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ContentsApril 2012RE NewsNational 4-7● Kolkata Gets a New RenewableEnergy College● India, China Focussing onRenewable Energy Sources: WEF● Tamil Nadu to add 3,000 MWSolar Energy● REC Raising New €100 mn Loan● Railways Plans to Turn a GreenLeaf Through Renewable Energy● India’s Wind Energy Potential isOver 2,000 GW● Committee on Renewable EnergySet Up● Fedders Lloyd to Expand WindEnergy Equipments facility atBharuch● Government Extends PopularAccelerated Depreciation Schemefor Wind Power Producers● Hybrid Guide Lights for Fishermenat Night● Rice Husk, Solar Energy to SolvePower Issues● India to be a Global Sourcing Hubfor Solar Projects● India’s Installed Power GenerationCapacity Crosses 2 Lakh MW MarkInternational 8-9● Germany Could Become StorageTechnology Hotspot● Nanotrees Harvest the Sun’sEnergy to Turn Water IntoHydrogen Fuel● Smart Paint Could RevolutioniseStructural Safety of Bridges,Mines and More● Abu Dhabi Bets on Anti-DustSolar Panels● Total Green Electricity Generationfor ScotlandCover Story10 Hydrogen Energy and Fuel CellTechnologies Recent Developmentsand Future Prospects in IndiaRE Feature16 Evolution of Geothermal Energyin India19 Geothermal Energy: AnOverview25 Harnessing Bioelectricity throughMicrobial Fuel Cell fromWastewater 30 Hydrogen – A PromisingRenewable Fuel33 Electric Cars - The ‘Green Answer’to the Energy Crisis37 Tapping the Oceans for EnergyCase Study41 Biogas Bottling in IndiaSuccess Story44 Biogas Plant for a SchoolEvent46 TEDA’s Renergy 2012 - AStupendous Success47 RE and Energy Conservation - 201132 Cartoon48 Tech Update49 Children’s Corner50 Web/Book Alert51 Forthcoming Events52 RE StatisticsA detailed study of the use andapplicability of geothermal energy in theIndian context.Power from a biogas plant in the residentialschool which has helped an institute to meettheir needs in everyday life from cooking torunning various machines.Today’s fast world is overly dependent onenergy to fulfill requirements related to dailylife. Compressed biogas comes as a efficientand cost effective method to meet this need.April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 53

NationalRenewable Energy NewsKolkata Gets a NewRenewable EnergyCollegeKolkata can now boast of a renewableenergy college that opened in the cityin January 2012. The college is locatedoff EM Bypass at Madurdaha. Studentspassing out from the college receive adiploma jointly certified by the IndiraGandhi National Open University(IGNOU) and the TechnicalEducation Department of the Stateof Queensland, Australia. The collegeis the brainchild of renewable energyexpert and Ashden award winnerS P Gon Chaudhuri, who is presentlyAdvisor to the state government’s powerdepartment. “Students who pass outfrom this college will be recognisedas renewable energy engineers,” statedGon Chaudhuri, who will head thecollege as its chairman.www.energynext.in27 December 2011India, China Focussingon Renewable EnergySources: WEFIndia, China and South Korea areincreasingly focussing on renewableenergy sources, including wind andsolar, as potential growth sectors fortheir economies, as per the WorldEconomic Forum report released on 9March 2012.However, the report, Energy forEconomic Growth - Energy VisionUpdate 2012, which provides aframework for understanding thelarger economic role of the energyindustry, added that the higher costsof these technologies create trade-offsthat must be considered.“Energy prices will always be volatileand thus represent a challenge forlong-term economic planning,” saidKenneth Rogoff and Thomas D Cabot,Professor of Public Policy and Professorof Economics, Harvard University.“The question is how to make thisvolatility less economically damaging,”added Rogoff, who is part of the WEFadvisory board. While multiplier effectsfor solar and wind energy were lowerduring operation, their contributionduring the construction phase reachedas high as 3.3 indirect jobs per energyjob. “The energy industry is unique inits economic importance and has thepotential to be a tremendous catalystfor job creation and sustainable growthwithout harming the sector’s overallperformance,” said Chairman DanielYergin of IHS CERA, which haspartnered in the preparation of theWEF report. The energy industry thushas the ability to generate significantcontributions to GDP growth, thereport said.www.renewsindia.com9 March 2012Tamil Nadu to add 3,000MW Solar EnergyTamil Nadu has set a target to add3,000 MW of solar energy as part ofits solar mission programme by 2015-16. This is more than 33 per cent ofIndia’s target. The State Governmentis also planning to bring in a newpolicy for solar energy was disclosedby Natham R Viswanathan, Ministerfor Electricity and Prohibition andExcise in a recent conference organisedby Tamil Nadu Energy DevelopmentAgency (TEDA). The Minister alsoadded, “We need financial assistanceto boost the renewable energy sector soas to address the power deficit.” Withthis move, Tamil Nadu, according tohim, would become a power surplusstate by 2015-16. The State is facinga shortage of around 4,000 MW atpresent.www.indianpowersector.com8 March 2012.REC Raising New€100 mn LoanThe Rural Electrification Corp. Ltd.(REC) is set to raise €100 million(Rs. 656 crore) from Germany-basedKfW Bankengruppe for financingrenewable energy projects in Indiaat concessional interest rates. TheREC has sanctioned loans worth Rs.50,000 crore and disbursed loansestimated at around Rs. 25,000 crorein the current fiscal (2012-13). “TheREC is borrowing from a foreignlender to tide over the acute shortageof funds facing power companiesin India. Also, funds raised fromglobal markets are cheaper, given thehigh interest rates in India” said RSharma, CMD, REC. The REC andthe Power Finance Corporation of4April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

NationalIndia which accounts for 60 per centof lending to the power sector, haveformulated guidelines for lending torenewable energy projects for the firsttime. India’s power sector, alreadystruggling with fund shortfalls, willneed an investment of $400 billionduring the 12th Five-Year Plan(2012-17).www.livemint.com14 March 2012Railways Plans to Turna Green Leaf ThroughRenewable Energysolar energy to run 200 stations andprovide lighting systems at 1,000manned, level crossing gates. As partof its green energy initiative, it plansto run a train on pilot basis, in northBengal, with low-emission diesellocomotive and bio-toilets. There arealso plans to commission two biodieselplants in 2012-13 at Raipurin Chhattisgarh and Tondiarpet inTamil Nadu.www.sustainabilityoutlook.in15 March 2012India’s Wind EnergyPotential is Over 2,000 GWcoal and natural gas based plants,and wind can play a significant rolein addressing energy security andenvironmental concerns in a costeffective manner.www.infraline.com27 March 2012Committee on RenewableEnergy Set UpIn an attempt to become environmentfriendly, the Indian Railways plansto set up renewable energy generationcapacities - such as wind power, solarenergy and bio-diesel plants - for itsown use, railway Minister DineshTrivedi said in his budget speech on14 March 2012 .The renewable energy plans of therailways include setting up 72 MWwind power plants in Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu andWest Bengal. This will also helpthe carrier to avail fiscal incentives,including tax breaks for 10 years anddepreciation benefits, besides a chanceto earn carbon credits. In addition,the railways will also install bio-toiletsdeveloped by the Defence Researchand Development Organisation in2,500 coaches in the next fiscal yearto stem environmental degradationand corrosion of tracks due to humanwaste. The railways also plans to useAccording to a recent study bythe US based Lawrence BerkeleyNational Laboratory, the real windenergy potential of India is well over2 million MW. After reassessingthe land that can be used for windpower development, so as to take intoaccount previously excluded lands,Lawrence Berkeley concluded that thetrue potential of wind energy in Indiais between “20 and 30 times higherthan the current official estimate of102 GW.” It was previously thoughtthat only 2 per cent of land in windyareas could be used for putting upwind power projects. The studylooked at wind speeds at heights of 80m, 100 m and 120 m and has foundthat nearly 1,629 sq km of area isavailable for setting up wind turbinesat a height of 80 m, with a plant loadfactor (PLF) of more than 25 percent. The cost of wind power is nowcomparable to that from importedThe government has set up acommittee to suggest legislativeand policy changes to speed upcapacity addition from renewablepower sources like wind, biomassand the Sun. The committee willbe headed by a senior official fromthe Power Ministry and includerepresentatives from the Ministry ofNew and Renewable Energy, powerdistribution companies (discoms),Central Electricity RegulatoryCommission, electricity regulatorycommissions from renewableresource-rich states like Tamil Nadu,Gujarat and Rajasthan and powerproject funding agencies, like PowerFinance Corporation (PFC) and RuralElectrification Corporation (REC).The committee’s terms of referenceinclude suggesting legislative changesto make it binding for discoms tocomply with the renewable purchaseobligation (RPO). It is also mandatedto outline measures to penalise discomsin case of violation of the obligation.The panel also has the mandate tosuggest amendments to the ElectricityAct 2003 to empower the regulators toframe innovative market instrumentsApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 55

Nationallike renewable energy certificates(REC) to facilitate development of therenewable power market.www.financialexpress.com28 March 2012Fedders Lloyd to ExpandWind Energy Equipmentsfacility at BharuchThe Lloyd Group owned FeddersLloyd plans to invest Rs 200 crorefor expanding its newly builtmanufacturing facility for windturbine towers, heavy precisionfabrication and machining facility inBharuch district, Gujarat. The groupcommissioned the first phase of theunit and it has already acquired landfor the phased expansion.Commenting on the projectcommissioning, Fedders Lloyd CMDBrij Raj Punj said that renewableenergy represents the next big frontierin the technology industry and thenew facility is a testament to FeddersLloyd’s commitment to contributetowards India’s growing energyrevolution in India.The Union Minister for New andRenewable Energy, Farooq Abdullahand Gujarat Chief Minister NarendraModi inaugurated the new facility ofFedders Lloyd on 13 April 2012. Theplant is capable of manufacturingwind turbine powers up to 3 MWand heavy precision fabricationof components up to 80 tonne.Established in 1957, Fedders Lloyd isengaged in executing turnkey projectsin the areas of energy, infrastructureand climatic control equipment withmanufacturing facilities at Noida,Sikandrabad and now Bharuch.www.economictimes.indiatimes.com15 April 2012Government ExtendsPopular AcceleratedDepreciation Scheme forWind Power ProducersThe government has decided toextend the popular accelerateddepreciation incentive for wind powerproducers beyond 31 March this year,when it was due to be terminated,as the alternative generation basedschemes have not found enoughtakers. Power producers can opt foreither of these incentive schemes, andsince as many as 70 per cent haveopted for accelerated depreciation,an overwhelming majority of thecompanies have been lobbying forextension of this scheme whichprovides subsidies for setting up windgeneratedpower plants.At the same time, the generationbasedincentives, introduced in2009, have fallen way short of thegovernment’s target of 4,000 MW,yielding just 1,500 MW so far.Officials and industry persons reactedto the news positively. “ We haveasked the Finance Ministry to letaccelerated depreciation continue as itwill help us achieve the earlier missedtargets” said GB Pradhan, Secretary,Ministry of New and RenewableEnergy. “Accelerated depreciation hasbeen a major support to industrieslooking for captive power capacityfor energy security and to freezepower costs, making the sector evenmore globally competitive,” said theofficial spokesperson of Suzlon, theleader in the domestic market. VSubramaniam, Secretary General ofIndian Wind Energy Association,said the extension of the scheme willprove to be a boon to companies.‘This will help attract more orders’,said Subramaniam, calculating aninvestment of Rs 15,000 cr at anestimated installation of 3,000 MWof wind-generated power this year.www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com27 March 2012Hybrid Guide Lights forFishermen at NightThe Fisheries Department has decidedto install 10 hybrid guide lights in thefishing hamlets of coastal Tamil Naduto enable fishermen to reach theirdestinations at night, with ease.Fishermen set out for sail, keepingmajor lighthouses as an identificationmark. Due to lack of proper lightingsystem and high winds, they oftenland a few kilometres away from theirdestinations. Hence, they sought thehelp of Fisheries Department.Based on reports of the costeffective hybrid system installedat Tamil Nadu DevelopmentCorporation’s Raindrop BoatHouse in Mudaliarkuppam, threeyears ago, the officials of theFisheries Department approachedCoimbatore-based Viviann Electric.The firm developed three deviceswhich have been functioningat Panaiyur Chinnakuppam in6April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

NationalKancheepuram district, Tranquebarnear Nagapattinam and SomanathanPattinam in Thanjavur districtsince January 2011. The deviceuses both solar and wind energy.These solar and wind hybrid guidelights comprising LEDs with 40watts capacity and 500 watts windgenerator, are visible several kilometresfrom the shore. Sources stated thatCoast Guard officials too have startedusing them as a landmark.www.thehindu.com26 March 2012Rice Husk, Solar Energyto Solve Power Issuesrun a cold storage with a capacity of15 tonnes. The project, undertaken incollaboration with Thermax and TheEnergy and Resources Institute, ispast the experiment stage and is set tobe rolled out in rural India.www.hindustantimes.com29 March 2012India to be a GlobalSourcing Hub for SolarProjectsrequired for assembling and for thisthey will rope in local contractors.Gallo added that the ConcentratedSolar Power (CSP) systems used byAREVA are suited for a variety ofpower plants from 50 MW to severalhundred MW, as well as a diverserange of industrial steam applicationsand that they are cost effective, landconservative and water efficient.www.fastindia.in16 April 2012India’s Installed PowerGeneration CapacityCrosses 2 Lakh MW MarkIf all goes well, rice husk and solarpower - two very unlikely partners-will together provide rural Indiawith a twin solution to its problemsof power shortage and lack of storagefor agriculture produce. What’s more,the evolving system promises zeroemission of pollutants as well.The government’s Solar EnergyCentre, New Delhi, has managedto make use of rice husk and solarpower, both of which are beingwasted at present, to come up witha technological marvel that wouldprevent wastage of food grains inrural India. The rice husk is burnt toproduce enough energy for poweringa turbine and producing electricity.As of now, there are 60 mini-rice huskpowered electricity plants that light25,000 households in different partsof the country. The emission from therice husk plants is coupled with energygenerated by solar thermal plates toAREVA Solar, the US-headquarteredrenewable energy subsidiary ofthe French nuclear energy group,AREVA, has an ambitious plan totap the growing solar market in Indiaas a technology provider. William DGallo, president and chief executiveofficer, has promised to make Indiaa hub to source solar technology fortheir international operations. Galloinformed that India enjoys 250 to 300sunny days a year and is, therefore, apotentially privileged location for solarpower plant projects. The companyhas also been awarded a contract byReliance Power to set up a 250 MWproject in Rajasthan.The AREVA group aims to positionitself as a strategic player in thedevelopment of renewable energysources. India will be a global sourcinghub for solar projects, remarked Gallo.He said that as a technologyprovider, AREVA will source most ofthe steel and glass from the domesticmarket, and has plans to set up a largenumber of plants in India. Besides,there is availability of the skillsIndia’s installed total power generationcapacity has crossed the 2 lakh MWmark with the commissioning of a 660MW unit of a power plant in Jhajjar inHaryana. The total installed capacity inthe country has now reached 2,00,287MW, per an official press release. Thisincludes 1,32,013 MW capacity inthe thermal sector, 38,991 MW inthe hydro sector, 4,780 MW in thenuclear sector and 24,503 MW in therenewable energy sector. At the end ofthe 11th Plan, i.e. on 31 March 2012the total installed capacity stood at1,99,627 MW. There was a capacityaddition of 54,964 MW in the 11thPlan period, up 159 per cent over the10th Plan period when 21,180 MWcapacity was added. During the NinthPlan, the capacity addition stood at19,010 MW. In 2011-12, a capacity of20,501 MW was added, out of which5,482 MW was added in March 2012alone, the release added.www.netindian.in14 April 2012April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 57

InternationalGermany CouldBecome StorageTechnology HotspotNanotrees Harvestthe Sun’s Energy toTurn Water IntoHydrogen FuelSmart Paint CouldRevolutionise StructuralSafety of Bridges, Minesand MoreDuring the International Summitfor the Storage of Renewable Energy,Germany’s Environment Minister,Norbert Röttgen spoke about marketincentives for storage systems. These, hesaid, are important for the developmentof market applications. He went on totell the audience of over 300 experts,from 28 countries, that the immediatetask is to develop renewable energyand energy efficiency technologies,and integrate them into the market.Eicke Weber, spokesman for theFraunhofer Energy Alliance and headof the Fraunhofer Institute for SolareEnergy Systems (ISE), during hispresentation asserted, “Energy storageis part of a paradigm shift in renewableenergy adoption and usage. Storageat its basic is about being able to useharvested renewable energy producedat a very low cost exactly when weneed it.” He said that there is a widerange of storage technologies, whichwill create an important role for energystorage systems in Germany’s future.According to Weber, the country isparticularly well-positioned to become ahotspot for energy storage technologies,due to plans to phase out nuclearpower and its clear goals on continuingthe expansion of the deployment offluctuating renewable energy.www.pv-magazine.com13 March 2012Electrical engineers at the Universityof California, San Diego are buildinga forest of tiny nanowire trees inorder to cleanly capture solar energywithout using fossil fuels and harvestit for hydrogen fuel generation.Reporting in the journal, Nanoscale,the team said nanowires, whichare made from abundant naturalmaterials like silicon and zinc oxide,also offer a cheap way to deliverhydrogen fuel on a mass scale.The trees’ vertical structure andbranches are key to capturing themaximum amount of solar energy,according to Deli Wang, professorin the Department of Electrical andComputer Engineering at the UCSan Diego Jacobs School ofEngineering. In the long run, whatWang’s team is aiming for is evenbigger: artificial photosynthesis.In photosynthesis, as plants absorbsunlight they also collect carbondioxide (CO 2) and water fromthe atmosphere to createcarbohydrates to fuel their owngrowth. Wang’s team hopes to mimicthis process to capture CO2 fromthe atmosphere, reducing carbonemissions and converting it intohydrocarbon fuel.www.sciencedaily.com7 March 2012An innovative low-cost smart paintthat can detect microscopic faultsin wind turbines, mines and bridgesbefore structural damage occurs isbeing developed by researchers at theUniversity of Strathclyde in Glasgow.The environment-friendly paintuses nanotechnology to detectmovement in large structures, andcould shape the future of safetymonitoring. Traditional methods ofassessing large structures are complex,time consuming and use expensiveinstrumentation, with costs spiralinginto millions each year.However, the smart paint costsjust a fraction of the cost and canbe simply sprayed onto any surface,with electrodes attached to detectstructural damage long before failureoccurs. Dr Mohamed Saafi, of theUniversity’s Department of CivilEngineering, said: “The developmentof this smart paint technology couldhave far-reaching implications for theway we monitor the safety of largestructures all over the world.8April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

