| Investigations
on acceleration of biomethane production from crop residues at high solids
concentration and at mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures by using
micronutrients |
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The
presence of micronutrients (trace metals) and their bioavailability
influence the anaerobic process significantly and with proper dose of
metals in combination rate and yield of biogas generation can be increased
substantially. The preliminary studies carried out at SPRERI indicate that
biogas generation can be accelerated by use of trace metals and a
systematic investigation is necessary for establishing optimum use of
metal concentration for increasing gas generation. It is planned to
investigate effect of trace elements on biogas generation from crop
residues like rice straw, sugarcane trash and wheat straw at high solid
concentration. |
Development of fully
mechanized, biphasic system for production of biogas and manure from
vegetable market waste in large towns |
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Biphasic
technology to convert vegetable market waste has been successfully
demonstrated through the year long operation of 3 T/day plant designed and
installed near Anand town. Two such plants of 10 T/day capacity each have
been planned for Ahmedabad and Jalgaon. The technology will be scaled up
and fully mechanized to utilize 50-100 T/day vegetable waste for producing
fuel gas and compost in large towns where the problem of disposal of such
waste is most severe. |
Pilot scale studies on biomethanation of delignified agroresidues |
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Agro-residues contain about 35-40% of cellulose,
20-25% of hemicellulose and 10-20% of lignin as major constituents. Lignin
entraps the
cellulose and hemicellulose portion, which makes them unavailable for anaerobic digestion. For
efficient biomethanation the delignification
of agro-residues is essential. SPRERI has successfully experimented on delignification of
banana stem and biomethanation of the delignified material at laboratory
and pilot scale. It is planned to carry out experiments
on biological degradation of lignin content of
wheat straw and to develop a pilot scale thermophilic anaerobic system to process
delignified wheat
straw to produce methane and manure. |
Conversion of biomass into fuel quality ethanol |
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It
is proposed to evaluate different pretreatments and enzymes for hydrolysis
of biomass and identify the most suitable combination in terms of
efficiency, cost and energy balance, which can replace acid hydrolysis. it
is further proposed to develop techniques for economic utilization / safe
disposal of the residue and effluent from the conversion processes. |
Producer gas / biogas fuelled power systems |
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It
is planned to develop producer gas / biogas fuelled power systems in the
range of 10 kW to 1000 kW using SPRERI's biomass conversion systems to
produce these gases having favorable characteristics and quality for use
as CI engine fuel. |
Development of pilot scale fluidized bed gasifier and cyclone gasifiers. |
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The
investigative studies on fluidized bed gasifiers and cyclone gasifiers
will be intensified and the information generated will be utilized to
develop pilot scale systems to evaluate and demonstrate these for thermal
and power applications. |
Biomass management and preparation for energy purpose |
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Comprehensive
study will be done of the season and location specific availability of
biomass; its characteristics and quality; most appropriate equipment and
process to harvest , collect, densify, handle and transport the biomass;
its storage requirements; and equipment and processes to pre-treat the
biomass to make it suitable as feed stock for energy purpose. |
Integration of solar thermal and photovoltaic devices in the design of
residential, commercial and community buildings. |
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It
is proposed to work on the integration of solar water heaters, air heaters
and photovoltaic panels in the design of different types of buildings. |
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