Articles

Agro-residue-based renewable energy technologies for rural development

M. Shyam Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Nabi Bagh, Berasia Road, Bhopal-462 038, India Phone: 91 0755 733383; fax: 91 0755 734016; e-mail: mshyam@ciae.mp.nic.in

Energy consumption in the rural sector of India, particularly in the form of petroleum-based fuels, has increased manifold during the last 40 years or so. Fast depleting stocks of fossil fuels and steep increases in their prices may lead to an energy crisis in the not-too-distant future. Such a crisis will have a serious effect on all economic and domestic activity, particularly in the vast rural areas. Large quantities of crop residues resulting from crop cultivation activity are a promising source of energy supply for production, processing and domestic activities in rural India. The available crop residues are either being used inefficiently or burnt in the open to clear the fields for subsequent crop cultivation. A crop residue-based decentralized energy/electricity supply system will also help establish agro-based productive activities in rural areas and hence create large-scale employment for rural youth. Important biomass-based energy technologies developed under the All-India Co-ordinated Research Project on Renewable Sources of Energy for Agriculture and Agrobased Industries and having potential for wider adaptation are briefly described in this paper. 1. Introduction The use of electricity and fossil fuels, particularly petroleum-based, has increased manifold in India during the last 40 years or so. More than 85 % of Indias villages have so far been connected to the state electricity supply grids. But the power supply always remains inadequate, erratic and unreliable due to increasing pressure from urban centres. As a result, development of economically productive activities in rural areas has been far slower than in urban areas. Fast depleting stocks of crude oil and steep increases in their prices may lead to an energy crisis in the not-too-distant future. This will have a serious effect on all productive and domestic activity, particularly in the vast rural areas of the country. Agro-residues are a promising source of energy for most production, processing and domestic activities in rural India. A crop residuebased decentralized energy supply system will also help establish new agro-based economic activities in rural areas, thus creating large-scale employment for rural youth. Being CO2-neutral, such units will not add to environmental pollution. On an average 1.5 tonnes (t) of crop residue are produced for 1 t of the main product. In addition, substantial quantities of secondary residues are produced in agro-industries processing farm produce such as paddy, sugarcane, coconut, fruits and vegetables. Anaerobic fermentation of soft crop residues such as paddy straw, wheat straw, fruits and vegetable residues is a relatively benign mode of energy conversion. It gives biogas (a clean fuel for thermal as well as mechanical/electrical power applications) and nutrient-rich organic manure for use in crop production. Thermo-chemical gasification of crop residues for thermal applications and power generaEnergy for Sustainable Development

tion has been successfully demonstrated in laboratory and pilot plant installations. Technology for conversion of crop residues to liquid fuels through microbial and/or biochemical processes has also been developed. It may soon become economically viable with advances in the technology and escalation in the price of crude oil. A large number of biomass-based energy technologies and devices have been developed under the All-India Co-ordinated Research Project on Renewable Sources of Energy for Agriculture and Agro-based Industries. A few selected technologies and devices, which have potential for wider adaptation, are briefly described in this paper. 2. Energy scenario Rural people were traditionally not dependent on commercial sources of energy. Most of their needs for crop production, animal-raising and domestic activities were met by renewable sources of energy such as fuel-wood and the products, by-products and residues of crop production and animal-raising systems. The energy consumption scenario in the rural sector has changed very significantly over a period of about the last fifty years (Table 1). Present-day agriculture depends heavily on commercial sources of energy such as electricity and highspeed diesel, and mechanical devices. 2.1. Domestic activities Domestic activities account for nearly 75 % of the total energy consumption in the rural sector. Among the domestic activities, cooking accounts for around 90 % of the energy consumed. Rural households mainly use biomass-based fuels, which include fuel-wood, twigs, cattle-dung cakes and crop residues. These are burnt in traditional mud stoves at very low thermal efficiency. It has
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Table 1. Change in the shares of various sources of energy used in agriculture Source Animal power Human labour Tractors and machinery Electricity and petroleum 1950-51 56.3 % 36.2 % 5.4 % 2.1 % 1995-96 12.0 % 8.0 % 30.0 % 50.0 %

Table 2. Energy consumption in rural households: 1978-79 and 1992-93 Fuel type 1978-79 1992-93 % share (useful energy) 4.44 4.44