International“There are no limitations asto where it could be used and thelow-cost nature gives it a significantadvantage over the current optionsavailable in the industry. The processof producing and applying the paintalso gives it an advantage as noexpertise is required and monitoringitself is straightforward, he said.” Thepaint is formed using a recycled wasteproduct known as fly ash and highlyaligned carbon nanotubes. Whenmixed, it has a cement-like propertywhich makes it particularly useful inharsh environments.www.esciencenews.com30 January 2012Abu Dhabi Bets onAnti-Dust Solar PanelsAbu Dhabi is teaming up witha global electronics company todevelop better coatings for solarpanels to make them cheaperand easier to keep clean in desertconditions. The Middle East andNorth Africa (MENA) regionstands to benefit from concentratedsolar power (CSP) – a technologythat uses lenses or mirrors to focuslarge amounts of sunlight onto asmall area. This light is convertedto heat, which generates electricity.But harsh desert conditions inparts of the MENA region generatelarge amounts of airborne dustwhich collects on the solar panelsused in CSP systems, reducingtheir efficiency. They need regularcleaning, which consumes largeamounts of water.Now, the Masdar Institute ofScience and Technology says it willwork with Siemens AG to developcoatings using water-repellentmaterials, commonly used tomanage oil spills. These materialsforce water droplets to form beadsthat then trap dust, meaning thatless water would be needed to keepthe panels clean.Matteo Chiesa, AssociateProfessor of Mechanical Engineeringat the Masdar Institute said that theteam is also developing a modellingtool that will incorporate weatherdata, to predict how often the panelswill need cleaning. He also addedthat the field tests are underway totest the coating and predictive tool,and the adapted solar panels couldreach the market within five years.www.scidev.net5 March 2012Total Green ElectricityGeneration for ScotlandScotland will be able to generateall its domestic electricity usingrenewable methods by 2020,the government has confirmed.However, it will be a challengeto reach the target and greenenergy generation will need to besupported by at least 2.5 GW fromthermal power units that will beincreasing their carbon captureand storage rates. The governmentalso aims to completely removecarbon from electricity generationby 2030, under plans outlined inthe Electricity Generation PolicyStatement (EGPS), which has justbeen released.Fergus Ewing, Scotland’s EnergyMinister, says, “We know there isdoubt and scepticism about our 100per cent renewables target, and thefinancial and engineering challengesrequired to meet it. But we willmeet these challenges. I want todebate, engage and co-operate withevery knowledgeable, interestedand concerned party to ensurewe achieve our goals.” The plansmean there will be no need to buildany new nuclear power stations inScotland. By 2020, the governmentaims to support local andcommunity ownership of at least500 MW of renewable electricityand heat energy. It also plans toreduce final energy consumptionin Scotland by 12 per cent andcomplete full carbon capture andstorage at power stations from2025-2030. In the related ‘ThePower of Scotland Secured’document, green campaigners‘Friends of the Earth’ commissioneda report saying that by 2030renewable methods could provideenough electricity for all ofScotland’s energy needs plus 85 percent extra for export.www.earthtimes.org6 March 2012April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 59

Cover StoryHydrogen Energy andFuel Cell TechnologiesRecent Developments and Future Prospects in IndiaEnergy security is a major challenge that needs imaginative and innovativesolutions for a country like India. Therefore, options for diversificationof fuels and energy sources need to be pursued vigorously to enhance theeconomic growth rate for socio-economic development.M R NouniFuel cell bus developed by TATA motorsThe growing concern about depleting oil reserves,harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions andthe necessity to reduce emissions from powerplants and vehicles are some of the key factorsencouraging the development of new and renewable energytechnologies. Hydrogen: the zero carbon fuel, excels incomparison to other fuels including bio-fuels, with regardto first the decrease and then the elimination of the effectof climate change. Thus, hydrogen is a clean energy carrierwith potential to replace liquid and gaseous fossil fuels in thecoming decades. In recent years, notable progress has beenmade globally for the development and demonstration ofhydrogen energy and fuel cell technologies. Hydrogen canstore and deliver usable energy, but it doesn’t exist by itself innature. It must be produced from compounds that containit - using available resources - natural gas, coal and nuclear;biomass and other renewables including solar, wind, hydroelectric,or geothermal energy. This diversity of being ableto use diverse energy sources makes hydrogen a promisingenergy carrier and important from the energy security viewpoint. Hydrogen is high in energy content as it contains120.7 MJ/kg, which is the highest for any known fuel.However, its energy content on volume basis is rather low.This poses challenges with regard to its storage for civilianapplications, when compared to storage of liquid fossil fuels.With primary emphasis on energy security andenvironment improvement, various Research, Developmentand Demonstration (RD&D) activities on different aspects10April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

Cover Storyof hydrogen energy that includes hydrogen production,its storage and applications for motive power and powergeneration through internal combustion engine and fuel cellbased systems, have been pursued by academic institutions,Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)laboratories, industry etc. with the support of Government ofIndia, for more than two decades. As a result, laboratory scaleprototypes have been developed and some of them include:(a) bio-hydrogen production using distillery wastes; (b) ProtonExchange Membrane (PEM) based electrolysers for hydrogenproduction through splitting of water and water-methanolmixture; (c) inter-metallic hydride with storage capacity upto2.42 wt per cent; (d) liquid organic hydrides for hydrogenstorage with storage capacity of about 6 wt per cent ; (e)methanol reformer for production of hydrogen, which canbe used in PEM fuel cells; (f) hydrogen catalytic combustioncookers; (g) hydrogen fuelled motor-cycles and three wheelerswith hydrogen storage in metal hydrides; (h) hydrogenfuelled three wheelers with hydrogen storage in high pressurecomposite cylinders; (i) hydrogen fuelled internal combustionengine for stationary power generation; (j) phosphoric acid fuelcells with stacks up to 25 kW capacity; (k) PEM fuel cells withstacks up to 5 kW capacity; (l) UPS system based on PEMfuel cell; (m) fuel cell battery hybrid van; (n) hydrogen blendedCNG (H-CNG) fuelled vehicles; etc. Use and applications ofhydrogen are in the early demonstration stages in the countryboth for transport and for stationary power generation.National Hydrogen Energy Road MapWith a view to accelerate the development of hydrogen energysector in the country, a National Hydrogen Energy Board,which included all the stakeholders, was constituted in 2003.They created a National Hydrogen Energy Road Map thatprovides the broad pathway to be followed for development andintroduction of hydrogen energy technologies in the country.For achieving the overall growth of the entire hydrogen energysector, the Road Map suggested ambitious targets for transportsector and power generation for the period up to 2020. It alsoemphasised the need for taking up a wide ranging R&Dprogramme in the country including eight projects in missionmode relating to (a) clean coal gasification technologies forhydrogen production; (b) hydrogen production throughbiological sources; (c) hydrogen production through renewableenergy sources; (d) hydrogen production through nuclearthermo-chemical water splitting method; (e) hydrogen storagein hydrides; (f) hydrogen storage in carbon nano-structures;(g) development of internal combustion (IC) engine forhydrogen fuel; and (h) development of PEM and solid oxidefuel cell (SOFC) technologies.Hydrogen can be produced using locallyavailable resources including naturalgas, coal and nuclear, biomass and otherrenewables including solar, wind, hydroelectricor geothermal energy.Efforts made during 11th PlanHydrogen energy and fuel cell activities in the country receivedan impetus after the acceptance of the National HydrogenEnergy Road Map in 2006. From 2006-07 onwards a totalof 54 new RD&D projects, of which 38 projects in the areaof hydrogen, its storage and applications and 16 projectsrelated to different fuel cell technologies are being supportedby the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).The extent of the support provided to hydrogen energy andfuel cell activities is clear from the fact that out of 169 newRD&D projects supported by the MNRE during the 11thPlan Period (2007-08 to 2011-12), 44 projects(26 per cent)were related to hydrogen energy and fuel cells. In terms of thetotal financial support provided by the MNRE during the11th Plan Period, hydrogen energy and fuel cell projects wereprovided with a budget of about Rs. 118 crore out of the totalRD&D support of about Rs. 507 crore.Hydrogen productionIt is pertinent to note that a large number of projectsconcerning hydrogen production, have been sanctionedduring the 11th Plan and are shown in Fig. 1. Further,for meeting the requirement of hydrogen up to 2020, theNational Hydrogen Energy Road Map had suggestedFuel Cells, 12Applicationsin Engines, 8Others, 2HydrogenProduction 15HydrogenStorage, 7Fig 1. Sector wise distribution of sanctioned RD&D Projects related toHydrogen Energy and Fuel Cells during the 11th PlanApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 511

Cover StoryThe National Hydrogen Energy RoadMap provides the broad pathwayto be followed for development andintroduction of hydrogen energytechnologies in the country.different processes as shown in Fig. 2. In order to meetthe immediate requirement of hydrogen for transport andpower generation applications, it was suggested to tap byproduct/ spare hydrogen available in industries like chloralkaliindustries, fertiliser plants and petroleum refineries.A study conducted by the University of Petroleum andEnergy Studies estimated a theoretical surplus of 0.0313MMT, out of a total hydrogen generation capacity of0.0732MMT from chlor-alkali units during 2007-08. Nosurplus hydrogen is available in petroleum refineries andfertiliser plants. As per information compiled by the Alkali-Manufacturers Association of India, hydrogen produced by37 chlor-alkali units in India was about 666.29 million Ncu m (0.0598 MMT) during 2010-11. About 86.39 per centof it was being utilised for production of hydrochloric acid,as fuel for captive use sold after bottling it, in downstreamunits and other applications. Therefore, about 0.0081MMT of surplus hydrogen was available from chlor-alkaliunits during 20101-11. However, it seems that the amountof surplus hydrogen from chlor-alkali units is progressivelyreducing after analysing the hydrogen consumption patternfor the years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.A demonstration project for on-site hydrogen productionPrimary EnergySourceHydrocarbonsElectricityCoalBiomassNuclearSolarRenewableUpto 2007Immediatesupplies2007- 2017Mid & long-termsuppliesIndustrialEffluentsBeyond 2017SuppliesProcessBy-product H2Reforming etcElectrolysisGasificationShif:Reactionliquid fuelprocessBiologicalWater splitting processesThermochemicalHigh Temp ElectrolysisBiologicalFig 2. Hydrogen supply processes suggested in the NationalHydrogen Road MapApplication1.Transport(IC engines/Fuel Cells)2. Power(IC engines/Turbines/Fuel Cells)3. ProcessIndustry(Fertilisers/petroleumRefining etc.)using alkaline electrolyser of 5 N cu m/hr capacity, blendingit with compressed natural gas and dispensing of H-CNGwas commissioned at Dwarka in New Delhi by the IndianOil Corporation Limited (IOCL) in March, 2009. A similarunit was installed by IOCL in its R&D Centre at Faridabad in2005. These facilities are being currently used for dispensingH-CNG fuel in some demonstration vehicles. The ElectricalResearch and Development Association (ERDA), Vadodarahas developed a prototype demonstration project for windhydrogen based stand-alone electrical generation. Underthis project, 2x5 kW small wind turbines have been usedto meet the electrical energy requirement of a load eitherdirectly through a battery bank or through a gen-set, whichused hydrogen as a fuel produced by an electrolyser operatedby direct current (DC) drawn from the battery bank. Witha view to generate hydrogen from solar energy, a hydrogenproduction and dispensing facility is scheduled to be setup at the Solar Energy Centre (SEC), Gwalpahari usingPV generated electricity for operating an electrolyser. Thedemonstration project, being implemented by the Universityof Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun is likelyto be commissioned by 2013-14. For hydrogen productionthrough gasification of biomass, one project each is beingimplemented by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc),Bangalore and the National Institute of Technology (NIT),Rourkela. The IISc is working on the development of theoxy-steam gasification unit using an open top downdraftgasification system for hydrogen production rate of about0.1 kg/kg biomass at various steam-to-biomass ratios. TheNIT, Rourkela will be developing a bench scale fluidisedbed gasifier of 5 kW capacity for hydrogen production rateof about 0.09 kg/kg of feed stock.A pilot plant of 800 litres capacity for bio-hydrogenproduction was installed at Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Kharagpur under a project that concluded in 2007.Hydrogen yield was observed to be 5.5 moles of hydrogenper mole of sucrose after 25 hours of fermentation, whichamounted to about 2.4 cu m of hydrogen production perday from the reactor (the average hydrogen production is inthe range of 3-5 volumes per day per volume of the reactor).In a mission mode project, under implementation from2009 to 2014, IIT Kharagpur in association with AllahabadUniversity, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), IndianInstitute of Chemical Technology (IICT) Hyderabad,Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTUH)Hyderabad, and The Energy Research Institute (TERI),New Delhi would be designating, developing and installingthree 10 m 3 capacity pilot demonstration plants with12April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

Cover Storyhydrogen generation capacity of 30,000 to 50,000 litresper day. This project would aim at making bio-hydrogenproduction commercially viable by way of selection ofsuitable organic waste as substrate; development of suitableconsortia for the process; use of thermophiles to avoid thesterilisation of the waste materials; and development of anintegrated (two stage fermentation) process.The IICT has undertaken work relating to catalystdevelopment and bench scale reactor development forhydrogen production studies from biomass derived glycerolduring 2008-11. The bench scale reactor is being scaled upfor the development of a pilot demonstration plant of 2 Ncu m/hr capacity of hydrogen production by IICT. TheCentral Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR),Dhanbad developing a novel process for production ofhydrogen from renewable and fossil fuel based liquidand gaseous hydrocarbons, by the non-thermal plasmareformation technique.The Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology(C-MET), Pune and IICT are working on developingprocesses for decomposition of hydrogen sulphide forproduction of hydrogen by photo-catalytic and nonthermalplasma assisted methods respectively. For splittingwater using solar energy directly, which is dubbed as theultimate and sustainable method for hydrogen production,Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT),Bhubaneswar; IICT and Yogi Vemana University, Kadapaare some of the institutions that are engaged in carrying outR&D work in India.Hydrogen StorageHydrogen storage remains a major problem for thedevelopment and viability of hydrogen-fuelled vehiclesand is considered by many to be the most technologicallychallenging aspect for achieving a hydrogen-based economy.As per the experts, on-board hydrogen storage capacity inthe range of approximately 5–13 kg is required to enablea driving range of about 500 kms for typical automotivevehicles using fuel cell power plants. Presently hydrogencan be stored in three forms; gaseous, liquid or as a solidcombined with a metal hydride. The most suitable storagemethod is dependent upon safety aspects, environmentalissues, economic criteria and the end-use of hydrogen.The R&D work carried out so far in the country has beenfocussed on metal hydrides, inter-metallic hydrides, complexhydrides, liquid organic hydrides etc. While three R&Dprojects were completed during 11th Plan (Fig 3), seven newR&D projects were sanctioned during this period in the areaFuel Cells, 10Applications, 3Others, 2HydrogenProduction, 10HydrogenStorage, 3Fig 3. Sector wise distribution of RD&D Projects related to HydrogenEnergy and Fuel Cells completed during the 11th Planof hydrogen storage (Fig 1). The completed projects wererelated to synthesis and evaluation of complex hydrides;development of liquid organic hydrides; and theoreticalinvestigation on ‘likely to be favourable factors’ of helicalcarbon nano-tubes for enhanced hydrogen absorptionundertaken by IIT, Mumbai; National EnvironmentalEngineering Institute (NEERI), Nagpur and ThiagarajarCollege of Engineering, Madurai, respectively. The NEERIidentified and tested a catalyst for dehydrogenation ofcyclohexane and methylcyclohexane. Hydrogen storagecapacity for the process was found to be 6.1- 6.8 wt per cent.With a view to achieve about 5 wt per cent storagecapacity in hydrides and carbon materials with cycle life ofmore than 1000, one mission mode project each is beingimplemented by BHU, Varanasi and IIT Madras, Chennai.Non Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre,Hyderabad and NIT, Tiruchirappalli are working ondifferent aspects of magnesium hydride material. The IIT,Fig 4. Hydrogen fuelled three wheelerApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 513

