TITLE:
Advanced Strategies to Mobilize Crop Residue to Replace Coal in India
AUTHORS:
Shahabaddine Sokhansanj, Yogender Kumar Yadav, Anthony Lau, Yadvika, Kanishk Verma, Nitin Karwasra
KEYWORDS:
India, Pellets, Power Plant, Coal, Ag pellets, Supply Chain, Logistics, Storage Bins, Rail Transport, Cost Estimates, GHG Emissions, Infrastructure
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Sustainable Bioenergy Systems,
Vol.13 No.2,
June
30,
2023
ABSTRACT: Various
published data show the amount of crop residue available annually in India may range
from a low of 90 to a high of 180 million tonnes. Different types of crop residue
are collected from farmers depending on the geography and crop pattern for instance,
in north India rice straw and cotton stalks are collected while in central India
soya husk and sugarcane tops are collected. Baling and transporting straw from the
field, though appear to be an option for safe disposal, will be feasible only when
alternate, effective and economically viable usage methods are identified and facilities
and infrastructure for ex-situ management methods are created. One immediate short
term use of the residue is to replace 5% - 7% of the
670 million tonnes of coal India currently consumes to generate power. The farmers
will benefit from the sale of their excess crop residue. The scheme will reduce
pollution due to residue burning practices. Replacing coal will cut the GHG emissions.
The challenge is to mobilize the crop residue collection and timely delivery to
power plants. The data and calculations in this monogram show that it is economical
for the farmer to remove the crop residue from the field quickly by using modern
balers, to pelletize the biomass in small-scale distributed pellet plants, to store
pellets in the modern steel bins and finally to deliver the pellets to coal plants
by using rail transport. The delivered cost is estimated at around Rp 6.78/kg. The
Government of India encourages the power plants to pay at least Rp 10/kg for the
delivered biomass in the form of pellets. The current monogram analyzes the organization
of an efficient supply chain in the State of Haryana India to ensure a sustainable
modern enterprise.