Quantity % share Quantity (useful energy) Coal/soft coke (Mt) Kerosene (million litres) Dung cake (Mt) Firewood (Mt) Logs Twigs Crop waste (Mt) Others Total
Source: TERI, 2000

1.143 414

1.92 2.55

0.429 1103

66.755

22.51

86.732

17.00

20.109 58.742 29.529 ---

11.95 35.62 17.41 1.03 100.00

57.956 73.418 34.955 ---

32.49 29.11 13.35 3.23 100.00

been reported that about 200 millon tonnes (Mt) of fuelwood, 100 Mt of dung cakes and 100 Mt of non-fodder crop residues are consumed as fuel every year in rural areas. Kerosene has traditionally been used for illumination. With more than 86 % of the villages having been connected to supply by the state electricity boards and the network of rural roads gradually expanding, the consumption of commercial sources of energy such as electricity, kerosene and LPG has increased considerably. The rate of increase has been much higher in rural areas. However, firewood and other biomass-based fuels are still consumed in very large quantities. Detailed studies carried out by the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) showed that the shares of coal, dung-cakes, twigs and crop wastes have gone down and those of kerosene and fuel-wood have increased in rural areas during the period 1978-79 to 1992-93 (Table 2). 2.2. Availability and utilisation pattern of crop residues It has been estimated that around 544.5 Mt of agro-residues was generated during 1996-97 through the production and processing of important crops such as rice, wheat, 38
Energy for Sustainable Development

bajra, jowar, maize, millet, sugarcane, coconut, groundnut, cotton, mustardseed and rapeseed, pulses, tobacco and jute [Mohan and Meshram, 1998]. Annual production of crop residues may increase by 250 Mt or more in the next 20 years, depending upon how much we are able to increase the production of food and other crops. With the increase in harvested volume, the quantity of the secondary residues produced during primary processing of the crops such as sugarcane, rice, groundnut and coconut is also increasing. The secondary crop residues are produced in bulk at selected locations and are readily available for conversion to more usable forms of energy. Soft residues of cereal crops, millet, etc., are commonly fed to cattle. Woody residues of crops such as cotton and pigeon-pea are used as fuel in rural households. Factors such as decline in the number of draught cattle and increase in green fodder production have reduced the use of crop residues as cattle-feed, especially in irrigated areas such as the state of Punjab. Consumption of woody residues in rural areas close to towns is also reducing because of easy access to modern fuels such as LPG and kerosene. A study conducted in Punjab revealed that 2.50 Mt of paddy straw is burnt every year to clear the fields for wheat cultivation [Jain et al., 1997]. Mohan and Meshram [1998] estimated that 7.825 Mt of crop residues was produced during 199697 in 18 different talukas (a taluka, also known as a tehsil, is a small administrative unit within a state) spread throughout India. About 3.14 Mt of crop residue having a power potential of 307 MW was found surplus. The total use of commercial energy (petroleum products and electricity) in agriculture was 8.34 Mt oil equivalent (1 Mt of oil equivalent = 44.8 GJ) during 1996-97 [TERI, 2000]. At an annual growth rate of 4 % the figure will increase to 14 Mt of crop residues by 2010. At a conservative estimate about 120 Mt of crop residue is likely to be surplus to conventional uses by that year. The chemical composition of crop residues including secondary residues is not very different from that of lignocellulosic material such as wood (acacia). The content of biodegradable materials (cellulose and pentosan) is relatively high in crop residues and the ash content varies over a wide range in comparison with wood. The elemental hydrogen and carbon content of low-ash crop residues and their heat of combustion are comparable to those of wood. Unlike wood, crop residues are generally dry at the time of harvesting. Therefore, densification of crop residues to produce briquettes of the required size and density to suit combustion devices may easily lead to the replacement of wood, which is widely being used as fuel for cooking and thermal applications in a large number of industries. 3. Biomass-based technologies The Indian Council of Agricultural Research launched the All-India Co-ordinated Research Project on Renewable Sources of Energy for Agriculture and Agro-based Industries during 1983. The project is in operation at 15 cooperating centres, mostly located in state agricultural universities throughout the country. A number of biomass and solar energy-based technologies/devices have been
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developed and successfully demonstrated under the project, primarily for the benefit of rural people and agro-industries. Salient features of important technologies developed under the project for bio-conversion and thermo-chemical conversion of biomass are briefly mentioned below. 3.1. Bio-conversion technology The development of technologies and systems for anaerobic fermentation of fibrous agro-residues (with or without cattle-dung) and cattle-dung at high solid concentrations has been the significant achievement in this area. 3.1.1. Horizontal flow biogas plant for fibrous agro-residues A horizontal flow-type biogas plant for anaerobic digestion of a mixture of cattle-dung and fibrous agro-residues has been successfully developed at the Agricultural University (AU), Udaipur, centre. The plant consists of an underground brick masonry digester having inlet and outlet ports along the length on opposite sides. A hand-operated agitator for mixing the substrate and breaking the scum has been provided within the digester. The digester is covered with a mild steel gas-holder which floats in a water seal provided around the digester. The performance of 1 m3 capacity plants has been evaluated with willow dust and 1:1 mixture of cattle-dung with water hyacinth/maize cob heart/mixed forest waste and vegetable market waste. The gas yield varied between 170-245 l/kg dry matter (dm) for 50 days retention period at Udaipur. The plant has been successfully evaluated for about 2 years with 1:1 mixture of cattle-dung and water hyacinth/vegetable market waste, and the average gas yield of about 155 l/kg dm has been reported without any operational problems. The vegetable market waste and water hyacinth were crushed to approximately pieces of 50-80 mm size before feeding. On the basis of the success of the 1 m3 capacity biogas plant, a 9 m3 plant has been constructed and commissioned at the Zonal Training School, Western Railway, Udaipur, for anaerobic digestion of 80-100 kg/day of kitchen waste. The plant has been working satsifactorily since January 2001 [Shyam, 2002]. 3.1.2. Banana stem-based biogas plant The Sardar Patel Renewable Energy Research Institute (SPRERI), Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, centre developed a Khadi and Village Industries Commission-type biogas plant for anaerobic fermentation of water hyacinth, banana stem and other fibrous agro-residues. The gas-holder moves in a water jacket built around the digester. Two diagonal rods are provided in the gas holder to check scum formation. Feed inlet is provided on top of the gasholder. Fresh banana stem/water hyacinth is chopped into 30-40 mm long pieces using a chaff-cutter. Weighed quantity of the chopped substrate is put into the inlet pipe and pushed into the digester using a plunger. The gas-holder is rotated in a semi-circular motion about 25 times in the morning and evening every day. Gas yield has been reported to be 25-30 l/kg fresh mass for banana stem and 45-50 l/kg fresh mass for water hyacinth. The methane content of the gas is 65-70 %. The payback period for the biogas plant has been computed to be 4-6 years. This
Energy for Sustainable Development