Cover StoryEfforts related to use of hydrogen as fuelhave been mainly focused on developmentof internal combustion engines bymodifying petrol, diesel and gaseousengines to operate with hydrogen.Fig 5. Fuel cell systemGuwahati is engaged in development of a metal hydridebased hydrogen storage device.Use of Hydrogen in Engines and forThermal ApplicationsEfforts related to use of hydrogen as fuel have been mainlyfocussed on development of internal combustion engines bymodifying petrol, diesel and gaseous engines to operate withhydrogen. To begin with, existing spark ignited engines weremodified to operate with hydrogen as a fuel. Prototypes of suchengines are small single cylinder engines. A single cylinder fourstroke, spark ignited, air cooled 5 hp engine was modified tooperate with hydrogen and integrated with a 2.5 kVA alternatorby IIT, Delhi for power generation for stationary applications.The learnings from this effort helped IIT, Delhi develop ahydrogen fuelled engine for a three wheeler in association withMahindra and Mahindra (M&M). In addition, petrol drivenmotorcycles and three wheelers have also been modified tooperate with hydrogen as a fuel by BHU, Varanasi.Blending of hydrogen with CNG was considered to bethe best strategy for not only introduction of hydrogen insome form in vehicles under Indian conditions but also forgaining experience about production, storage, dispensing andapplication of hydrogen as the infrastructure for CNG wasalready available in some parts of the country. On acceptance ofthe National Hydrogen Road Map, one of the earliest projectstaken up for implementation related to the use of hydrogen(up to 30 per cent ) as fuel, blended with CNG in an internalcombustion engine. Under this project, being implementedby the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)and R&D Centre of IOCL, two three wheelers, two cars, twomini buses and one cargo vehicle have been developed by fiveautomobile companies i.e. Ashok Leyland Limited, Bajaj AutoLimited, M&M, Tata Motors and Volvo Eicher. Based on theperformance and emission tests undertaken by IOCL, it wasdecided that blending of 18 per cent hydrogen by volume withCNG is the optimum blend to be used in the vehicles includedin the project. Currently, these vehicles are undergoing fieldendurance testing (30,000 kms for three wheelers and 50,000kms for other vehicles) between Faridabad and Dwarka, NewDelhi as the facilities for supply of H-CNG exist at R&DCentre of IOCL at Faridabad and Dwarka, New Delhi. Theproject would be completed during 2012 and may pave theway for introduction of more H-CNG fuelled vehicles onIndian roads.In order to study the impact of using hydrogen - dieseland hydrogen-straight vegetable oil (SVO) in dual fuel modeon performance and emissions of engines, two projects areunder implementation. One project is being implementedby M&M in technical collaboration with SaskatchewanResearch Council (SRC), Canada for development anddemonstration of a sports utility vehicle using hydrogenalong with diesel. Under another project, the Universityof Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) is developing astationary engine for using hydrogen with SVO.The M&M in association with the IIT, Delhi has developed15 three wheelers under a project named ‘DELHY-3W’ whichwas supported by the United Nations Industrial DevelopmentOrganisation (UNIDO) through the International Centre forHydrogen Energy Technologies (ICHET), Istanbul, Turkey(Fig. 4). This project was supported in March, 2009 with IITDelhi; M&M; Air Products / INOX Air Products; and IndiaTrade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) as project partners.14April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

Cover StoryUnder this project, 15 hydrogen fuelled three wheelers arebeing demonstrated at New Delhi currently. Hydrogen isstored in a compressed gaseous form in composite cylinders.Limited field trials have shown that the hydrogen fuelledthree wheelers are giving around 85 km per kg of hydrogenconsumed. The facilities for transport, storage and dispensingof hydrogen has been provided and managed by the AirProducts. Under another project, BHU Varanasi is engaged indevelopment of about 10 hydrogen fuelled three wheelers withhydrogen storage in metal hydrides instead of in the gaseousform in a pressure vessel.With a view to develop a multi-cylinder hydrogen fuelledengine that can be used in a bus, a mission mode projectis under implementation by IIT, Delhi in association withM&M. The Annamalai University is working on lean limitextension for spark ignited direct injection engine throughon-board non-thermal plasma conversion for hydrogenproduction. Also IIT, Kanpur is undertaking experimentalinvestigations on combustion characteristics and emissionreduction of laser fired hydrogen engine and is engagedin design and development of hydrogen gas burner forindustrial applications.Fuel CellThe focus of R&D on fuel cells in India is on differenttypes of fuel cells namely polymer electrolyte membranefuel cell (PEMFC), phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC),direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), direct ethanol fuelcell (DEFC), solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and moltencarbonate fuel cell (MCFC). The emphasis of research hasbeen on further improvements in fuel cell related processes,materials, components, sub-systems and fuel cell systems.Ten projects related to different aspects of fuel celltechnologies were concluded during the 11th Plan (Fig.3). IIT, Madras developed methods to prepare compositemembranes with desirable physico-chemical properties forpossible commercial exploitation.The R&D projects under implementation include thedevelopment of high performance DMFC by Universityof Kolkata; development of membranes for DMFC andPEMFC by Birla Institute of Technology and Science,Ranchi and Central Salt and Marine Chemical Institute(CSMCRI), Bhavnagar; and development of catalyst byBengal Engineering Science University, Shibpur.Industry Driven InitiativesThe Indian automobile industry and telecom tower operatorstoo have made efforts to use hydrogen for poweringTen projects related to different aspectsof fuel cell technologies were concludedduring the 11th Plan period. Several R&Dprojects are under implementation withvarious universities of India.automobiles using IC engine as well as fuel cell technologyand also for providing back up power for telecom towersusing fuel cells. In addition to M&M, Tata Motors hasdeveloped a fuel cell bus under a project supported by theCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) andare planning to develop and demonstrate 10 fuel cell busesin the future. Idea cellular, a telecom tower operator hasinstalled a PEMFC system to provide backup power to atelecom tower in Madhya Pradesh using hydrogen suppliedfrom the nearby chlor-alkali unit (Fig 5). Such fuel cellsystems would replace diesel generator sets, which in turncreate environmental hazards.Capacity BuildingWith a view of capacity building in hydrogen energy sectorand as suggested in the road map, a National Centre ofExcellence for Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cells may be setup in the country. For this purpose, a detailed project report(DPR) on setting up of National Hydrogen and Fuel CellCentre at Gwalpahari, Gurgaon has been prepared.Prospects for FutureThere is an urgent need to set up hydrogen productioncum dispensing stations at suitable locations, especially formaking operation of hydrogen fuelled vehicles possible. Wemay also see hydrogen fuelled vehicles for public transport,including three wheelers and buses using either IC engineor fuel cell technologies on Indian roads. This is highlyrealistic as the Indian automobile industry has alreadytaken a lead in this direction. However, this would requirenotifying H-CNG as well as hydrogen as automotive fuels.Fuel cell based systems may be used for power generationto provide backup power for telecom towers and stationarypower generation by using surplus by-product hydrogenfrom chlor-alkali units. bThe author is Scientist ‘F‘, in the Ministry of New and RenewableEnergy. E-mail: mrnouni@gmail.comApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 515

RE Featureevolution ofGeothermalenerGyin indiaThe use and applicability ofgeothermal energy in the context ofthe Indian scenario is described inthe essay. The future prospects of thisheat energy as a sustainable source ofrenewable energy is indeed promising.J. L. ThussuThe earth is a reservoir of heat energy most ofwhich is buried and is observed during episodesof volcanic eruption at the surface. It alsomanifests as hot springs, geysers and fumaroles.Thermal springs have been known to occur the worldover for centuries. This resource did not attract attentionfor energy development probably because not enough wasknown about its potential till the early twentieth century.Conventional sources of energy like coal, oil and wood arenon-renewable and are likely to deplete with the passage oftime or depth of exploration becomes cost prohibitive. Alsothese resources create inherent problems of environmentdegradation and imbalance in ecology. The ‘oil crisis’ ofthe 1970s, resulting in low supplies of oil from producingcountries led to the need for exploring alternative sources ofenergy for power production and other industrial uses. Oneof the resources was geothermal energy i.e. energy stored inthe earth’s crust.Thermal springs have been a known phenomenon inIndia for centuries. People often visit these springs as apart of religious custom and belief considering the waterto be ‘God’s Gift’ to mankind and capable of miraculoushealing of skin and other rheumatic ailments like arthritis.However, all thermal springs oozing at the surface need not16April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

RE Featurenecessarily have geothermal energy potential.Schlagintweit (1862) and T. Oldham (1882), inventorieda total of 301 thermal springs in the Indian subcontinent.However these studies were mostly in reconnoitory statewherein documentation of the thermal springs, their surfacetemperature and assessing the medicinal qualities wererecorded. At many places, like Badrinath and Gangotriin Uttarakhand; Sohna in Haryana; Rajgir in Bihar;Bakreshwar in West Bengal and Ganeshpuri in West Coast,Maharashtra, temples have been built on thermal springsand the water has been channelised for public use. Systematicefforts to explore geothermal energy resources commencedin 1973 with the launching of the Puga geothermal projectin Ladakh, J&K and gradually the exploration work wasextended to cover Chhumathang in Ladakh, Parbativalley, Himachal Pradesh.; Sohna, Haryana; West Coast,Maharashtra and Tattapani, Sarguja in Madhya Pradesh.To achieve the objectives of this endeavour, geological,geophysical, geochemical, and drilling activities were carriedout under an integrated programme with the GeologicalSurvey of India (GSI) as the lead agency and executed withthe collaboration of many national agencies, viz. NationalGeophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad,Atomic Minerals Division (AMD), New Delhi, CentralElectricity Authority (CEA) and others.Classification of Thermal SpringsAbout 300 thermal springs are known to occur in India.These thermal springs occur along the length and breadthof the country extending from Jammu and Kashmir in thenorth to Tamil Nadu (Kanya Kumari) in the south over adistance of about 5000 km, and from Gujarat in the westto Arunachal Pradesh in the east over a distance of 4000km. The springs have been classified on the basis of theiroccurrence in specific geotectonic set ups and have beengrouped under different geothermal provinces. However onthe basis of enthalpy characteristics the geothermal systemsin India can be classified into medium enthalpy (100-200°C)and low enthalpy (less than 100°C) geothermal systems.Medium enthalpy geothermal systems are known to beassociated with the following:● Younger intrusive granites as in the Himalayas, viz. Puga-Chhumathang, Parbati, Beas and Satluj geothermal fields.● Major tectonic features/lineaments such as the westcoast areas of Maharashtra; along the Son-Narmada-Tapi lineament zone at Salbardi, Tapi - Satpura areas inMaharashtra, Tattapani in Madhya Pradesh and Rajgir-The thermal waters have beenused for hatching poultry and forthe growth of mushrooms in a hut,500 sq m in area, by the RegionalResearch Laboratory, Jammu.Monghyr in Bihar and Eastern Ghats of Orissa.● Rift and grabens of Gondwana basins viz. Damodar,Godavari and Mahanadi.● Quaternary and Tertiary sediments in a graben, vizCambay basin off West Coast.Low enthalpy geothermal systems are associated with thefollowing:● Tertiary tectonism and neotectonic activity - north Indiangeothermal field viz. Sohna and Rajasthan.● Shield area with localised abnormal heat flow which isnormally very low - south Indian geothermal province.The medium enthalpy waters could be utilised for eitherprimary cycle power production (Puga geothermal system)or binary cycle power production using different types offreons (Tattapani geothermal system, Madhya Pradesh).The thermal water flowing at other areas, in Maharashtra,Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, althoughthey fall in medium enthalpy geothermal systems, can beutilised for non-electrical applications only. The thermalwater flowing from low enthalpy geothermal systems doesnot have much scope for harnessing of geothermal energyat present. Thermal water discharging from most of thegeothermal systems in India, at present, have better scopefor non-electric application.Small scale experimegntal utilisation studies have beencarried out at Puga, Chhumathang geothermal fields andat Manikaran in Parbati valley geothermal field. At present,the Puga geothermal field is the only field capable ofproducing either primary cycle electrical power or binarycycle power, that too on a very small scale. The thermalfluids have been utilised for heating of spaces, processingof borax and sulphur and extraction of salts. Its use in theextraction of the rare metal cesium is under experimentation.Poultry farming and green house cultivation are the otherindustrial applications for which geothermal energy hasbeen used. Thermal water energy has been successfully usedfor hatching poultry and for the growth of mushrooms inan enclosed hut, 500 sq m in area, by the Regional ResearchApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 517

RE FeatureInvitingarticles forAkshay UrjaThe need to have a sustainable supplynecessitates the exploitation of availableenergy sources, and among these,renewable resources are at the forefront.It is now an established fact that RE(renewable energy) can be an integral partof sustainable development because of itsinexhaustible nature and environmentfriendlyfeatures. RE can play animportant role in resolving the energycrisis in urban areas to a great extent.Today RE is an established sector with avariety of systems and devices availablefor meeting the energy demand of urbaninhabitants, but there is a need to createmass awareness about their adoption.Akshay Urja is an attempt to fulfil thisneed through its dissemination of 20,000copies in India and abroad. The magazinepublishes news, articles, research papers,case studies, success stories, and writeupson RE. Readers are invited to sendmaterial with original photographs andstatistical data. The photographs shouldbe provided in high resolution files on aCD or through email. Akshay Urja willpay a suitable honorarium to the authorsfor each published article of 1500 wordsand above. The publication material intwo copies, along with a soft copy on CD/DVD/e-mail may be sent toEditor, Akshay Urjaministry ofnew and renewable energyBlock – 14, CGO Complex,Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110 003Tel. +91 11 2436 3035, Fax +91 11 2436 3035www.mnre.gov.in, April 2012E-mail aktripathi@nic.inVolume 5 ● Issue 518It is necessary to launch drilling todepths of 1500m to 2500m followedby well testing and reservoirevaluation in the promisinggeothermal areas of the country.Laboratory, Jammu. Green house cultivation has beensuccessfully tried at Chhummathang.At Manikaran (Parbati Geothermal Field) thermalwaters have been utilised for developing a 7.5 tonne capacitycold storage plant based on the ammonia absorptionsystem. A five kWe binary power plant has also been testrun successfully. The Beas Geothermal System’s watershave been utilised at Bashisht and Kalath. The waters atKalath can even be utilised for mineral water bottling. Noexperimental utilisation studies have been carried out at theTattapani Geothermal System. Installation of a 300 kWepilot binary cycle power plant as a collaborative projectbetween GSI, Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC)and Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam, Bhopal, utilisingthe thermal fluid discharge from the bore holes drilled byGSI is under consideration. No attempt has been made touse the thermal waters in the west coast geothermal fieldand although 18 thermal spring locations occur alongthe west coast, only three areas (Unhavre-Khed, Tural,Ganeshpuri) have potential for use and that too for nonelectrical purposes. Studies carried out so far have clearlypointed to the presence of geothermal fluids with limitedoutput and moderate temperatures up to a depth of500m and to the strong possibilities of encountering vastresources of geothermal fluids at high temperatures andpressures at deeper levels in many areas in the country. Theneed, therefore is to explore deeper levels of geothermalreservoirs containing sizeable quantity of thermal fluids athigh temperatures and pressures which could be dependedupon for power production of MW level and direct heatapplications on an industrial scale. It is therefore necessaryto launch drilling to depths of 1500m to 2500m followedby well testing and reservoir evaluation in promisinggeothermal areas of the country. Indeed geothermal energy,if adequately exploited, can help tide over the energy crisisand prove to be a dependable source of alternate energy. bThe author is Member (Rtd.) Geological Survey of India, G.O.I.

