‘and the tough act ot funding green energy . By Kaavye ChandrasekaranCLEANING AGENT WILL CREATNET'S UNUSUAL METHOD OF DETOXING INDUSTRIAL FUELS BE TOO CUTE FOR SCEPTICAL FACTORY BOSSES? By Sanghamitra Mandal widespread media furore, the government stopped issuing adulteration data altogether. Flash forward a decade, and Manjunath's story is now the subject of a major Bol- lywood motion picture. India, ms meanwhile, has slipped to be- che come the worst polluter in the | world, after the US. and China. OS Public-sector fuel compa- nies claim that adulteration Late in 2005, Shanmu- is waning, but powering the ghan Manjunath, an engineer _ nation’s boilers with clean fuel with Indian Oil Corporation, continues to be a gargantuan was found murdered in Uttar task. Itisalso set to come into Pradesh. Prosecutors nailed a sharp focus, thanks to the gov- local businessman, whose pet- ernment’s manufacturing push, rol pump had been sealed by ‘Natural gas isthe cleanest Manjunath for adulteration. fossil fuel, but it’s also expen- ‘That same year, K-L.N. sive and not widely available. Sastri, then executive diree- ‘So, most manufacturers use tor of the Oil Coordination heavy fuel oil (HFO), a mix of Committee (the country’s top the residual oil left after crude oil policy body), estimated refining and diesel or gas oil. that adulterated fuels costthe But this has two side effects. country roughly Rs 40,000 First, HFO is loaded with crore a year—Rs 10,000 crore impurities. At least 2% to 5% of in industrial fuels alone—to the oil turns into sludge during, say nothing ofthe health costs _ storage and cannot be burnt. from emissions. But following When the sludge is thrown 96 | FORTUNEINDIA away, it contaminates soil and groundwater. Sec- ond, HFO boilers belch a lot of greenhouse gases and solid pollutants. ‘Thisis the grimy area that the Delhi-based startup Creatnet Technology has decided to take on, Its talisman: a water-in-oil emulsifica- tion technique that cuts down on air pollutants, prolongs boiler life, and reduces fuel consump- tion by at least 5%, Emubsfication is still arather inscrutable concept—a Google search yieldsa buneh of dense academe papers and a handful of commercial players—but more on that later. At first glance, Creatnet seems to have set itself up to fail. It was founded in 2013 by college buddies Darshan Bhat and Sameer Shah, both 48 and hailing from Delhi, after trip to Russia, where they first saw emulsification in aetion. They were impressed enough to take the plunge, even though they had nary a clue about oils. Bhat isa veteran entrepreneur, immersed in garment design and export (his business involves underprivileged crafispeople), training pro- grammes for entrepreneurs, and NGO work pro- viding continuing education for Delhi teachers Shah, on the other hand, has spent more than 20 years in industrial tools and timber. Thus, the first task was to find a technology partner, and the duo tied up with Russia's St. Petersburg State Institute of Technology. The main fuel processor ‘was built there and shipped to India, but trials ‘went awry and the output was far below par Bhat and Shah were desperate to hire a local hand who understood the technology. They ze~ roed in on Ravi Deka. A self-taught techie, Deka had spent eight years working in areas such as clean industrial fuels and emulsification, out of Goa, He effected an almost immediate turn- around: He designed Creatnets own equipment, and by March next year, the company was ready with its first batch of emulsifiers. Today, it can process 400 tonnes of HFO per shift. Globally, the shipping sector is the largest adopter of emulsification, followed by thermal power stations and refineries. In India, demand has been more diverse. Creatnet’s big wins include lead producer Gravita India, aluminium manufacturer Metenere, and pharma company Akums Drugs. Itis running two trial plants for consumer goods major ITC and is courting other bigwigs. But itis tough to scale this business. In FY15, Creatnet' first full financial year, revenues stooda modest Rs clients turn up their noses at the idea of mixing oil and water. "It's actually very disap- pointing” says Deka. On the upside, the found- y they have no real competition. They claim that while India has a few additive suppliers, emulsifying-machine vendors, and technology-solu- tion licensors (my queries to a few of them got no response) none of them rival Creatnets end-to-end solutions: stable emulsions tailored for industry- specific needs, as well as tech- nical consultaney to users. To a casual aequaintance, Deka, 43, would seem a typical northeasterner (he grew up in Guwahati): plump, placid, Photograph by REUBEN SINGH and gregarious, But the veneer cracks the first time I visit Creatnet’s plant, a nondescript building off Rohtak Road in West Delhi. I find the approach road dug up, like an earth- quake site, and call Deka to as if there's another way. “There but the main entrance should do if youve ever trained for an obstacle race,’ he suggests with startling seriousness. ‘That sums up Deka’s pro- pensity to surprise, He has sold luxury cars in an earlier avatar, buthis passion is tearing down, rebuilding, and solo-riding old He says he did his first Bullet twin-spark plug eonver- sion way back in 1998, almost 10 years before Royal