plant is under multi-locational trials at University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Dharwad, and Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat, centres. 3.1.3. Solid-state digestion of agro-residues A 2-m3 capacity biogas plant of Janta design has been successfully modified by Haryana Agricultural University (HAU), Hissar, centre for anaerobic digestion of cattledung in solid state (total solids content 16-18 %). The main modifications include replacement of the inlet feed tank with a 30-cm diameter reinforced cement concrete pipe, enlargement of the outlet slurry chamber to accommodate the full volume of the displaced slurry, widening the outlet channel and providing an additional layer of 1:2 sand-cement mortar plaster on the inside of the gas dome. The modified plant has been working satisfactorily for more than two years with 100 days retention period compared to 50 days for the conventional Janta plant. The average gas yield in l/kg dm has been reported to be approximately 163 for the conventional Janta plant and 250 for the modified plant with cattle-dung in the solid state. The total solids degradation has been reported to be 25 % in the conventional plant and 37 % in the modified plant. The cost of the two plants is almost the same. Encouraged by this success, multi-locational trials of this plant have been taken up at Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya (HPKVV), Palampur, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUAT), Pantnagar, SPRERI, Vallabh Vidyanagar, UAS, Dharwad, AAU, Jorhat, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, Sri Parasakthi College for Women (SPCW), Courtallam, and AU, Udaipur, centres and operational research demonstrations are being taken up by HAU, Hissar, centre at 3 different locations. A batch-type multiple solid-state digester for anaerobic fermentation of a mixture of cattle-dung and fibrous agroresidues has been successfully developed and demonstrated by Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (CIAE), Bhopal, and AU, Udaipur, centres. The system consists of a battery of 3-5 digesters that are manually charged and emptied at regular intervals. The digesters are made of either steel (and kept above the ground) or brick masonry (built underground). The performance of these digesters with a mixture of cattle-dung and water hyacinth/ parthenium/ subabul leaves/ paddy straw/ dry mango leaves has been reported to be satisfactory. For the brick masonry underground digester at Bhopal, the average gas yield of approximately 100-177 l/kg dm was obtained by increasing retention period to ten weeks as compared to 102-186 l/kg dm for 7 weeks for the conventional biogas plant at Bhopal. However, the average yield on unit digester volume basis for a 7-week retention period varied between 202-499 l/day/m3 for this plant as compared to 204-372 l/day/m3 reported for the Janta biogas plant. The digested slurry available from these plants is loaded into a trolley and taken to fields for use as compost. The average gas yield for the steel digester with 3:1 mixture (retention period of 60 days) of cattle dung and glyricidia at UAS, Dharwad, centre varied from
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Table 3. Summary of wood-based gasifiers working in industries for thermal applications Capacity 838 MJ/h 335 MJ/h 335 MJ/h 289 MH/h 335 MJ/h Application CaCl2 drying Al(OH)3 drying Electrolyte heating Polyester wool drying Wood seasoning Industry M/s. Microfill Pochia, Vasad M/s. Jehovah Lab, Boedli M/s. Ashok Metals, Ahmedabad M/s. Hi Tech, Jalandhar M/s. PM Industries, Borsad Savings: old vs. new Fuelwood saving 25 % 150 kWh Rs. 520 144 kWh Rs. 500 Rs. 128/h Fuelwood saving 30 % 100 kg wood 60 kg wood Rs. 67/h