RE FeatureGeothermal Energy:An OverviewThe article focuses on the great potential of geothermal energy andindicates the possible developments that can be achieved with greaterbenefits in terms of the use for the new renewable resource.Sukanta Roy and Harsh GuptaThe benefits of using geothermal energy as analternative resource are immense. Renewable,low running cost, capability to provide baseload power, and small environmental footprintmake this resource a preferred choice among other energyresources. However, considerable research and developmentis needed to take advantage of this buried wealth. Thefuture use of geothermal energy would depend not onlyon overcoming technical barriers related to its utilisationand the economic viability compared to other energyresources but also on favourable policy initiatives from thegovernment.With rapidly increasing energy demands in growingeconomies such as India, it is important to includeApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 519

RE Feature60 0120 0-120 00 0 0 0NAMAF JALLKRAFLASVARTSENGI60 0NESJAVELLIRLARDERELLOMUTNOVKAREYKJANESTRAVALEMT. AMIATAPAUZHETKASODAMORILAKE YELLOWSTONEMASTSUKAWASUMIKAWAKAKKONDATHE GEYSERSLATERAKIZILDERE PUGAONIKOBEROOSEVELTLONG VALLEYYANGBAJINGOTAKE HATCHOBARU30 0 MILOSYANAIZU-NISHIYAMAIMPERIAL VALLEYYUNNANYAMAGAWACERRO PRIETOPHLEGRAEANFIELDSMAK-BANLOS AZUFERSBERLINTIWILOS HUMEROS MORAVALLESDAVAO BAC-MANAHUACHAPAN0 0 LANGANOTONGONAN(HAWAI)MOMOTOMBOSALAKLAHENDONGWAYANG-OLKARIAWINDU DIENGPUCHULDIZADARAJATEL TATIO-30 0KAWAH-KAMOJANGNGAWAHMOKAI WAIRAKEIKAWERAUROTOKAWAREPOROA-60 0 Geothermal field under productionGeothermal field under developmentSeismic beltFig 1. Map showing the distribution of geothermal fields underproduction (filled triangles) and under development (open triangles)[H. Gupta and S. Roy, Geothermal Energy: An Alternative Resourcefor the 21st Century, Elsevier, 2006]. Geothermal fields cluster nearthe tectonically active plate boundaries that are characterized byQuaternary volcanism.180 0sustainable energy resources in its fossil-fuel-dominatedprimary energy mix. Geothermal energy is one such resourcederived from the Earth’s internal heat, which has beencatering successfully to both industrial as well as domesticenergy requirements in many parts of the world over thepast few decades. Being abundant, environmentally benignand renewable, it is a preferred choice for an alternativeenergy resource. Besides conversion to electric power, thedirect uses of geothermal heat have the potential to replacesubstantial quantities of fossil fuels.The worldwide utilisation of geothermal energy hasincreased rapidly during the last three decades mainly fromvariable capacity additions by Phillipines, United States,Italy, New Zealand, Iceland, Costa Rica, El Salvador,Guatemala and Russia (Table 1.). Today, besides beingused in at least 24 countries to generate electricity totalling-60 0Table 1. Countries Generating Geothermal Power in 2010CountriesInstalled Capacity Rank(MW)United States 3,086 1Philippines 1,904 2Indonesia 1,197 3Mexico 958 4Italy 843 5New Zealand 628 6Iceland 575 7Japan 536 8El Salvador 204 9Kenya 167 10Costa Rica 166 11Nicaragua 88 12Russia 82 13Turkey 82 14Papua New Guinea 56 15Guatemala 52 16Portugal 29 17China 24 18France 16 19Ethiopia 7.3 20Germany 6.6 21Austria 1.4 22Australia 1.1 23Thailand 0.3 24Source: www.geo-energy.orgto about 10,700 MW installed capacity (R. Bertani,Proceedings, World Geothermal Congress, Indonesia,2010), geothermal energy is being used in more than 58Table 2. Major hot spring groups in India, their tectonic settings and temperatures of surface waters@Major hot spring groups Tectonic setting Temperature rangeof surface discharge, o CIndus valley (Puga, Chhumathang)Higher Himalaya (active 75-100tectonic zone)Parbati valley (Manikaran), Beas valley, Satluj valley, Tapoban group Central to Lesser Himalaya 50-90in Uttarakhand, etcTattapani group, ChhattisgarhCentral Indian shield (stable 75-100craton)Son-Narmada-Tapti lineament zone (SONATA) Central Indian shield 30-65Bakreshwar-Tantloi, Monghyr, Rajgir, Surajkund, etc Eastern India (stable craton) 45-71West Coast group, Maharashtra Deccan Traps (stable craton) 35-70@ In addition to the major hot spring groups listed above, several low-to-moderate temperature springs occur in Haryana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka, Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh20April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

RE FeatureFig 2. Steam leaking out of an old well drilled in Puga valley in mid-1980scountries for direct uses (space heating and cooling, healthspas, fish farming, agricultural and industrial purposes). Inseveral developing nations, devoid of adequate conventionalfossil fuels, there is a large potential for use of geothermalresources. For example in Tibet, with no readily availablefossil fuels, the Nagqu geothermal field provides a usefulenergy source for the local population with the help of a 1MW binary plant built in 1993.Geothermal Exploration in IndiaIn most precambrian terrains including India, moderate-to-lowtemperature hot water spring systems represent the potentialgeothermal energy resources. This scenario is in contrast tosteam and/or steam and hot water based geothermal fieldsunder production in other parts of the world, which are locatedpredominantly in quaternary volcanic / magmatic settings(Fig 1). The major groups of hot springs in India occur in theIndus valley (Fig 2, Puga - Chhumathang), Parbati valley(Manikaran) and Tapoban areas in the Himalaya; along thewest coast of Maharashtra in western India; the Son-Narmada-Tapti lineament zone in central India; Tattapani (Fig 3), Rajgir-Monghyr, Surajkund and Bakreshwar in eastern India. Thedistribution of major groups of hot springs in India is shownin Fig 4 and temperature ranges of geothermal waters are listedin Table 2. Most hot springs occur in the foothills or rivervalleys and the waters are predominantly meteoric in origin.No evidence of quaternary magmatism is reported, exceptin the case of Puga-Chhumathang areas where conclusiveevidence is lacking. Therefore, the preferred model for mosthot springs in India is that of rainwater/snowmelt infiltratinginto the subsurface, the downgoing waters picking up heatfrom the Earth’s normal heat flow and returning to the surfacethrough fault / fracture systems. Geothermal springs havebeen used mainly for balneological purposes and religioustourism. However, India is yet to produce electric power fromgeothermal energy, except for a nominal, 5kW, binary plantat Manikaran that was operational for a very short time only.Among the most notable achievements during the pastfive decades has been the assessment of geothermal fieldsby the Government of India in 1966 and publication of acomprehensive report in 1968 recommending preliminaryIndia is yet to produce electricpower from geothermal energy,except for a nominal, 5kW, binaryplant at Manikaran that wasoperational for a very short time.April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 521

RE FeatureIn recent years, the Ministryof New and RenewableEnergy (MNRE), has shownrenewed interest in geothermalexploration in differentgeothermal areas of the country.prospecting of the Puga and Manikaran geothermal fields inthe Himalaya (Report of the Hot Springs Committee, Govt.of India, 1968). A major, systematic, multi-disciplinary,multi-institutional programme (including drilling upto 385 m) covering the Puga-Chumathang geothermalfields in Ladakh was mounted during 1972-74 under thestewardship of V.S. Krishnaswamy of the GeologicalSurvey of India (GSI) and complemented by scientistsfrom the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI),Central Electricity Authority and others. The shallowsubsurface features were delineated in considerable detailthat resulted in building a proposal to set up a pilot-scale,1 MWe binary-cycle power plant at Puga. The proposal isyet to be implemented. Attempts to revisit the geothermalexploration in the area include a number of geochemicalstudies (see for example, Geothermal Energy in India, U.L.Pitale and R.N. Padhi (Eds.), Geological Survey of India,Special Publication 45) and recent magnetotelluric studies(Abdul Azeez and Harinarayana, Curr. Sci., v. 93, p. 323-329, 2007). An expert group set up in 2008 by the Ministryof New and Renewable Energy, Government of Indiamade strong recommendations to install pilot-scale plantsby drilling exploration cum demonstration wells in thearea (Report of Expert Group on Power Generation fromGeothermal Energy at Puga, Jammu and Kashmir, India: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Govt. of India,2008). This would be useful not only for monitoring therates of hot water discharge and temperatures over a periodof time but also studying the reservoir characteristics.Another major initiative, directed towards the hot springsof the West Coast belt and the Son-Narmada-Tapti belt thatwas taken up by the GSI with assistance from the UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP) during 1976-77 and later extended for a few years, included deep drillingup to depth of 500 m (Records of the Geological Surveyof India, v. 118, Pt. 6, 1987). The Tattapani hot springs inChhattisgarh were identified for setting up of a 300 kWeFig 3. Hot water flowing out of one of the wells in Tattapani area,Surguja district in Chhattisgarhbinary-cycle power plant. Although substantial geologicinformation on the Puga and Tattapani geothermal fields hasbeen acquired, the lack of deep exploration, at least to depthsof a few kilometres, hinders reservoir characterisation andevaluation of realistic geothermal energy potential. Muchless information is available about the other geothermalfields in the country.In recent years, the Ministry of New and RenewableEnergy (MNRE), Government of India has shown renewedinterest in geothermal exploration in different geothermalareas of the country besides creating the framework fora national policy on exploitation of geothermal energyresources. Results emerging from these programmeswill provide useful information and guide furtherexploration efforts in the country. Direct uses of warmto-hotgeothermal waters for greenhouse heating in coldclimates, development of tourist spas, agricultural productprocessing, and extraction of rare materials like cesium alsoprovide significant economic and environmental benefitsfrom replacement of fossil-fuel use in environmentallysensitive areas.Additionally, the CSIR-NGRI has a dedicated heat flowstudies programme since its inception in 1962, which has22April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

RE Feature36 028 020 0Mumbai120 0 N68 0 E 76 0 84 0 92 0SrinagarDelhiChennai0 300 900 kmSCALEPuge-Chumathanggeothermal areaGuwahatiHot springsTattapanigeothermal area75- 100 0 C55-75 0 C35-55 0 C< 35 0 C68 0 E 76 0 84 0 92 0PortBlairFig 4. Outline of India showing the distribution of major groups of warm andhot springs [modified after Krishnaswamy, Proc. Second UN Symposium onDevelopment and Use of Geothermal Resources, USA, 1975]. Temperatures ofthe hot spring waters are indicated using symbols (see legend). Shaded regions(exaggerated scale) show the major clusters of hot springs.generated valuable data sets on the geothermal gradientand regional heat flow from temperature measurements inmore than 500 boreholes covering a number of geologicand tectonic provinces in the country (S. Roy, Heat flowstudies in India during the past five decades, Memoir 68,Geological Society of India, pp. 89-122, 2008). Detailedcharacterisation of thermophysical properties of major rockformations are carried out routinely to facilitate modellingof the temperature distribution in the crust in different partsof the country. Areas with anomalous high temperaturesin the top 1-4 km of the crust, appropriate for enhancedgeothermal systems (EGS) and hot sedimentary aquifers(HSA) could be delineated from such datasets.Perspectives for Development ofGeothermal EnergyRe-assessment of Energy Potential of ConventionalGeothermal Resources: Temperature of hot spring watersat the surface is not the sole indicator of energy potential.The major question to be addressed is the sustainability ofthe resource, i.e., for how many years the production of hotwaters at a certain minimum temperature and flow rate canbe sustained. Answers to these questions require aprioriinformation about characteristics of the subsurface reservoirand the nature of the heat source.In view of the growing energy demands and the emphasison renewable energy in India, a re-assessment of the geothermalenergy potential of the Puga Valley hot springs in Ladakhand Tattapani hot springs in Chhattisgarh should be carriedout. Critical gaps in information need to be covered throughacquisition of new data, combined interpretation of geothermaldatasets and existing geological, hydrological, geochemicaland geophysical datasets to throw light on the nature of theheat source of the hot springs and their sustainability for powerproduction, undertaking drilling and setting up of pilot-scalebinary-cycle power plants. Scientific and statistical datasetsincluding estimates of benefits from using geothermal energyshould be compiled. These datasets could influence nationalpolicy decisions for providing tax incentives to investors andhelping them tide over the increased upfront production costsof geothermal power when compared to conventional fuels.Development of appropriate power generationtechnologies: Geothermal resources vary widely from onelocation to another, depending on the temperature and depthof the resource, the rock chemistry, and the abundance ofgroundwater. The type of geothermal resource determinesthe method of its utilisation. Variants of binary cyclesappropriate to optimum utilisation of geothermal heat frommoderate-to-low enthalpy springs in non volcanic settingssuch as those in India, need to be developed.Efficient deep drilling technology is another importantarea requiring research and development in the countryas drilling and distribution account for the largest costs,development of improved technologies to help contractorsin difficult drilling environments help make deeper drillingeconomically viable, thereby providing access to highertemperature resources for power generation. Technologicalsolutions to problems of corrosion and calcite deposition inpipelines, usually associated with geothermal systems, mustbe sought. Appropriate re-injection strategies, deep drillingand well stimulation are the key drivers for the producingfields to remain potential and economical in the long run.Direct heat uses: The heat extracted from warm-to-hotwaters emerging from other hot spring systems in thecountry can be gainfully employed for a number of directuses such as development of tourist spas for bathing,swimming and balneology, greenhouse cultivation in coldclimates, extraction of borax and rare materials such ascesium, and agricultural product processing. The significanteconomic and environmental benefits of using moderateto-lowenthalpy geothermal waters to replace even smallApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 523

RE FeatureThe viability of geothermalheat pumps for heating insidebuildings should be exploredin the states of Jammu andKashmir, Himachal Pradesh andparts of Uttarakhand.quantities of conventional fuels for direct uses cannot beignored today in view of the steep increase in costs of fossilfuels and associated greenhouse gas emissions.Geothermal Heat Pumps: A geothermal (or ground-source)heat pump makes use of the relatively stable temperatureat a depth of a few meters in the ground. During winter,the subsurface temperature is warmer than the roomtemperature inside a house, whereas during summer thesubsurface temperature may be cooler. Geothermal heatpumps, therefore, can be extensively used for space heatingin winter and cooling in summer, replacing fossil-fuel drivenelectrical heating and cooling systems. Heat pump systemsuse groundwater aquifers and soil temperatures in the range5 o C to 30 o C. Heat pumps utilising very low-to-moderatetemperature fluids have extended geothermal developmentsto countries that have not been using geothermal energyextensively such as France, Switzerland, Sweden, and areasof the mid-western and eastern United States of America.An assessment of the technology for suitability to Indianconditions is yet to be carried out.The viability of geothermal heat pumps for heating insidebuildings should be explored in the states of Jammu andKashmir, Himachal Pradesh and parts of Uttarakhandwhich experience severe winter conditions for long periods.Space cooling requirements in most parts of India have grownseveral fold in the recent years with the growth in economy.There is enormous scope for developing the capabilitiesin geothermal cooling of buildings by modifying existingtechnologies to suit Indian conditions. A proper assessmentof the technology for application to different climaticenvironments existing in the region, and its exploitation byintegrating it with building designs should be encouraged.Exploration for Enhanced Geothermal Systems: A nonconventionalgeothermal resource traditionally referred toas ‘hot dry rock’ and more recently as ‘enhanced geothermalsystems (EGS)’, has not yet been explored in India. Theprimary requirement for such a resource is the occurrenceof high temperatures (typically upwards of 150 o C) ateconomically viable depths (typically the top 1-4 km of theEarth’s crust). Areas of anomalous high heat flow, highheat-producinggranites and other silicic igneous intrusivebodies having a depth extent of a few kilometres, could bepossible targets for future exploration efforts in the country(Roy, 2008). These considerations reinforce the need forcarrying out systematic heat flow as well as radiogenic heatproduction investigations on a country-wide scale.SummaryModerate-to-low enthalpy hot spring systems primarilyrepresent the known geothermal energy resources in India.These resources are distributed in diverse physiographicand tectonic settings, viz., the Himalayan belt and thePrecambrian shield. Detailed geological and geochemicalexploration followed by limited geophysical exploration andshallow drilling investigations up to a few hundred metresonly, have resulted in first-order geothermal models forthe major hot spring zones in the country. However, thedevelopment of the geothermal resources has remained ata very low level mainly due to inadequate characterisationof the deeper thermal regime, leading to low confidencein proposed reservoir models and sustainability of theheat source. There is therefore an urgent need to carryout a reassessment of the geothermal energy potential ofhot springs by employing new geophysical probing toolsand computational techniques available today, both forelectric power generation as well as for direct uses. Efficientexploitation technologies appropriate to non-volcanicareas need to be developed. Systematic heat flow and heatproduction investigations need to be carried out for theidentification of areas where high temperatures in the top fewkilometers below the ground surface indicate potential for‘hot sedimentary aquifers’ as well as ‘enhanced geothermalsystems’. The vast potential for geothermal heat pumps isyet to be tapped. The existing heat pump technology mustbe modified and made accessible to individuals and smallcommunities to serve as a low-cost alternative to use of fossilfuels for their space heating and cooling needs. Developmentof ocean thermal energy conversion technologies must bepromoted and the benefits from low temperature thermaldesalination of seawater made available to widespread islandcommunities. Enabling policy guidelines from the MNREwill facilitate rapid progress in exploration and developmentof geothermal energy resources. bThe authors are Scientist,Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad and Member,National Disaster Management Authority, New Delhi, respectively.E-mail: sukantaroy@yahoo.com24April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

RE FeatureHarneSSingbioelectricitytHrougHmicrobialfuel cellfroMwaStewaterBioelectric effects of ‘electric’fish like the Nile Catfishand Electric Eel are wellknown since ancient times.Bioelectricity is the processthat is produced by or occursin a living organism which canbe transformed chemically toproduce bioenergy which isboth sustainable and renewable.Dr S Venkata MohanThe microbial fuel cell (MFC) has garneredsignificant interest in both basic and appliedresearch due to its sustainable and renewablenature in the contemporary energy scenario andis all set to be the trendsetter in the arena of answers to thecomplex environmental pollution problems and the energycrisis, with a unified approach. The MFC is essentiallya hybrid bio-electrochemical system which directlytransforms chemical energy stored in the biodegradablesubstrate to electrical energy via microbial catalysed redoxreactions involving microorganisms as biocatalysts underambient temperature/pressure. The biocatalytic activity ofthe microorganisms present in the anode chamber generatesthe reducing equivalents [protons (H+) and electrons (e-)] through a series of bio-electrochemical redox reactionsduring substrate degradation in absence of oxygen.These protons and electrons are the source of electricitygeneration in MFC. The electrochemically active natureof a microorganism supports the effective pumping ofredox powers. The MFC has multiple applications basedApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 525

