Rajesh Bajpai

The need for clean energy in rural areas is paramount. Unfortunately this need is met through non - renewable sources such as LPG, Kerosene, Diesel and Coal. The fuel is heavily subsidized and as subsidies are withdrawn, a crisis in the availability of clean energy becomes imminent.

This pressure has resulted in an increasing stress on renewable resources. Forests are declining rapidly because of pressure of population on land and multiple use for industrial purposes. Depletion of forest resources has given significant rise to serious environmental problems resulting in soil erosion and loss of biological diversity.

India produces over 200 million tonnes of agriculture residues per annum which in

 terms of energy is equivalent to nearly 100 million tonnes of coal. The biomass materials include rise husk, rice stalk, cotton stalk, bagasse, groundnut shells, mustard husk, soyabeen waste, coffee / tea waste, coconut shells /pith and other residues. Another set of important resources are woody species that grow prolifically on waste land such as ipoemia, lantana, water hyacinth etc. These biomass materials are co2 neutral, if used in efficient combustion processes. Currently these resources are not used in a manner which may be regarded as clean fuel.

Biomass materials are truly co2 neutral and renewable.

The TARA briquetted fuel technology is designed as a complete package. The input is woody biomass material ; the output is clean fuel - TARA briquettes. Set of the equipment consists of the following :

The biomass materials chopped into manageable portions, upto 10 cm in length and dried. A pyroliser, either drum or beehive type, is used for converting the dry biomass into charcoal. The pyroliser is ignited after loading biomass. As soon as open flames are observed, fresh quality of biomass is added. This process is continued till the pyroliser is full and the biomass is seen to be burning properly. At this stage, the top lid is firmly secured leaving small openings for the smoke to escape. The smoke gradually reduces as the carbonization progresses. Upon completion of carbonization, the pyroliser is sealed and left undisturbed for cooling.

The cooled char is finely ground, mixed with binder and an appropriate quantity of water so that cohesion is observed in the mixture. This material is fed into the TARA briquetting extruder which continuously produces briquettes. The briquetting mass is cut into equal pieces using the cutter provided with the extruder. The briquettes are stored in trays and allowed to dry before packaging.

TARA charcoal briquettes are compact solid or hollow, cylindrical in shape and upto 50 mm in length. The briquette design can be varied according to speed of burning required, the initial aroma of smoke needed and on the basis of heat content. The briquettes are easy to ignite and provide an excellent heating medium with very little smoke or volatiles.

The TARA briquettes have the following positive features :

Some frequently asked questions:

What are the salient features of TARA briquetted fuel technology ?

The TARA briquetted fuel technology is unique with respect to value addition. Waste biomass resources can be easily converted to valuable clean fuel in the form of TARA briquettes. TARA briquettes can be produced using a wide variety of biomass materials and binders, which include ipoemia, lantana, wood chips, arhar stalk, cotton stalk etc. It is the only technology where raw material costs are virtually nil.

TARA briquettes are ideal for use in hotels, for barbecues, kilns and tandoors. TARA briquetted fuel can be used for a wide variety of end uses for cooking, space heating, milk processing and ironing.

The first step is the identification of biomass source. Upon ensuring regular supply of biomass, the production system should be set up close to the source of biomass. An open area of 100 sq.m. for drying and storage will be needed. The site should have a access to electricity supply ; alternatively a small generating set of 10 kVA will be required. The technology package is supplied by TARA along with training in production of TARA briquettes.

The total investment needed for setting up an electrically operated unit will be Rs 1.25 lacs (approximately). This package will have the capacity for production of 400 kgs of briquettes per day (based on assured operation for 8 hours).

The raw material input cost is virtually negligible. The major cost is of manpower employed. With upto eight persons employed per day, the value of daily production achievable is in excess of Rs 2,000. The entrepreneur can expect to earn a profit of Rs. 80,000 per annum based on simply 200 days of operation. Higher profit can be earned by increasing capacity utilisation.  q

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