201 l/kg dm in winter to 320 l/kg dm during summer months [CIAE, 2000]. 3.1.4. Biphasic digestion of agro-residues A pilot plant for biphasic anaerobic digestion of 20 kg/day fibrous agro-residues has been successfully developed at SPRERI, Vallabh Vidyanagar, centre. The plant consists of an acidic reactor, a methane reactor and a diaphragm pump for supplying acid-rich liquor from the acid reactor to the methane reactor. The system has been evaluated with a number of fibrous agro-residues such as weeds, lawn-mowing residues, plantation leaves and vegetable market waste with an overall hydraulic retention period of 8 days, compared to 45 days for the conventional biogas plants. Therefore, the digester volume is far lower than that of the conventional digester. The treated effluent from the methane reactor is used in the acid reactor, thus reducing the water requirement significantly in comparison with the conventional digester. The sludge produced in the acid reactor contains 60-75 % moisture. The handling and composting of the sludge is, therefore, far easier. Technology for composting of the sludge discharged from the acid reactor has also been developed [Shyam, 2002]. The centre has designed and demonstrated a 100 l/kg capacity biphasic system with vegetable market waste. The system is producing approximately 2500 l/day gas having methane content of around 75 % compared to 50 % for the conventional system. The Anand Municipal Corporation has agreed to installation of a biphasic plant to handle the waste generated from the wholesale vegetable market at Anand. The detailed design and drawing of the plant (having 2 t/day handling capacity) and cost estimates etc., have been prepared. The installation and commissioning of the plant is in progress. 3.1.5. Biogas plant spent slurry Extensive field trials were conducted at various cooperating centres of this project for the use of biogas plant spent slurry (BSS) for production of cereal, oilseed and vegetable crops and floriculture. Details of these trials are given in a research digest (1983-97) entitled Use of Biogas Plants Spent Slurry in Agriculture [Shyam and Sreenivasa, 1998]. Important findings of the field trials are summarized below. 1. In general, BSS replaced 50-75 % of the recom40
Energy for Sustainable Development