RE Featureon the utilisation of reducing equivalents with differentnomenclature. Reducing equivalents facilitate hydrogenproduction in microbial electrolysis cell (MEC), by-productrecovery either from anode or cathode chambers in bioelectrochemicalsystem (BES) and enhanced pollutantremoval using bio-electrochemical treatment system (BET).Principle behind Mfc operationThe MFC functions on the basis of anodic oxidation andcathodic reduction reactions. The anode chamber is abiofactory which facilitates the generation of protons andelectrons and plays a crucial role between physical andbiological components. Protons reach the cathode throughthe proton excahnge membrane (PEM) resulting in apotential difference against which the electrons flow throughthe circuit (current) towards counter electrode (cathode) andget reduced in presence of oxygen forming water.C6H12O6 + 6H2O = 6CO2 + 24H + + 24e - (Anode)4e − + 4H + + O2 = 2H2O (Cathode)C6H12O6 + 6H2O + 6O2 = 6CO2 + 12H2O (Overall)Electrons in the cascade of respiratory chain, transfersbetween the proteins through redox reactions based onthe oxidation reduction potentials of the proteins. Theproton flowing across inner and outer membranes basedon the redox potentials of cascade, generates a protonmotive force and it mobilises the electrons towards intermembranous space. Since electrons must transfer from amore negative potential to a less negative potential, the extracellular electron transfer rate is influenced by the potentialdifference between the final electron carrier and the anode.Activity of anodic bacteria is essential to liberate electronsfrom the oxidation of organic matter and to transfer them tothe electron acceptor. Electrons will be driven to the anodeby a potential difference between the terminal intracellularelectron acceptor and the anode either by direct electrontransfer (DET) or mediated electron transfer (MET).Membrane-bound proteins or conductive biofilm (nanowires)facilitate DET while MET occurs through solubleshuttling compounds. Microorganisms use more than oneelectron transfer mechanism to transfer electrons to theanode. The DET is considered to be a comparatively, moreeffective mechanism than the MET where the electronlosses can be minimised prior to reaching the anode surface.Microorganisms are able to form a biofilm on anodes,which plays a crucial role in DET. The nature and group ofconsortia in the biofilm specifically regulates the electronEcological engineered system embeded with fuel cell showingfunctioning of clock.pngdischarge onto anode. Surface positive charge of anodegets increased due to the developed in situ bio-potentialwhich enables the adhesion of negatively charged bacteria.Interaction among the microorganisms also facilitatesefficient electron transfer.The MFC systems are designed with dual and singlechamber configurations. The double chamber configurationhas separate anode and cathode compartment connectedthrough a PEM (Fig 1 and 2). The substrate gets oxidisedin the anode chamber while reduction occurs in the cathodechamber. Catholytes such as potassium ferricyanide,potassium permanganate, aerated catholytes, etc. were usedwith variable degree of efficiency. The single chamber MFCconfiguration consists of the anode chamber only, whilecathode is placed in such a way that it is exposed to air (openaircathode) (Fig 3). Few other configurations viz., flat plate,tubular, cubical, stack, etc. have also been used for MFCoperation. The solid phase microbial fuel cell (SMFC) wasdesigned by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) toevaluate the potential canteen based food waste as substratefor bioelectricity generation. A photo-bioelectrocatalytic/photo-biological fuel cell (PhFC) was designed by CSIR-IICTto evaluate bioelectricity generation using photosyntheticconsortia as the biocatalyst in the mixotrophic mode.Syntrophic association of photosynthetic bacteria and algaeshowed feasibility of power generation under anoxygenic26April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

RE Featuremicroenvironment by the PhFC. Benthic/sediment type fuelcell application for bioelectricity generation was evaluated indifferent types of water bodies. Nature, flow conditions andcharacteristics of water bodies influence the power generationapart from electrode assemblies, surface area of anodeand anodic material. The CSIR-IICT evaluated designedminiatured floating macrophyte based ecosystem withEichornia as the major biota for bioelectricity generation fromwastewater treatment employing three fuel cell assemblies(similar to benthic fuel cell). Based on the observations madefrom various lab scale optimisation studies, the CSIR-IICTdeveloped a semi-pilot scale hybrid bio-electrochemical systemwith 100 litre capacity using multiple electrode assembliesconnected in series (36 chambers) (Fig 4). The semi-pilot scaleMFC without membrane was evaluated for one year usingdomestic sewage operated under anoxic conditions.wastewater vs bioelectricityThe concept of the MFC is well established in the direction ofutilising wastewater as an anodic fuel making it a sustainabletechnology for energy generation as well as waste management.Reducing the cost of wastewater treatment and finding waysto produce useful byproducts has been gaining importancein view of environmental sustainability. The organic matterpresent in wastewater serves as primary substrate for thefermentation process facilitating treatment of wastewater withsimultaneous generation of bioelectricity. Theoretically, onekg of chemical oxygen demand (COD)removed can produce170 W of power. According to an estimate, about 300 milliontons of wastewater is generated annually in India by dairyindustries which can generate bioelectricity using the MFCmethod (calculated assuming 40 per cent energy conversionefficiency; 14.7 KJ/g-COD) accounting for a revenue of Rs12 billion per annum (at a rate of Rs 4 per kWh) along withFig 1. Clock function with power from emdeded benithic fuel cell (L).Fig 2. Photograph showing dual chamber MFC with ferricyanidecathode (R).Mfc is a hybrid bioelectrochemicalsystem which transforms chemicalenergy stored in the biodegradablesubstrate to electrical energy viamicrobial catalysed redox reactions.its treatment. Domestic sewage generated in urban and ruralareas of India was estimated to be around 1,42,405 millionlitre/day (MLD) which could generate about 300 MW/hpower accounting for a cost of about Rs 108 billion per annumapart from treatment. This gives a clear estimate about theinherent power present in wastewater that can be harnessed forbioenergy. Wastewater from food waste, electroplating, starchprocessing, breweries, paper industry, palm oil mill, chocolateindustry, domestic sewage, cellulosic waste, vegetable waste,composite chemical wastewater, pharmaceutical wastewater,swine waste, etc. were evaluated at a laboratory scale tounderstand their potential as anodic fuel and the possibilityof power generation from various types of wastewater wasevaluated at CSIR-IICT (Table 1).Mfc as treatment unitThe MFC can also be termed as a bio-electrochemicaltreatment (BET) system. The principle of BET relies on thefact that electrochemically active microorganisms can transferTable 1. Bioelectricity production from various wastewaters assubstrate evaluated in different types of MFC configurationsWaste/WastewaterCompositeChemicalPharmaceuticalMaximumVoltage(mV)CODremoval(per cent)VolumetricPower(W/m 3 )731 (dual) 61.1 (dual) 4.95 (dual)339 (single)625 (hybrid)76.0 (single)92.1 (hybrid)8.40 (single)0.99 (hybrid)Dairy 308 (single) 95.5 (single) 3.56 (single)Distillery 351 (single) 72.8 (single) 4.96 (single)Canteen Waste 332 (single) 88.7 (single) 2.17 (single)Domestic Sewage 449 (single) 66.7 (single) 2.25 (single)Designed Synthetic 586 (dual)308 (single)72.2 (dual)43.7 (single)3.95 (dual)1.86 (single)Vegetable market 308 (single) 80.0 (single) 4.60 (single)wasteCitrus Peelings 321 (single) 71.0 (single) 1.76 (single)*Power yield varied between 5-12 W/kg CODRApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 527

RE Featureelectrons from a reduced electron donor to an electrode andfinally to an oxidised electron acceptor generating power.During a BET operation, there exists a possibility to integratediverse components viz., biological, physical and chemical inthe anodic chamber and provides an opportunity to triggermultiple reactions viz., bio-chemical, physical, physicochemical,electrochemical, oxidation, etc., as a result ofsubstrate metabolic activity and subsequent secondaryreactions. The anode chamber of the BET resembles theconventional anaerobic bioreactor and mimics the functionof a conventional electrochemical cell used for wastewatertreatment where the redox reactions help for the degradationof organic matter and toxic/xenobiotic pollutants. Anodicoxidation and cathodic reduction reactions will have apositive influence on the pollutant removal in the BETsystem. The in situ bio-potential generated during theprocess helps in the enhanced degradation of differentpollutants in both the anode and cathode chambers. Directanodic oxidation (DAO) and indirect anodic oxidation(IAO) facilitate the effective removal of pollutants. TheDAO facilitates the degradation of pollutants absorbed onthe anode surface by anodic electron transfer reactions. Theoxidants formed electrochemically on the anode surfacein turn oxidise the organic matter by IAO. The DAO ofthe substrate facilitates the formation of primary oxidantswhich could further react on the anode, yielding secondaryoxidants such as chlorine dioxide and ozone, which mighthave a positive effect on the colour removal efficiencythrough the oxidation process. This process helps to oxidisethe organic matter by the liberated oxidation species whichmight enhance the substrate removal. Reactions betweenwater and radicals near the anode could yield molecularoxygen, free chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, hypochloric acid,etc. which also helps in colour/organic oxidation. Pollutantsin the anodic chamber also act as mediators for the electrontransfer to anode which can increase the power generationefficiency with simultaneous reduction of pollutants.Various pollutants such as dyes, organic pollutants,solvents, inorganic salts, complex wastewater, colouredbio-electrochemical treatment isgaining prominence in the recentpast which facilitates enhancedtreatment efficiency withsimultaneous energy generation.substances, synthetic estrogens, PAHs, etc. are reportedto be treated in these systems. Application of biocathodealso helps in enhancing wastewater treatment efficiencyespecially in the removal of specific pollutants. Biocathodesreportedly reduced pollutants such as nitrates or sulfates orchloroorganics in the cathode compartment.factors influencing bioelectricitygenerationElectrical energy can be obtained from fuel cell operationonly when a reasonable current is drawn, but the actual cellpotential is decreased from its equilibrium potential becauseof irreversible losses present in the fuel cell. Electron transferfrom the biocatalyst to the anode and then to the cathodeis generally hampered by different losses which lower theconversion efficiency. There exists a close similarity betweenbio-electrochemical and biochemical reactions wherein bothencounter an activation barrier that must be overcome by thereacting species or biocatalyst. The power generation capacityof the MFC depends on the catabolic activity of the anodicbiocatalyst and its electron transfer efficacy to the anode.However, the transfer of electrons between the biocatalystand the anode is low because of the sluggish kinetics whichsubsequently results in a low power yield. The electrontransfer resistances in the MFC arise due to factors such as thereactor configuration, materials used, nature of anolyte andmetabolic activities of the biocatalyst, which tend to decreasethe MFC performance pertaining to power generation as wellas substrate degradation. The power output of the MFC canbe improved by enhancing the electron transfer efficiencybetween the biocatalyst and the anode. Most of the earlierstudies with the MFC were reported with pure culture asbiocatalyst with simple defined substrates. However, usage ofmixed culture instead of single strains is always a better optionin the MFC operation because of ease in maintenance andtheir survivability even in wastewater. Selective enrichment ofthe mixed culture with an electrochemically active bacterialpopulation will have more benefits. Poising mild potentialsduring reactor start up, growth under restricted electronmediating conditions, bio-augmentation of electrochemicallyactive strains, etc., are few strategies developed for theselective enrichment of biocatalysts. The nature of theanode will also have significant influence on the substrateconversion efficiency and the synergistic interaction betweenanode and biocatalyst is crucial for efficient extracellularelectron transfer. High electrical conductivity (low electricalresistance), inert nature (non-oxidation/non self-destructivenature), sustainability of properties with time, etc. are some28April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

RE Featureof the important properties of the anode which can influencethe performance of the MFC. More often, graphite is used asa bioanode material for fuel cell applications in both catalysedand non-catalysed forms. Few other materials viz., platinum,stainless steel, nickel, etc., were also used as anode apartfrom carbon based materials. Extracellular electron transferwill be high under acidophilic pH compared to neutral andbasic pH due to the higher activity of intracellular electroncarriers which helps in translocation of electrons frombacteria to the extracellular environment. On the contrary,wastewater treatment was reported to be higher under neutralpH. Ion exchange membrane between anode and cathodefor the development of a gradient is also an importantfactor that influences the MFC performance. Usually, theanode chamber of MFC will be operational in an anaerobicmicroenvironment. However, very few studies have reportedthat, aerobic microenvironment under low DO - dissolvedoxygen (anoxic) conditions and high substrate concentrationwill have a potential to generate power. Cathodic reduction ofreducing equivalents is crucial along with the anodic oxidationfor power output in the MFC system. Reduction reactionat the cathode indirectly influences the substrate oxidationin the anode as well as it can help to overcome the electronlosses. Microorganisms can also be used as a catalyst in thecathode chamber for improved cathodic reduction reactionwhere biocatalysts retrieve electrons directly from the cathodewhich are then transferred to a final electron acceptor suchas oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, etc. The electron transfer in theMFC can also be increased by using different types of artificialand natural mediators. Genetic modification of specific genesin the biocatalyst related to the proteins that function forthe exocellular electron transfer, was also reported by a fewresearchers. The operation of the MFC under the optimisedconditions with selectively enriched mixed culture as catalystand wastewater as substrate will have a commercial viabilityin the near future.Fig 3. Photograph showing single chamber MFC with open-aircathode (L). Fig 4. Semi-pilot scale MFC (without membrane) with100 litre capacity was designed with 36 chambers and evaluated formore than one year using domestic sewage (R).bet relies on electrochemicallyactive microorganisms that cantransfer electrons from a reducedelectron donor to an oxidisedelectron acceptor generating power.future ScopeThe MFC is poised to change the visage of the energy scenarioand wastewater treatment processes in the near future.However this requires extensive research with respect toappropriate design of fuel cell, effective reactor configuration,low cost components of fuel cell, reduction in electron loss,etc. Interaction between the anode and the biocatalyst needsto be understood and optimised to fully exploit the capacitiesof these systems. At present, apart from power generation,the MFC application has been extended towards wasteremediation, specific pollutants removal and recovery of valueadded products. Bio-electrochemical treatment is gainingprominence which will facilitate enhanced treatment efficiencywith simultaneous energy generation. Based on the oxidationreduction reactions occurring in the MFC, various complexpollutants can be removed by increasing the power generationpotential, especially in the cathode chamber. The other face ofthe MFC is recovering value added products from the carbonsource present in waste through bio-electrochemical processand the conversion of wastewater components or CO2 intovaluable products under mild applied potential. This is basedon the reduction mechanism at cathode and by reducing theactivation energy required for the conversion of waste carbonto valuable product through applied potential associated withthe in situ biopotential. Biocatalysed electrolysis is a novel H2production process with a potential of converting dissolvedorganic substances in wastewater, in the absence of electronacceptor under small external voltage (>0.2 V in practice).Other value added products viz., ethanol, butanol, etc., canalso be recovered at cathode of bioelectrochemical systemsbut these studies are at an early stage and needs optimisationof process parameters. The applications of the MFC are atpresent in the developing stage, but it will make every effortto meet the energy needs of society by utilising waste carbonresources in the near future. bThe author is a Senior Scientist, Bioengineering and EnvironmentalCentre (BEEC), Council for Scientific and Industrial Reasearch -Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Hyderabad.E-mail: vmohan_s@yahoo.comApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 529

RE FeatureHydrogen - A PromisingRenewable FuelHydrogen as an everyday fuel is indeed a revolution in science. Useful as acompact energy source in fuel cells and batteries, it is renewable and causes nopollution. Though the discovery of its use is considered a breakthrough, its costeffectiveness is yet to be ascertained.Prof. Dileep Kumar Krishna Nayak and Prof. Usha RaghavanRevolutions in science and industrialisation mayhave enhanced the use of machines. Indeed thesemachines help improve the quality of human life.However, it is well known that these require energyand consequently, the energy requirement of the world isincreasing at an alarming rate. According to the recent WorldEnergy Outlook 2008, we derive around 80 per cent of ourenergy from fossil fuels like crude oil (36 per cent) natural gas(21 per cent ) and coal (23 per cent) (Fig 1). It is also well knownthat these fossil fuels are exhaustible and will get depleted verysoon. Hydrocarbon resources are in the mid depletion stageand are likely to last for about five decades whereas coal reservesmay be adequate for only a couple of centuries.Most developing nations have a huge difference betweenthe demand and supply of electrical energy. To keep pacewith advancement and progress it has become necessary tostrengthen power generation capabilities thus taking a tollon the available fossil resources. The growing population30April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

RE Featurehas increased the pollution levels in the atmosphere and theresultant emissions in our environment have shown seriousconsequences. All over the globe, regulatory bodies havesuggested reduction in emissions. In such a scenario whereinefforts are being made to minimise the damage caused,through improved technologies with cost implications,renewable energy sources seem to be the ultimate solutionfor the energy deficit.Clearly, hydrogen is poised to be one of the potentialenergy sources of the future. It has three basic benefits:● The use of hydrogen largely reduces pollution. Whenhydrogen is combined with oxygen in a fuel cell, energy inthe form of electricity is produced.● Hydrogen can be produced from numerous sources suchas methane, gasoline, biomass, coal or water.● If energy is produced from water, it becomes a sustainableproduction system.Thus, the issues related to energy, pollution, environmentand sustainability can be tackled effectively using hydrogenenergy. Hydrogen is also the lightest of all elements and isavailable in abundance. If a matured technology is developed,hydrogen can become the cleanest, most efficient and costeffective fuel. The main advantage of hydrogen energy isthat it is produced from water, used as an energy carrier andits byproduct is also water. Extensive research is taking placefor the generation of pure hydrogen, its handling, storage,efficiency and safety aspects.Properties of HydrogenHydrogen is a light, odourless and colourless gas with adensity that is 14 times lesser than that of air at standardtemperature and pressure and liquefies at temperaturesbelow -253° C. Its energy per unit mass content is around141.9 MJ/kg which is around thrice of that of gasoline.Hydrogen does not occur naturally as a gas on earth - itis always found in combination with other elements. It ispresent in large quantities in water as also in many organiccompounds - in gasoline, natural gas, methane, etc.Production of HydrogenHydrogen is produced using various technologies; dependingon the methods by which hydrogen is liberated, they areclassified as steam reforming, electrolysis of water, gasificationand partial oxidation.Steam Reforming: The method consists of reforminghydrocarbons into their compounds with steam, usingendothermic reaction. Hydrocarbons, mixed with steamat a temperature of about 1100° C under pressure, using aThe use of hydrogen largelyreduces pollution. When hydrogenis combined with oxygen in afuel cell, energy in the form ofelectricity is produced.catalyst such as nickel, react to release hydrogen.Electrolysis of water: Water breaks apart into hydrogenand oxygen when an electric current is passed through theelectrolyte. The positively charged ions are attracted by thecathode where H2 molecules are released. Oxygen is releasedat the anode. This method needs electric current which canbe provided through renewable sources like solar, wind, etc.Gasification: It is one of the oldest methods in whichbiomass or coal when mixed with a limited amount ofoxygen at around 900°C, produces a synthesis gas (syngas)which contains hydrogen. After cleaning, it can be reformedinto hydrogen.Partial Oxidation: The thermal degeneration of hydrocarbonsproduces hydrogen. Raw materials such as natural gas, oil,gasoline are used for the conversion.Storage of HydrogenHydrogen storage is one of the critical issues for successfulimplementation, commercialisation and sustainability ofmobile applications like hydrogen fuelled automobiles.Various technologies used for storage of hydrogen are:● Compressed hydrogen is essentially the gaseous state ofhydrogen gas which is kept under pressure. Pressure in theorder of 5000 psi - 10000 psi is used for hydrogen vehicles.However, the size of the tank is large which makes thestorage system heavy.Fig 1. World Primary Energy Consumption, 2008Nuclear Hydro Renewable6% 2% 10%Natural Gas21%Source : World Energy OutlookOil36%Coal23%April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 531