Enfield managed to, landing him on alist of innovators selected + Large-scale use of erulsited fuel ols by the National Innovation Foundation. Even before that, during his college days, he restored 1952 BSA 650 twin rotting in the backyard of Guwahati’ road transport office. He cannibal- ised parts from tractors and diesel pump sets, while his bedroom served as the garage. “That's one way of building things—bit by bit” Deka says, “but I was this Johnny-come-lately when joined Creatnet and had to get things moving” ‘An unabashed foodie (his lunch consists of lassi and samosa), Deka explains emulsification by invoking a common kitchen peeve. "What happens when water splashes on hot oil in a frying pan? The water makes the oil explode” he says. “That's precisely why emulsified oil, with billions of water droplets, burns so well” Fuel emulsification has existed since the 1990s. But the technology gained prominence in June 2015the 1980s, thanks to the efforts of inventors like Erie Cottell, ‘The basic chemistry is simple: Standard HFO is injected with tiny water droplets (2 microns to 10 microns), while additives prevent oil and water from separating. When normal HFO is burntiin a boiler or a furnace, ‘the oil droplets are usually 100 microns to 200 microns ‘in size. Because of this, some portion of the fuel doesn’t bur completely and turns into carbon deposits or escapes as particulates. But with emulsi- fication, the high temperature immediately turns these water droplets into steam, increas- ing the volume 1,700 times ‘and causing a series of micro- explosions. These rupture the oil droplets into highly inflam- mable nano-sized mist, leading to optimum combustion, zero ‘wastage, and cleaner emis- sions (see graphic). Emulsified fuel also uses 20% less oxygen and generates nearly 20% less waste heat. Interestingly, these fuels can be used with middle and heavy distillates, which account for 60% to 70% of India’s crude import. So, large-scale use could help shed the country’s import dependency. The pot of gold for Cre- atnet lies in reconverting companies that had switched to diesel or gas when fuel oils tumed costlier. On average, Indian refineries produce about 14 million tonnes of fuel oils a year and export around 10 mil- lion tonnes, jacking up domes- tie prices. But free-falling crude 98 | FORTUNEINDIA has led to a significant price correction. Two of Creatnet's ‘main target segments—manu- facturing and power—consti- tutea market worth Rs 4,555, crore, at today’s pricing of Rs 26 to Rs 32 perlltre of ‘emulsified fuel. That’ a lotlow- cr than industrial diesel, which costs atleast Rs 43 a litre, ‘There's more. The conver- sion cost from diesel to fuel oil is negligible, about Rs 2.5 lakh boiler. Also, most burners are engineered to bum multiple fuels, making the switchback simple. Creatnet has already helped convert two businesses ‘from diesel. In the next three years, it aims to reconvert 5% of the serviceable fuel oil mar- ket, generating gross annual revenue of about Rs 10 crore. The company plans to break even by the third quarter ‘of this fiscal. Its also looking to raise about Rs 10 erore to finance expansion, including three new plants and a line of branded fuel oil. ‘We must also engage with some key play in the West, maybe Wartsil (Finnish) or MAN (German)? says Deka, “But we have to be in the forefront at home frst” ‘That will eal for aggressive ‘marketing. Bhat and Shah have hired Eeshwar Brij Chopraa— another unusual recruit, and a veteran of Citibank, Indiabulls Group, and Bata India—to lead that. A highlight of Chopraa’s ‘career was his role in launch- ing the Power range of sports equipment and sportswear during the 1987 cricket World Cup in India. He managed to sign up all the Indian stars, except Sunil Gavaskar, and says achieving similar persuasive- ness in an altogether alien i dustry “is bound to be exciting” WATER POWER WHAT MAKES EMULSIFIED HFO A MAGIC FUEL NORMAL PROCESS > | Unourtolpets Ths eagsto HFO's | producecarbon | NOx. SOx. injoctedtor | Gepost, 00%, and CO, and CO, combustion. | paricuaiemetter emssons. EMULSIFICATION | Reduction in Water Steamexplodes | NOxby 30%, croplets aro | oldropiets, | SOxby 10%: 20% injectedin” | leadngto. Coby 10-15%, HFO. | campletebumout, | and CO, by 20% But analysts say it could be a case of green killing the green for Creatnet. A Delhi-based petroleum engineer who does not wish to be named says cheap and easily available green fucls like biomass have the potential to replace HFO. However, Deka argues that when a plant bums biomass products like rice husk, the particulate- ‘matter emissions are as bad as with coal. ‘The biggest challenge for Creatnet remains the scepticism of disparaging factory bosses. “People are negative about alternative fuels,” says Deka. “They say, If the concept is so good, why wasn't it done before? If you're so intelligent, you should be doing roaring business by now.” ‘That doesn't mean the DYT fan is planning a retreat to Goa. He quotes Robert Pirsig, the pro- phetic author of Zen and the Art of Motoreycle Maintenance, to prove that building Creatnet is as personal for him as decking up his beloved bikes: “In a car. you're a passive observer and itis all moving by you boringly in a frame. On a cycle the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore!"