mended dose of inorganic nitrogenous fertilizer (N-fertilizer) without significantly affecting the grain yield of wheat, paddy, maize and sorghum crops. Application of BSS along with the recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers increased the yield of wheat, paddy and maize significantly. 2. About 50 % of the N-fertilizer requirement of black gram, groundnut and soybean crops was substituted with BSS without significantly affecting grain yield. In the case of soybean and mustard up to 100 % substitution was possible. 3. BSS replaced 25-50 % of the N-fertilizer requirement of ladies fingers (okra), tomato, chilli, potato and brinjal (aubergine) crops without significantly affecting fruit yield. 4. Application of BSS along with inorganic fertilizers for crop production resulted in better soil health by maintaining higher microbial population than use of inorganic fertilizers alone. 3.2. Thermo-chemical conversion technology The development of technologies and equipment for utilization of biomass, particularly crop residues, has been the focus in this area. 3.2.1. Wood-based gasifiers A natural flow gasifier system for thermal applications has been successfully developed by SPRERI, Vallabh Vidyanagar, centre and installed for commercial operation in 4 different industries. The capacity, application details, name of the industry and savings in energy cost over the old system are summarized in Table 3. This system does not require electricity for operation. It is, therefore, suitable for application in rural industries. Capital investment for a gasifier of 838 MJ/h capacity is approximately Rs. (rupees) 150,000 (1 US$ = 48 Rs. approximately) and the annual saving from a furnace oil-based system has been worked out to be approximately Rs. 300,000. A 289 MJ/h wood-based downdraft gasifier of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) design has been installed and commissioned in an industry at Jalandhar for drying polyester wool. The gasifier has so far operated for a period of about 1200 h since November 1999. The gasifier unit was opened up for inspection and preventive maintenance a few months ago. The hearth of the gasifier and
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reduction zone were found badly damaged. Consequently, the throat section of the gasifier was re-fabricated using cast stainless steel and the reduction zone was rebuilt using high temperature-resistant refractory cement. The unit was reassembled and has been put back into regular use. The payback period for this gasifier for one- and twoshift operations has been computed as 10 and 5 months, respectively. An updraft wood-based gasifier of 100 MJ/h capacity developed by CIAE, Bhopal, centre has recently been installed at Khajuri village (in Huzur tehsil, Bhopal district) for thermal applications in a mentha distillation plant. On the basis of preliminary trials, modifications needed have been made in the system. Regular trials will be resumed shortly. 3.2.2. Rice husk-based gasifiers Rice husk-based batch-type downdraft gasifiers with open top, having 10 kW capacity, have been developed at PAU, Ludhiana, and SPRERI, Vallabh Vidyanagar, centres. The reactor has been provided with a water seal at the bottom. Two reactors connected in parallel were used to get continuous operation. The system supplied engine-quality gas. The gas cooling and cleaning train consists of three major components, viz., a water scrubber, a wet filter and a dry fabric filter. The materials used in the filter are maize-cobs and charcoal. The gasification efficiency was reported to be in the range of 82 to 89 %. The overall system efficiency with alternator was found to be 23.4 % at 80 % of rated power. The calorific value of the gas generated varied from 3.6 to 4.1 MJ/m3. The cost of operation was almost equal to that of a diesel generator set. It may now be lower for the biomass-based system. SPRERI, Vallabh Vidyanagar, centre designed and developed updraft rice husk-based gasifier systems (capacity 838 and 1257 MJ/h) having a continuous ash removal unit and an air swirling-type producer gas burner. One system each of this type was installed in a rice mill and a poha (beaten rice) mill for thermal applications. Both the systems were commissioned and demonstrated in the mills. However, these systems could not be put to regular use, mainly because of their batch mode of operation. A rice husk-feeding system consisting of a motorized rotary vane feeder and an inclined screw conveyor unit has been designed, fabricated and retrofitted with the SPRERI updraft gasifier for uninterrupted operation. The rice husk-feeding capacity of the vane feeder is 450 kg/h. The gasifier has a stationary grate, a rotary scraper unit operated by a DC motor-based drive and an air swirling-type producer gas burner as the major components. Rice husk-feeding and ash removal operations have been automated. For controlling the operation of the rice husk-feeding, a time-based controller has been used while for controlling the ash removal operation another controller, which is operated on the basis of the temperature in the combustion zone of the gasifier, has been used. A few test runs, each of at least five hours duration, have been conducted. The system performance has been found consistently good without any leakage of the producer gas. The flame temperature was found to be in the range of 850-1000C.
Energy for Sustainable Development