RE Featurehydrogenouter vesselradiation shieldinner vesselheat exhangerHydrogen has the potential tobe an important energy carrierthat can be stored, moved anddelivered in a usable form toconsumers.liquefied airFig 2. Storage of liquid Hydrogenambient airdried air● Liquid hydrogen (Fig 2) or slush hydrogen requirescryogenic storage (20 K). Liquefaction imposes a largeenergy loss since energy is required to cool it down to thattemperature. The tank must be well insulated and is thekind that can be used in space shuttles.● Hydrogen can be stored in solid porous materials. Gason-solidabsorption is inherently safe providing high densitystorage and increased safety.● Carbon nanotubes can be a promising mechanism forhydrogen storage. One of the critical factors in the usefulnessof carbon nanotubes, as a storage medium is the ratio of storedhydrogen to carbon. According to the US Department ofEnergy, a carbon material needs to store 6.5 per cent of its ownweight in hydrogen to be considered as a fuel for automobiles.ConclusionRenewable hydrogen as a transport fuel is an attractiveoption, which can help the world in environment protection.However, it is important to make this source safe andcommercially viable. The innovations happening at researchlaboratories are likely to provide necessary results to makethe hydrogen economy a reality. bThe authors are Head, Information Technology, and Principal, VidyaPrasarak Mandal’s Polytechnic, Thane. E-mail: usharagha@gmail.comCartoonStorage of Liquid HydrogenSafety: Certain safety issues that concern the use ofhydrogen as a fuel are that it is odourless, colourless andtasteless making it undetectable by human senses. Hence, aleakage will be very difficult to detect. Hydrogen burns veryquickly and has a tendency to combine with other elements.Hence, before hydrogen is made available as a populartransport fuel, it is essential to make sure that the fuel is safefor mass storage. Issues related to control of combustion,explosion and detonation of hydrogen air mixtures are yetto be addressed.Application: Hydrogen is high in energy, yet an engine thatburns pure hydrogen produces no pollution. Hydrogen fuelcells have been used to power the electrical system of spaceshuttles. It is a promising technology for use as a source ofheat and electricity for buildings and as an electrical powersource for electric vehicles. Hydrogen has the potential to bean important energy carrier that can be delivered in a usableform to consumers.32April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

RE FeatureElectric Cars -The ‘Green Answer’to the Energy CrisisGrowing environmental consciousness and the adverse effects of climatechange, are propelling governments to support initiatives towards thedevelopment of eco-friendly mobility solutions including electric vehicles.Efforts have to be made to orient the use of electric vehicles to nichesituations and markets where their limitations can be leveraged by design.K. MunshiIncreasing environmental consciousness and inview of the harmful effects of climate change, theGovernment of India and those of various Indianstates are supporting various initiatives for thedevelopment of technologies, and reduction of the carbonfootprint emanating from India. Regulation has becomeone of the prime factors driving this change. Energyaudits have been made mandatory in large consumerunits, since March 2007. An energy labelling programmefor appliances was launched in 2006 and comparativestar-based labelling has also been introduced. With therecent signing of the agreement on Climate Change, inCopenhagen, India is committed to pursuing this policyaggressively. The Government of India’s programmeon ‘Urban Renewal’ insists on energy efficiency, andincentives in the form of cheaper loans are being offered tourban transport authorities. The National Solar Mission ispromoting the use of solar energy for power generation andother applications. Energy efficiency has become the topmost agenda for Indian companies as well. Big automobilecompanies are developing electric vehicle technologies and/or buying smaller electric vehicle companies to preparefor the future. A good example is that of Mahindra andMahindra (M&M) who purchased the Reva Electric CarApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 533

RE FeatureFig. 1 - Aircraft Towing TractorCentral driver cabin with duel consolesBattery cassette trolleys in place on thetractor chassisRegular charging of batteries at airportdocking stationsReplaceable battery cassettes (pre-charged)Company. Tata Motors has also initiated developmentof electric cars in various segments. They believe that thefuture belongs to smaller cars and have showcased theirefforts at various motor shows around the world.The ChallengeAlthough the first electricity driven car was driven in the1880s, it lost the race to gasoline powered vehicles dueto its deficiencies in range, weight and time of charging.Despite having made great strides in technology in the last100 years, the electric vehicle still suffers from the sameproblems to date. What is however encouraging is thatserious thought is being given to add value and make thesevehicles viable ‘somehow’ and ‘somewhere’. The rising costof crude oil is helping this movement and the advantage isthat it is posing challenges to various technology disciplines,and those working in these areas are doing their best to findsolutions and attract research investment. With such inputs,it is bound to yield positive results in due course.StrategyPresently, on a global scale, effort is to build cars which canreplace the existing petrol / diesel driven cars. However, thismakes these cars very expensive and therefore unacceptable.It will take quite some time before these vehicles (hybridor pure electric or hydrogen based) can compete on pricewith existing vehicles. As an immediate strategy to makeelectrical vehicles acceptable and usable, efforts may be madeto design and orient the use of specialised electric vehicles toniche situations and markets, where these vehicles can havean intrinsic edge over conventional vehicles. This needs tobe understood well. If the limitations of the electric drivenvehicles are leveraged by design, then special vehicles forspecial applications / special situations can become viableand commonplace, thereby relieving the pressure on oil,environment (pollution), health and carbon footprint, to anextent.The limitation of range if understood, can let us identifyareas where the range of a vehicle is not important. One suchexample is the airport. Airports have become an essentialinfrastructure of a city, however small. Airports are highly,traffic and surface vehicle intensive and therefore one of themost polluted areas of a cityscape. If analysed, the airportcan lend itself very easily to vehicle electrification. All busesrunning in the airport for ferrying passengers to and fromthe aircraft to the terminals could be electric vehicles. Onecan argue that aero-bridges obviate the need for such traffic.However, aero bridges in the context of developing countrieslike India are available only in a few large city airports. The restare still dependent on gas guzzling, carbon dioxide fumingbuses for ferrying millions of passengers across airports, allover the country. Although it seems so obvious that we shouldhave ‘electric ferry buses’ on the airports, but one is yet to seeeven one electric bus on any Indian airport. In fact to make34April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

RE Featurea small but very important beginning, not only buses, but allvehicles at the airports could be electricity driven, includingaircraft tow tractor, baggage and food trolley towing tractors,maintenance runabouts, crew vehicles etc.Case StudyA case study was developed through a project for the ‘designof electric aircraft tow tractor’ that tows the aircraft fromrunways to the tarmac or apron, and back. Presently it is ahighly fuel guzzling and polluting vehicle, as it has to haveweight (added through ballast) for traction to tow the heavyaircraft. Making it electric, can offer manifold advantages,which will be elucidated in the following case study. Thedisadvantage of an electric vehicle is that it is heavy, which isa positive aspect for an aircraft tow tractor. Cheaper, heavierand dependable lead acid batteries can be used as their highweight can create an advantage. The airport is a confinedspace; hence the range of the vehicle need not be large.Intermittent usage (as it is not used all the time) of suchvehicle can allow it to move to charging stations more oftento get adequately charged. The structure of this vehicle neednot be efficient and expensive (as in monocoque vehicles), butinefficient, heavy, rugged and less expensive. What we see here(Fig. 1) is that all the inherent disadvantages of an electricvehicle could be converted into advantages in this situation.Similar advantages can be created in varying degreesAlthough the first electricity drivencar was driven in 1880s, it lost therace to gasoline-powered vehiclesdue to the deficiencies of range,weight and time of charging.in industrial campuses, gated communities, small urbanclusters and similarly identified situations, with vehicles fordifferent usages and where short ranges are fine.Education and ResearchA new masters and doctoral level programme was startedfrom 2010 for education and research into ‘mobility andvehicle design’ at the Industrial Design Centre, IndianInstitute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai; and to eventuallycreate a body of specialist vehicle designers, who can addressthe problems of future mobility and develop research culturein this discipline.Research is being conducted on making light weightvehicles so as to reduce power consumption further.Integrated single unit reinforced plastic bodies for 2wheelers and 3 wheelers have been built and tested toachieve this objective. An electric scooter (Fig. 2), whichFig. 2Electric VehicleSingle unifiedBody designin FRPintegratingStylingErgonomics,EngineeringAll thecomponentsare mountedon the loadbearingFRPbodyNo metal Chassis Light weightvibration & Fatigue resistanceCTech Labs Pvt. Ltd.www.ctechlab.comApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 535

RE FeatureFig 3: Designing an Electric RickshawPrajwal Janardhana Ullalweighs less than 40 kg and has a range of about 30 km isone such example. Prototypes of small electric vehicles, like‘electric auto rickshaws’ and ‘mini 3 wheelers’ (Fig. 3) havebeen developed to prove the concepts. These concepts canbe adopted and developed by ‘research-shy’ companies formanufacture and marketing.Design IntegrationIntegrating computer and communication technologieswith electric vehicles can become a big driver fordevelopment. One such example is the development ofautonomous road trains for small tourist destinations /archeological locales, which are sensitive to pollution fromhigh traffic. A project is being envisaged at IIT, Mumbaito develop a mobile facility at Elephanta Island, a smalltourist spot near Mumbai, for tourists who visit the ancientcaves there. An autonomous mini road train running on abattery bank charged through solar panels and followinga ‘tour line’ is being contemplated. Besides being a facilityfor tourists, it offers an additional means of livelihood tothe local community that is dependent on tourism. It canbe showcased as a prototype for mobility solution in smalltowns particularly tourist towns.Water in Pot ModelTraditionally the form or physiognomy of a product isdictated by the size of the components, mechanical linkagesand their physical fitness. Emerging technologies are fluidin character, and therefore physically pliable. Like water, theusefulness of technology is dependent on the form of thecontainer or ‘pot’ in which it is placed. For example, if wateris to be drunk, it has to be kept in a glass or tumbler, andif it has to be poured, it is kept in a jug with a spout; andif it has to be carried, the pot takes the shape of ‘narrowmouthed’ vessel, so that it does not spill and so on. Besidesthe ‘pot’ has cultural connotations. For example, a teacupis not suitable for drinking water, though it can be used.Modern technology too, like fluid, when placed in a suitable‘container’ performs better, if the shape of the ‘container’is designed to suit the situations. Human and contextualissues are the determining factors for design. Major designcriteria therefore have to be psycho-physiological, culturaland environmental.Unique FormElectric vehicles do not need the space as needed forvoluminous internal combustion engines or bulky geartrains. The prime movers in electric cars are built into thewheels. The battery pack, particularly the newer polymerbatteries are flexible and can be configured according to theavailability of spaces and spread, and yet the electric vehiclesimply looks like a sedan, or an SUV and even comes with‘air vents’ in the front. The physiognomy of electric vehiclescan be and should be quite different from what we see todayin cars or hybrid vehicles. Industrial designers and stylistsare working hard to invent a new formal language, whichdepicts the uniqueness of this breed of products. We havehad similar difficulties in the past, when cars were madelike horse buggies, and the first TVs were made to looklike radios. Indeed with so much interest and so manypeople inspired to work in this area, the discovery of a newidentity or an aesthetic breakthrough for electric vehiclesis not a distant dream considering that new conceptualbreakthroughs are being driven by the development of newtechnologies which have fairly matured and moved to the‘post failure’ stage. The attempts in this direction are worthwatching out for. bThe author is Professor of Industrial Design/ Mobility & VehicleDesign at Industrial Design Centre. Director, CTech Labs Pvt. Ltd.Indian Institute of Technology,Powai, MumbaiE-mail: munshi@iitb.ac.in/munshi999@yahoo.com36April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

RE FeatureTapping the Oceansfor EnergyOcean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a fairly new technology whichuses the ocean’s natural thermal gradient to produce energy to drive a powerproducingcycle. Considering the fact that the ocean’s layers of water havedifferent temperatures, an OTEC system can produce a significant amount ofpower. The oceans are thus a vast renewable resource, with the potential to helpus produce billions of watts of electric power.S V S Phani Kumar, M V Ramana Murthy,Purnima Jalihal, M A AtmanandThe modern world with all its technologicaladvancements, needs power in large quantitiestoday and the requirement is ever increasing.Therefore, the effort to tap renewable sources ofenergy is being attempted on a war footing. While solar,wind, biomass and other forms are already being tappedacross the globe, energies which can be harnessed from thevast oceans is yet to move out from the research arena. Oceanenergy can be harnessed in the form of waves, currents, tidesand temperature gradients.When watching waves break at a shore we can see thepower they contain, the same power that causes havocduring a cyclone. Currents which are actually watervelocities are also constantly present within the oceanApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 537

RE Featurebodies, though varying in magnitude and direction. Whilewaves and currents contain a fair amount of energy, anystructure or equipment to be mounted in the open sea needsto resist these forces to which it is subjected constantly,while generating power. Sea water is also very corrosive,hence materials used should be suitable for long term usagein the sea environment. Another factor is the location onthe globe i.e. countries close to the equator have lower windsand wave intensities while those far away have very highwave climates. In India, the average wave power annually islow - though during the monsoon season, for a few months,the waves can be very high.However being close to the equator and temperaturesbeing high, the sea surface is always fairly warm. The ocean’stemperature varies with depth as shown in Fig 1. The profileindicates that the temperature in around 1000m waterdepth could be as low as 6 o C. This difference in temperaturebetween the sea surface and at a deeper depth can be utilisedto harness energy. This is called Ocean Thermal EnergyConversion or OTEC. Essentially in OTEC, a fluid withlow boiling point is vapourised using the warm surfacesea water. This drives a turbine connected to a generatorwhich generates power. The vapour is condensed using thedeep sea cold water and in a closed cycle goes back and getsvapourised again. This cycle runs continuously to generatepower. Fig 2 shows the OTEC cycle. The main requirementof this process is large quantities of cold and warm sea water.While warm water is available all along the coastline, deepFig 1. Typical profile of Ocean Thermal Gradient aroundIndian CoastTemperature ( 0 C)4 8 12 18 20 24 28 300Depth (m)-500-1000-1500LATITUDE: 12 00LONGITUDE: 01 00(COURTESY: NIO, GOA)sea cold water is available only at depths of around 800-1000m. The sea bed near the coast drops very gently in Indiaand hence the 1000m water depth is available only around40-50 kms from the coast necessitating a floating OTECplant. The OTEC method was attempted in the US andother countries a couple of decades ago, at the time of theoil crisis. Thereafter work was stopped for some years. Todayagain, many countries have realised that research on OTECmust be given priority.The National Institute of Ocean Technology(NIOT),Chennai, decided to attempt setting up the first floatingoffshore OTEC plant of 1 MW off Tuticorin, in the yearFig. 2 A schematic diagram of the OTEC cyclevapour Turbine GeneratorMistSeparatorEvaporatorBypassCondenserWater of theseaWater tothe seaWarm waterfrom sea surfaceat 26-29 0 CWWPumpWorking FluidPumpCWPumpCold waterfrom 800-1000mdepth at 4-8 0 C38April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

