the country should be made aware of the benefits

of cogeneration so that they send their left-over bagasse to the various

cogeneration units to be converted into thermal electricity.