The rice husk conversion efficiency of the gasifier has been worked out to be around 73 %. Exhaustive testing of the complete gasifier system is under way. 3.2.3. Bagasse-based gasifier An open core gasifier having an inner shell of 700 mm inside diameter, 1860 mm height and fitted with a forced air distribution system using a blower and a burner was fabricated by TNAU, Coimbatore, centre for gasification of bagasse. A surge hopper was fitted over the top lid of the reactor for subsequent feeding of raw material. The reactor could hold 30 kg of loose bagasse which was consumed in 10 to 15 min of operation of the gasifier, giving a biomass consumption rate of 120-180 kg/h. The average gas composition was CO 17.5 %, CO2 15.5 %, H2 16.8 %, O2 3.6 %, HC 5800 ppm. A flame of nearly 3 m height at 700C was obtained. In order to get gas continuously, the bagasse was converted into briquettes of 55 mm diameter in a ram-type briquetting plant through a local cottage industry. The reactor was loaded with 350 kg of briquettes and the combustible gas was produced nearly 10 minutes after ignition. The feedstock lasted for 3 h, giving the average consumption rate of 110 kg/h. Gas with a composition of CO 17 %, CO2 22 %, H2 20 %, O2 1 to 2 %, HC 6500 ppm was produced with the briquettes and burnt with a flame of average 2.15 m height and 800C temperature. An average efficiency of 67-80 % was obtained for the hot gas produced. Further refinement in design of the gasifier and briquetting of bagasse is in progress. 3.2.4. Biomass gas stove TNAU, Coimbatore, centre has developed a biomass gas stove which works on the principle of updraft gasification. The gas stove consists of a cylindrical body (630 mm height, 290 mm diameter) with its top open and bottom closed. The bottom has been provided with an air opening having a shutter for ash removal and control of air flow. The cooking vessel is put on top of the stove. The biomass gas stove has been evaluated at users sites for arecanut boiling and preparation of animal feed, tea and snacks, sweets in roadside shops and noon meals in government schools. Arecanut husk, coconut rachis (the spine of the frond) and casuarina logs have been used as fuel. With coconut rachis, the stove worked for a period of 60-95 min using 4-8 kg of fuel. Thermal efficiency of 20-30 % has been reported. On the basis of feedback, the design has been improved and taken up for large-scale operational research trials. 3.3. Charring and briquetting of biomass Low-investment technology for charring of agro-residues such as soybean straw, sunflower straw, cotton stalk and arhar (pigeon-pea) stalk has been developed at CIAE, Bhopal. It involves charring the biomass in cylindrical metallic charring kilns and briquetting the char using either cattle-dung or mud as binding material. The charring kiln is a simple drum made of MS sheet having 1.1 m length and 0.8 m diameter and an opening on its curved surface for biomass-loading, air flow control and char removal. The kiln has been extensively evaluated with soybean crop residue and pigeon-pea stalk. Around 100 kg
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of biomass is charged into the kiln in one batch and approximately 30-40 kg of char is produced in 1.5 h. Longduration evaluation of the kiln over an extended period of more than a year revealed that on an average 80 kg of char can be produced with one kiln in two batches in an 8-h working shift. This means that around 500 kg of char can be produced with 3 kilns working in two shifts. Simple hand- or power-operated briquetting machines are available for producing the briquettes using cattle-dung or clay as binding material. The cost of briquettes has been estimated as Rs. 1.25/kg. A high-performance sigri or stove (thermal efficiency around 25 %) has also been developed for combustion of the char briquettes for domestic cooking. 4. Thrust areas for further work 1. Development of efficient management system and equipment for harvesting, collection, densification, handling, transport and storage of the surplus crop residues 2. Development of solid-state/liquid-state anaerobic fermentation technologies/systems for low lignin crop residues/agro-waste

3. Development and demonstration of medium capacity (50-100 kW) crop residue-based gasification systems for use in thermal/power supply mode in rural areas for production, processing and domestic appliances 4. Development of systems and devices for efficient use of crop residues for thermal applications in rural houses/communities 5. Development of technology for production of liquid fuels from crop residues
References Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering (CIAE), 2000. Biennial Report 1998 & 1999, AICRP on Renewable Sources of Energy for Agriculture and Agro-industries, Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal. Jain, A.K., Sharma, S.K., and Singh, D., 1997. Availability and characteristics of paddy husk as renewable sources of energy, J. Agril. Engg., 34(1), pp. 10-14. Mohan, S., and Meshram, J.R., 1998. Biomass based power generation -- prospects in India, Energy Management, January-March. Shyam, M., 2002. Promising renewable energy technologies, Technical Bulletin, AICRP on Renewable Sources of Energy for Agriculture and Agro-industries, Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal. Shyam, M., and Sreenivasa, M.N., 1998. Use of Biogas Plant Spent Slurry in Agriculture, Research Digest 1983-97, AICRP on Renewable Sources of Energy, Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal. Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI), 2000. TERI Energy Data Directory & Yearbook 19992000, Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi.

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