RE Feature2000. A schematic diagram of the OTEC cycle is shown inFig 2. A floating plant needs the following complex systems:● Power module components including heat exchangersand turbine.● A floating platform with station keeping / mooring toposition it in deep waters.● A long cold water pipe to transfer large quantities of coldwater from the depth to the surface.● Offshore logistics.All the above systems are facing severe technologicalchallenges, which have not yet been tackled completely.These are briefly discussed below:Firstly, heat exchangers have to be made of a materialsuitable to a combination of sea water and a working fluidlike ammonia. The design needs to be optimised since theefficiency of the process is low. Using a material like titaniumwill cause the cost of the heat exchangers to be alone aroundone-third the capital cost. Thus newer materials also needto be explored.A big challenge is the floating platform, which has tonot only house the power module and plant but has to havegood sea keeping characteristics to act as a stable platformthroughout the year. Thus, studies towards its responses tosevere environmental conditions become important. TheOTEC plant’s station keeping or mooring is also an importantaspect. The most complex and challenging component is thelarge cold water pipe for continuous pumping of cold deepsea water for condensing the working fluid. This conduit hasThe use of LTTD with oceanthermal gradient also results in anenvironmentally friendly technologybecause of its use of naturallyavailable heat in the process.to withstand not only the environmental conditions duringoperations but its assembly and installation are extremelycritical.To attempt to understand the challenges, a non selfpropelledbarge was built specially for this purpose at theplant off Tuticorin. All components of the power modulewere designed, fabricated, assembled and installed on thebarge. Parallelly a 1 km long pipe with a diameter of 1 mmade of HDPE (high density polyethylene) was assembledwith the necessary connections at the Tuticorin Port. Thepipe was towed around 40 kms off the coast to a deep waterlocation.However due to lack of suitable infrastructure andhandling equipment, there were failures in the cold waterpipe deployment. It was therefore decided to attemptdesalination using the temperature gradient at shallowerwaters less than 500 m using the Low Temperature ThermalDesalination (LTTD) method. The process deals withevaporating the warmer surface sea water at low pressuresand condensing the resultant pure vapour using deep seacold water available at about 400m below sea level. Theprocess is found to be simple and easy to maintain sinceFig.3 Configuration of a Barge Mounted Plant with Single PointMooringColdwater boxFelxible house10000 HDPE pipeSteelwier ropeSurface buoyChains(4nos)SwielMSLAs part of the desalination projects, HDPE pipes of 630mm diameter andlengths of up to 950m were assembled, towed up to 10km and deployedto draw water from a depth of about 400m. Civil structures such as sumpsweighing up to 500 tons and piers beyond breaker zone were cast in a lagoon,towed about 10 km to the other side of the island and were deployed at site. Abridge that connects the sump to the plant and shore was also constructed.SEA BEDSwivelAcoustic releaseClump 5TClump 3.5T5T Clumps 2T AnchorApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 539

RE FeatureFig. 4 A schematic diagram of the LTTD processWater vapourDemisterFlash chamberShell &tubecondenserVacuum pumpWarm water pumpDischarge pumpFresh water pumpCold water pumpWarm waterFresh waterCold waterAn OTEC plant along withdesalination would be an excellentsource of clean and green energyand fresh water.it requires just a few components such as a flash chamberfor evaporation, a condenser for liquefying the vapour, seawater pumps, vacuum system, a long pipe to draw coldwater from 400m below sea level, marine structures such assump, plant building and the bridge. The use of LTTD withocean thermal gradient also results in an environmentallyfriendly technology because of its use of naturally availableheat in the process. A schematic diagram of LTTD processis shown in Fig. 4.A pilot desalination plant with a capacity of 100m 3 /daywas established in the Kavaratti Island of Lakshadweep. TheNIOT maintained the plant for one year and handed it overto the local PWD in 2006, which continues to maintainthe plant till date. The NIOT put up similar plants in theregion and two more plants, in Agatti and Minicoy Islands,each with a capacity of 100 cu m/day that started operationsin 2011.The OTEC barge was also used to demonstrate offshoredesalination, where cold water is obtained from about 550mdepth using a 700m long and 1m diameter pipeline. TheNIOT has developed expertise in the design, assembly anddeployment of cold water pipes. Efforts are on to designand build a large scale offshore desalination plant to servemainland requirements.Desalination, a spin-off of the OTEC cycle, has beensuccessfully demonstrated. An OTEC plant along withdesalination would be an excellent source of clean and greenenergy and fresh water. However the transfer of power tothe shore over large distances to the mainland may notbe feasible at this juncture and needs more technologicaldevelopment.While the basic thermal cycle and the challenges inoffshore installations are well understood today, there is aneed to optimise the cycle and component design to increasethe techno-commercial viability. Cold water from the depthsalso contains many nutrients and is good for mariculture.Possibility of extraction of some rare earth elements fromthe large volumes of water is also being studied.Though the technological challenges are many anddemonstration of OTEC for larger ratings is yet to becompleted, the country must strive to harness this formof energy due to the large coastline and tropical watertemperatures available. This is one of the endeavours beingpursued by the NIOT towards the alleviation of the powerdeficit. bThe authors are Scientist ‘E’, Scientist ‘F’, Scientist ‘G’ and Director,National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai, respectively. E-mail:phani@niot.res.in/ phanisvs@gmail.com,40April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

BiogasBottling in IndiaCase StudyToday’s fast paced world is overly dependent on energy to fulfill its variousrequirements related to daily life. Biogas, a clean and renewable source comes as aefficient and cost effective method to generate power. This case study of a biogasbottling plant showcases the efforts of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energyto usher in new technological breakthroughs in the arena of renewable energy.M. L. BamboriyaApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 541

Case StudyEnergy is the key input for the socio-economicdevelopment of any nation. Industrialisation,urbanisation and mechanised agriculturaltechniques have generated a high demand ofenergy in all forms i.e. thermal, mechanical and electrical.To meet this ever-increasing demand, fossil fuels suchas coal, oil and natural gas have been exploited in anunsustainable manner. This exploitation has been posingserious environmental problems such as global warming andclimate change. While we have shortage of energy and aredependent on imports in case of petroleum, we are blessedwith plenty of natural sources of energy such as solar, wind,biomass and hydro. These sources are environmentallybenign and non-depleting in nature and are available inmost parts of the country throughout the year.Biomass resources such as cattle dung, agriculture wastesand other organic wastes have been one of the main energysources for mankind since the dawn of civilisation. There is avast scope to convert these energy sources into biogas. Biogasproduction is a clean, low carbon technology, useful for theefficient management and conversion of organic wastes intoclean renewable biogas and organic manure/fertiliser. It has thepotential for leveraging sustainable livelihood development aswell as tackling local and global land, air and water pollution.Biogas obtained by anaerobic digestion of cattle dung andother loose and leafy organic matter/ biomass wastes can beused as an energy source for various applications namely,cooking, heating, space cooling / refrigeration, electricitygeneration and gaseous fuel for vehicular application. Basedon the availability of cattle dung alone from about 304 millioncattle, there exists an estimated potential of about 18,240million cubic meter (m cu m) of biogas generation annually.The increasing number of poultry farms is another sourcewhich can generate biogas of 2173 m cu m annually with649 m birds. In addition, kitchen waste from institutions,universities, restaurants, baraat ghars, industries, parks andgardens in urban and semi-urban areas and even non-ediblede-oiled cake from Jatropha and other plants offer a very largepotential. These wastes must be treated to ensure reductionin methane emission affecting climatic change and for betterenvironmental conditions. In addition to gaseous fuel, biogasplants provide high quality organic manure with soil nutrientswhich in turn improves soil fertility, a must for sustainableproduction and for enhancing productivity. Thus, there is ahuge scope for the installation of medium size biogas plants inthe country. This can be translated to an aggregated estimatedcapacity of 8165 MW per day power generation or 22,06,789Fig 1. The schematic diagram of the BGFP project installed atAnand Energy, Vill.- Kalatibba, Teh.- Abohar, Dist.- Ferozepur(Punjab)Mix feed - cattledung and fruitwastePretreatmentsystemTable 1. The salient features of BGFP project installed at AnandEnergy, Vill.- Kalatibba, Teh.- Abohar, Dist.- Ferozepur (Punjab).Particulars Description RemarksQuantity processed 12 MT Cow dung, Kinoowaste etc.Biogas generated 600 NM 3Purified/UpgradedBiogasPurified BiogasPurified/UpgradedBiogas Filled inCylinders at 150 barsDigesterBiogasPurificationsystemBiogas storage(Balloon)324 NM 3231 kgOrganicManure27 Cylinders of 8kg each filled.CompressingunitCompressed biogas(Cylinder cascade)Cooking in midday meal schmefor studentsLiguid manure used in kinoo plantEquivalent toRs. 10,800 ofcommercial LPGSlurry / Manure 11000 Litres/day Used as liquidfertilizer substitutingchemical fertilizerworth Rs. 5,500/-LPG cylinders and 21304 lakh kg of urea equivalent or 3974lakh tonnes of organic manure / fertiliser per day.Biogas comprises of 60-65 per cent methane (CH4), 35-40 per cent carbon dioxide (CO2), 0.5-1.0 per cent hydrogensulphide (H2S), and the rest is water vapour etc. It is almost20 per cent lighter than air. Biogas, like liquefied petroleumgas (LPG) cannot be converted into liquid under normaltemperature and pressure. However, after extracting carbondioxide, hydrogen sulphide and moisture and compressingit into cylinders, it can be made easily usable for transportapplications and for stationary applications. Already,compressed natural gas (CNG) technology has become easilyavailable and therefore, bio-methane (or enriched biogas)42April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

Case Studywhich is similar to CNG, can be used for all applicationsfor which CNG is being used. Moreover, purified/enrichedbiogas (bio-methane) has a high calorific value in comparisonto raw biogas.During the year 2008-09, a new initiative was taken up forthe demonstration of the integrated technology-package, inentrepreneurial mode, for installation of medium size mixedfeed biogas fertiliser plants (BGFP) for generation, purification/enrichment, bottling and piped distribution of biogas underthe Research, Development, Demonstration and Distribution(RDD&D) policy of the Ministry of New and RenewableEnergy (MNRE). Such plants, when installed are expected toproduce compressed biogas (CBG) of CNG quality standardsso as to be used as vehicular fuel in addition to meetingstationary and motive power and electricity generationneeds, in a decentralised manner through the establishmentof a sustainable business model in this sector. These mediumsize biogas-fertiliser plants can be set up in various villages,agro / food processing industry zones among other areas ofthe country. Under the demonstration phase, the Ministry isproviding financial assistance for implementation of a certainnumber of such projects that are following an entrepreneurialmode. So far 21 BGFP projects with an aggregate capacityof 37, 016 cu m/day have been sanctioned in ten states -Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra,Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh andRajasthan.The main components of BGFP are given below:● Pre-treatment system;● Biogas generation system;● Biogas storage system;● Biogas purification system● Biogas bottling system;● Slurry handling system.The first biogas bottling project was sanctioned to AshokaBiogreen Pvt. Ltd, after obtaining the license for fillingand storage of compressed biogas in CNG cylinders fromPetroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO),with a capacity of 500 cu m/day at village Talwade, Nashik(Maharashtra) which was commissioned on 16 March 2011.The second biogas bottling project of 600 cu m/day capacityfor generation, purification/enrichment, bottling of biogas wassanctioned by the MNRE for Rs. 45.5 lakh Central FinancialAssistance (CFA) during the year 2009-10, to Anand Energyat Kalatibba, Ferozepur, Punjab (Fig 1, Table 1). This wascommissioned on 17 November 2011 after obtaining requiredlicense from the PESO. The biogas generation capacity of theThe increasing number ofpoultry farms is another sourceand can generate biogas of 2173m cu m annually with 649 mnumber of birds.plant is 600 cu m per day. The purity of biogas is about 98 percent methane and this has been corroborated through testsconducted by the National Accreditation Board for Testingand Calibration Laboratories (NABL). The gas has beencompressed to 150-bar pressure for filling in cylinders. Thispurified biogas is equivalent/similar to CNG.The upgraded biogas is being filled in CNG cylindersand supplied to support the mid-day meal scheme forcooking food for over 18000 school students in Aboharand its adjoining areas. The slurry of the biogas plant isbeing sold to farmers to be used as a liquid manure forkinoo plantations. Field trials have indicated the excellentgrowth in agro-production and substantial improvementsin quality. Further, minimum dropping off of fruits wasreported since the use of biogas slurry as manure.This biogas bottling project is projected to replace fuel andmanure worth Rs. 40 lakh annually, recovering the fullcost of the project within four to five years. The separationand bottling of CO2 and extraction of humic acid from theslurry would further improve viability of biogas bottlingplants. The BGFP provides three-in-one solution of gaseousfuel generation, organic manure / fertiliser production andwet biomass waste disposal. The leftover slurry is usefulas organic manure / fertiliser for improving soil-fertility.It is non-polluting because it is free from weed-seeds, foulsmell and pathogens. It is rich in nutrients such as nitrogen,potassium and sodium (NPK)and micronutrients - iron andzinc. These plants prevent black carbon emissions commonlyseen in biomass chulhas. Biogas is an easy and healthycooking fuel since methane emissions from untreated cattledung and biomass wastes can also be avoided. The enrichedbiogas can be bottled in CNG cylinders and used whereverCNG is being used. Since there is no pollution from biogasplants, these are one of the most potent tools for mitigatingclimatic change and being earth saviours. bThe author is Scientist ‘F‘ / Director, Ministry of New and RenewableEnergy. Email: mlbamboriya@nic.inApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 543

Success StoryBiogas Plantfor a SchoolAn outstanding effort to generate power from a Biogas Power Plant in aresidential higher secondary school which has helped this sizeable institutionmeet its everyday needs from cooking to generating power for runningvarious machines.This is the story of a residential higher secondaryschool run by the Sharda Vihar Jan Kalyan Samiti(SVJKS), situated at Sharda Vihar, Mindorivillage near Kerwan Dam, Bhopal. There are 584students and around 100 teachers and staff members residingin the campus of the school. In a centrally located messnear the hostels, everyday, around 4500 to 5000 chapatisare prepared using biogas as the cooking fuel. The distanceof the biogas burners in the kitchen, from the improvedKhadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) biogasplant installed near the goshala is around 200 metres. A highdensity polyethylene (HDPE) and galvanised iron (GI) pipeline measuring about 250 metres has been used to deliver thegas in the mess, the gen-set room and the pharmaceuticallab of the Go-Vigyan Anusandhan Kendra.Installation and Commissioning of the PlantThis biogas plant was installed and commissioned underthe technical guidance of B P Gupta, MTech, MANIT,with financial assistance from the MNRE, New Delhi,disbursed through the MP Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. Bhopaland SVJKS Bhopal in July 2001. To begin with around 35Gir breed cows were brought from Gujarat to the goshalanamed Kamdhenu. The Go-Vigyan Anusandhan Kendrais now home to as many a 90 very healthy cows and 60calves, all of the Gir variety. It also has around 200 oldanimals and 10 bullocks. More than 2 to 2.5 tonnes ofdung and 10 to 20 kgs of fodder waste and cow urine asper requirement are collected from here, in addition to theproduction of milk per day.Capacity of the KVIC biogas plant is 45 cu m. Everyday,input slurry made from 12-14 quintals of cow dung withequal quantity of water is fed through the inlet chamber tothe digester of the biogas plant. Biogas so produced is usedfor preparation of chapatis. It saves about 2 cylinders of LPGeach day. In fact this plant is overfed as far as daily slurryfeeding is concerned.The plant has been running successfully from July 2001.It was overhauled in June 2009 as accumulation of silt/mudin the digester with input slurry caused a reduction in theretention time of the input slurry. The problem was sortedout by emptying the digester completely. Such reductionin retention time of the input slurry can cause release ofpartially digested effluent slurry. Black epoxy paint has44April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

Success Storybeen used to paint the gasholder and central guide frameto remove the rust patches and protect the gasholder surfacefrom ill effects of weathering.Salient Features of the PlantRust Prevention: Rust proofing is done by a water jacketaround the digester using lubricating oil / greasing oil that isplaced over water surface. This is also for eliminating directcontact of the gas holder with input slurry.Rain Water Draining from Water Jacket: Siphonarrangements have been made for removing the rain fedwater from the top of the gas holder to the water jacket sothat lubricating oil in the jacket remains undisturbed.Provision of Overhead Beam: Overhead beam structurehas been provided for lifting the gas holder out of thedigester for regular maintenance of the plant, providinggas delivery through the central guide pipe, free revolvingand vertical movement of the gas holder.Enhancement of the Life of the Central Guide Frameand Gas-holder:● Strengthening of central guide frame for increasing itslife by putting reinforcement cement concrete betweencentral guide mild steel (MS) pipe and delivery GI pipewhich is concentrically fitted inside the central guidepipe.● Delivery of biogas through the central guide frameby carrying a GI pipe through central guide pipe andtaking it out along one of the I-sections of the cross atthe ledge level of the digester for easy moisture removaland eliminating the requirement of about 9 metersflexible pipe bi-annually.● Provision of scum breaking by vertical mild steelmembers of gas holder and ensuring its free revolvingIn a centrally located mess near thehostels, every day lunch and dinnerwith around 4500 to 5000 chapatisare prepared by making use ofbiogas as cooking fuel.motion and vertical movement.Additional Gas Storage Capacity: An additional gas storagecapacity to avoid wastage of biogas during morning hoursuntil the beginning of food preparation in the kitchen, whenthe gas holder of the plant is fully raised and is full of gas.Utilisation of Additional Biogas if Available: Chargingof a 9.5 KVA dual fuel (diesel+biogas) gen-set for electricitygeneration at the time of load shedding, is done. Duringvacations in the institute, the biogas is utilised for theproduction of medicines using 100 cu ft per hour biogasburners.Bio-manure Production: Manure drying pits have beenconstructed in adequate number to maintain the dryingcycle of the effluent slurry from the digester. So that regularproduction and storage, packing and supply is maintained.Production of additional manure by processing waste fodderof the goshala through vermiculture is regularly carried out.This plant by now has completed more than 10 years and 6months of its continuous and successful operation and yet it isas good as new. On the basis of its present condition, it can bepredicted that it would complete more than 25 years beforebecoming defunct.The two reasons for the success are (i)Proper implementationof biogas technology being disseminated by Ministry of Newand Renewable Energy, New Delhi and (ii)the sincere effortsof Hukum Singh Patidar, the Manager of the Institute. bApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 545

EventTEDA’s RENERGY 2012A Stupendous SuccessThe Tamil Nadu EnergyDevelopment Agency(TEDA) organised a twodayinternational conference andexhibition on renewable energy.RENERGY 2012 was held atthe Chennai Trade Centre,Nandambakkam, on 12 and 13March 2012. The Conference wasinaugurated by the Minister forElectricity, Prohibition and Excise,Natham R Viswanathan, in thepresence of G B Pradhan, Secretary,Ministry of New and RenewableEnergy (MNRE); Ramesh KumarKhanna, Principal Secretary, EnergyDepartment, Government of TamilNadu, Rajeev Ranjan, Chairman,Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, SudeepJain, Chairman and ManagingDirector, TEDA and other seniorgovernment officials from the centreand state, to debate, discuss andexplore several avenues in this sector.The conference had over 1300delegates, with a significant numberfrom abroad, making it the largestrenewable energy conference everheld in the country. It was aimedat creating a unique experiencefor all industry leaders to come onone platform to discuss the variousinvestment opportunities, potentialand scope in solar, wind, biomass andnewer waste-to-energy technologies,electric vehicles, batteries andother energy efficiency sectors. Theexhibition had over 100 companiesfrom all sectors of renewableenergy participating in it. Leadingcompanies and organisations includedZynergy, Suzlon, Gamesa, SunEdison, ReGen Power, Centre forWind Energy Technology (CWET),Vestas, Bonfiglioli, Greenpeaceand others who participated in theexhibition, which attracted over7500 visitors, making it the largestattended renewable energy exhibitionin South India.The conference hosted talks byleaders and top bureaucrats includingDr Pramod Deo, Chairman, CentralElectricity Regulatory Commission(CERC); Satnam Singh, CMD, PowerFinance Corporation Ltd.; AbhaShukla, Secretary, Bureau of EnergyEfficiency; NS Prasanna Kumar,MD, Karnataka Renewable EnergyDevelopment Limited (KREDL);DP Joshi, Director, Gujarat EnergyDevelopment Agency; DebashishMajumdar, Chairman and ManagingDirector, The Indian RenewableEnergy Development Agency(IREDA); Anil Agrawal, CEO,NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd.(NVVN); Dr Gomathinayagam,Executive Director, CWET andAshok Avasthi, Executive Director,Rural Electrification CorporationLtd. (RECL) and many others.Commenting on the conference NR Viswanathan, Electricity Ministerof Tamil Nadu said: “RENERGY2012, we believe will spearheadTamil Nadu’s growth in therenewable energy sector and openmore investment opportunities fornew players. We are expecting itto lay a strong foundation for theindustrialists and public to understandwhere we are heading. Tamil Nadu isa leader in wind energy and thanksto the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,J Jayalalithaa’s vision, we will soonovercome all bottlenecks.” b46April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

In the financial year 2011-12 withthe support of the Ministry of Newand Renewable Energy (MNRE),the Maharashtra Energy DevelopmentAgency(MEDA) organised 3 State levelseminars and exhibitions at regionalheadquarter cities namely Aurangabad,Nagpur and Navi Mumbai. Thepurpose was to make the people awareabout the use of renewable energyand the status and scope of renewableenergy at the national and state level.These events really boosted the effortsof the MEDA and the MNRE increating awareness about the use ofrenewable energy. The theme of theevent was Renewable Energy andEnergy Conservation -2011.AurangabadExhibition and Seminar(14 – 16 October 2011)The exhibition was held in thegrounds of Hotel VITS with a totalof 40 well furnished free stalls putup. The entry was free and it wasvisited by more than 40,000 persons.There was an attractive live demoof projects and renewable energygadgets were put up for sale. GaneshNaik, Minister, Non-ConventionalEnergy, Maharashtra inaugurated thefunction.A one- day seminar onRenewable Energy and EnergyConservation-2011 was held onRE and EnergyConservation-201114 October 2011. More than 300participants including students fromtechnical and engineering colleges,architects, builders, investors,engineers and others from variousindustries attended the seminar.NagpurExhibition and Seminar(25 – 27 November 2011)An exhibition was held at theKasturchand Park Ground, Nagpurwith 60 stalls put up for display. Itattracted more than 45,000 visitors.Shivajirao Moghe, Minister, SocialJustice, Maharashtra inaugurated thefunction.A one-day seminar was organisedon 25 November 2011 at Hotel TuliInternational, Nagpur on ‘SolarEnergy Applications and Solar PassiveArchitecture’ with more than 350participants from technical andengineering colleges, architects,builders, investors, engineers andamong others from various industries.Navi MumbaiExhibition, Seminar and EC awarddistribution ceremony(13 – 15 March 2012)The exhibition was held atCorporation Ground, Navi Mumbaiwhere a total of 70 stalls were putup and it was attended by morethan 45,000 visitors. Ganesh Naik,EventMinister, Non-Conventional Energy,Maharashtra inaugurated thefunction.Along with the exhibition a onedayseminar was held on 13 March2012 at hotel Four Points, Vashi,Navi Mumbai, on the theme ‘PowerGeneration from Renewable EnergyProjects and Energy Conservation’with the participation of around450 people. A state level EnergyConservation Award distributionceremony was also organised alongwith the event. The Thane and PuneMunicipal Corporations were giventhe EC award by Ganesh Naik. Apartfrom these many other private unitswere also rewarded for their efforts inthe field of energy conservation.Various companies likemanufacturers of solar PV andthermal gadgets, batteries, biomassgasifiers, wind power developers andmanufacturers, energy consultantsand auditing firms participated inthe exhibition. It was also attendedby a varied audience ranging fromindustrialists, and builders to officers,doctors, social organisations andstudents. The event proved helpfulfor the people in Marathwada andVidarbha regions, who appreciatedthe MEDAs efforts in makingrenewable energy and energyconservation devices and systemsavailable under one roof and attheir doorstep. Expert speakerselaborated upon the importance ofthe sources of renewable energy andenergy conservation and the policiesof state and central government.Many manufacturers, developers,distributors, dealers got a goodplatform for presenting their productsto people. bApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 547

Tech UpdateHydrogen Power in Everyday Life:Clean and Energy EfficientSince 2009, a hydrogen poweredstreet cleaning vehicle has beenundergoing testing on the streetsof Basel, Switzerland. The project isintended to take 'hydrogen' drives outof the laboratory and onto the streetsin order to gain experience on usingthem under practical conditions. Theresult of the pilot trial: hydrogen as afuel for municipal utility vehicles savesenergy, is environmentally friendlyand is technically feasible. In order tomake it cost-effective, however, theprices of fuel cells, pressurised storagetanks and electric drives must all dropsignificantly.The hydrogen powered streetcleaning vehicle, took about 18 monthsto develop. "It became clear relativelyquickly that the fuel cell system,which had been developed as a oneof,specially for the project, was notyet ready for use in a real-life setting,"explains project leader Christian Bach,head of Empa's Internal CombustionEngines Laboratory. The vehicle hasachieved its targets both in terms ofenergy consumption and performance,the project team -- which, in additionto researchers from Empa and the PaulScherrer Institute (PSI), also includedthe vehicle manufacturer BucherSchoerling, the electric drive specialistBrusa, the hydrogen manufacturerMesser Schweiz, and the city of BaselEnvironment and Energy Departmentas well as the city's cleaning services-- decided to replace the fuel cell systeminitially used with another more matureproduct, and also to implement a singlecentralised safety module. The 'FuelCell System Mk 2' has now been inoperation since the summer of last yearand has proven to be far more robust;in fact, only once has it been necessaryto take the vehicle out of service,because of a defective water pump.Despite these setbacks, however,for the past three months, the vehiclehas been running so reliably that thecity cleaning services are able to use iton an everyday basis as they would a'normal' vehicle.The test phase in Basel showedthat fuel cells are ready for useunder everyday conditions, thoughcurrently only in niche applicationssuch as municipal utility vehicles.Their use allows the operator to savea considerable amount of energy,since the vehicle consumes less thanhalf the fuel of its contemporaries.This means that instead of 5 to 5.5litres of diesel per hour (equivalent toan energy consumption of 180-200MJ per hour) the hydrogen poweredvehicle needs only 0.3 to 0.6 kg of fuelper hour (that is, 40-80 MJ per hour).And in terms of CO2 emissions, too,the new vehicle performs about 40per cent better than a diesel poweredequivalent, even when the hydrogenis produced by the steam reformingof natural gas using fossil fuels. If thehydrogen was produced using energyfrom renewable sources then the CO2reduction would be even greater.During use, the novel vehicle hasproven to be user-friendly and safe.Refuelling was done by the driversthemselves at a mobile, easy-to-usehydrogen fuel station. An additionaladvantage is the fact that the fuel cellpowered vehicle is much quieter thana diesel vehicle. The only disadvantage,however is, that on cold days, the wasteheat from the fuel cell and the electricmotor are not sufficient to adequatelywarm the driver's cabin -- a typicalweakness of electrical drives. Thevehicle will undergo further testingin everyday situations in order to gainmore operating experience and to allowthe ageing behaviour of the variouscomponents used in the vehicle to bestudied. Currently a vehicle of this kindis about three times as expensive as aconventional one. On the other hand,it is encouraging to know that the costsof fuel cell systems alone have, over thepast few years, dropped by a factor often, and the end of this trend is not yetin sight. b48April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

Children's CornerElEctricitywith a MagnEtOfcourseyouknowhowamagnetcanpickupsmallmetalobjects.You canactuallymakeatackjumptothemagnetbyholdingthemclosetogether.Magnetismisaformofenergy.Itcanpushorpullthings.Itcanevenpushorpullsomeofthetinyparticlesthatmakeupmatter:electrons.Andwhenyoupushorpullelectrons,yougetelectricity.Let’strymakingelectricitywithamagnet.STepS1.Windthewirearoundthecardboardtubeabout20times2.Connectbothendsofthewiretothemeter.3.Takethemagnetandmoveitnearthecoilbutnotthroughit.Observethemeter.4.Movethemagnetinvariousdirectionsaroundthecoil.5. Movethemagnetthroughthecoil,backandforth.Makemorethanonetrialdoingthis.Trymovingthemagnetatdifferentspeeds.Movethecoiloverthemagnet,keepingthemagnetstill.Things you will need• 100cmofbarecopperwire•1barmagnet•1electricmeter•1cardboardtubeNow ANSwer The QS1. Inwhichstepdidthemetermovethemost?2. Whenthemetermadethegreatestmovement,inwhatdirectionwereyoumovingthemagnet?3. Wasthereadifferencebetweenmovingthemagnetthroughthecoil,ormovingthecoiloverthemagnet?4.Wasthereadifferencewhenyoumovedthemagnetfaster?5.Thelinesofforceonamagnetwouldlooksomethinglikethis(ifwecouldseethem).Whathappenedtothoseforcelineswhenyoumovedthemagnetinsidethecoil?6.Canyoufigureoutsomewaythatyoucouldmakethemagnetspinreallyfastinsidethecoil?SendyouranswerstotheEditorandseeyournamespeciallyflashedonthispage.April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 549

Web/Book AlertWebsiteEcars in Irelandwww.esb.ieESB established ecars to rollout the charging infrastructurefor electric cars and vehiclesacross Ireland and to support theintroduction and demand forelectric cars nationally.ESB, as the single owner/operatorof the electricity distributionsystem, is responsible forimplementing this across Ireland.ESB ecars’ targets are to install2,000 home charge points, 1,500public charge points and 30fast charge points nationwide.Renewable Energy WorldConference & Expo Africaww.renewableenergyworldafrica.comRenewable Energy World AfricaConference and Exhibition 2012,taking place in Johannesburg,South Africa on 6-8 November2012, have launched their eagerlyanticipated website. The websitecontains important informationregarding to exhibiting andsponsorship opportunities, traveland accommodation for the event,registration prices, etc.Alternative Fuel VehicleResale websitewww.afvresale.comThe Sales Network (TSN), aprovider of niche-marketingsolutions, released a new website,designed to aid customers lookingto buy and sell previously ownedalternative-fuel vehicles andequipment, according to a March6, 2012 press release. The siteprovides free membership forlisting, responding and searchingfor pre-owned alternative-fuelvehicles in the US, includingthose powered by propaneautogas, ethanol, CNG, electricityand biodiesel, as well as hybridvehicles.This book provides a briefready reference for ahydrogen economy, in which thisone gas provides the source of allenergy needs and is often toutedas the long-term solution tothe environmental and securityproblems associated with fossilfuels. However, before hydrogencan be used as fuel on a globalscale we must establish costeffective means of producing,storing, and distributing the gas,Power Conversionof RenewableEnergySystemsBy: Ewald F. Fuchs,Mohammad A.SMasoumHard Cover: 692Publisher: Springer 2011ISBN: 978-1-4419-7978-0Hybrid ElectricVehicles:Principles andApplicationsBy: Chris Mi, M.Abul Masrur, DavidWenzhong GaoHard Cover: 468 PagesCost: Euro 68.20Publisher: John Willy &Sons Ltd 2011ISBN: 978-04707477352011Hydrogen and Fuel Cells:Emerging Technologiesand ApplicationsBy: Bent SorensenHard Cover: 512 PagesCost: $ 72.08Publisher: Elsevier Ltd. 2011ISBN: 978-0-12-387709-3develop cost efficient technologiesfor converting hydrogen toelectricity (e.g. fuel cells), andcreating the infrastructureto support all this. This textavailable provides up to datecoverage of all these issues at alevel appropriate for the technicalreader. The book describes thevarious aspects of hydrogenfuels cells usage along with theobstacles, benefits of its use andthe social implications.Zero CarbonEnergyKyoto 2011By: Takeshi YaoHard Cover: 300 pagesCost: $ 163.17Publisher: Springer 2012ISBN: 978-4431540663RenewableEnergy Sources andClimate ChangeMitigationBy: Ottmar Edenhofer,Ramón Pichs-Madruga, Youba Sokona, KristinSeyboth, Susanne Kadner, PatrickMatschossHard Cover: 1088 pagesCost: $ 183.78Publisher: Cambridge UniversityPress 2012ISBN: 978-110702340650April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

Forthcoming EventsNational3June 201226 - 27July 2012International Conference on Power System Operation and EnergyManagment, Place: Hotel President, Guwahati, Organiser: IIMT. Bhubaneswar,Contact: Prof. Pradeep Kumar Mallick, +91 8895885152or icpsoem, @gmail.com, Website: www.interscience.ac.inREaction 2012 Place: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaOrganiser: Energy Alternatives IndiaContact: Karthik +91 9944667345 or reaction2012@eai.inWebsite: www.eai.in/reaction2012/National30 – 31July 2012PV Project Development India Summit 2012, Place: New Delhi,Organiser: Solar PV Insider, Contact: +44 (0) 207 422 4307 or laura@pvinsider.comWebsite: www.pv-insider.com/development-indiaInternational2-3July 201221- 27July 2012EWEA Technology Workshop: Analysis of Operating Wind Farms,Place: Lyon, France , Organiser: EWEA - European Wind Energy Association,Contact: Tim Robinson, +32 2213 1844, techworkshop@ewea.org,Website: www.ewea.org/techworkshopsEnergy Transition: Expansion and Integration of Renewable Energy Sources,Place: Greifswald and Berlin, Germany Organiser: IKEM - Institute forClimate protection, Energy and Mobility, Contact: Anika Nicolaas Ponder,+ 49 (0) 30 4081870-10, Website: www.summeracademy2012.comInternational13 – 17May 201224- 26July 201225 – 27July 2012:World Renewable Energy Forum, Place: Denver, Colorado,Organiser: Americal Solar Energy Society,Contact: 303 443 3130 or smasia@ases.org,Website: www.ases.orgInternational Conference on Smart Grid Systems (ICSGS 2012), Place: KualaLumpur, Malaysia Organiser: International Association of Computer Science& Information Technology (IACSIT) , Contact: Ms. Susan Zhang, icsgs@vip.163.com, Website: www.icsgs.org/cfp.htmClean Energy Week, Place: Sydney, NSW, Australia Organiser: Clean EnergyCouncil, Contact: Madeleine Brennan, +61 3 9929 4100,Brennan@cleanenergycouncil.org.in, info@cleanenergycouncil.org.auWebsite: www.cleanenergyweek.com.auApril 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 551

RE StatisticsRenewable Energy ata GlanceCumulative deployment of various renewable energyprojects/systems/devices in IndiaRenewable energy programme/ systemsI. Power from renewables In MWA. Grid interactive powerWind power 17352.66Small hydro power 3395.31Biomass power 1150.10Bagasse cogeneration 1985.23Waste to power (urban and industrial) 89.68Solar power (SPV) 941.28Sub total (A) 24914.26Cumulative achievements(as on 31 March 2012)B. Off grid/captive powerWaste to energy 101.75Biomass (non-bagasse) cogeneration 382.50Biomass gasifier (rural and industrial) 150.21Aero-generators/hybrid systems 1.64SPV systems (>1 kW) 85.21Watermills/micro hydel 1877Sub total (B) 721.31Total (A+B) 25635.57II. Remote Village Electrification (villages/hamlets) 9160III. Other renewable energy systemsFamily type biogas plants (in lakh) 45.09Solar water heating systems-collector area (million sq m) 5.46kW= kilowatt; MW = megawatt; Sq m = square metre52April 2012Volume 5 ● Issue 5

RNI No. DELENG/2007/22701