RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR PRESERVATION OF FRESH FOOD

Anand Upadhyay, Associate Fellow

The Energy and Resources Institute

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1. The Nexus

2. The problems

3. RE as a soln.

4. TERI projects

Background

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The Good • India is the 2nd largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the

world.

• Horticulture provides 6.5% of the countries GDP, 13% of employment and accounts for more than 9% of Indian exports with only 9% crop acreage.

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The Bad

Harvested fruits and vegetables, worth

USD 12 billion are lost due to lack of post harvest handling and storage

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and The Ugly…

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• Short fall of 10 million tones storage capacity

• Energy costs account for about 30% of operating costs.

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Energy and Food production balance

• Solar-energy-powered traditional agriculture can produce 1100 kg of food grain/hectare

• This balance has been violated by two groups

– Affluent group: used fossil fuel to increase yield

– Other group: Needs beyond 1100 kg/hectare !!!

• Key to balance

– Stopping population growth

– Renewable powered agriculture

Source: Balancing energy and food production, 1975—2000; Gross, Chancellor; Science (1976)

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Energy for Food

• ‘Focused’ data hardly available

• India – 14%; USA – 7% (Agriculture energy consumption in resp. country)

9 Source: http://www.postcarbon.org/articles/where-energy-goes.png

Water for Food • Irrigation water ≥ 70% of freshwater (higher in

some countries e.g. India, Vietnam)

• Upto 80% of water bills = energy costs

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1987 1994

2001 2007

BUT WHAT WENT WRONG ?!!

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Some of the issues

• Centralization of resource supply – losing the collective knowledge

• Incoherent policies

• Compartmentalized efficiencies

• Not paying the right price

AND…

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The big issue

Not a surprise !!!

It’s a RESOURCE CRUNCH We don’t have enough fossil resource

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Most of the Indian landscape is blessed with

perennial solar energy +

biomass in villages

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In 2006, TERI started working on a concept whereby indigenously available biomass and solar resources could be used to operate small, decentralized cold storage right at the village level

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Interactions…

Consultations with

• National Horticulture Board

• District Horticulture Offices

• Central Food Technological

Research Institute

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… Elaborate exercise to understand the field requirements.

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The System

• A 15 kW Vapor Absorption Machine (VAM) coupled with a 50 kWe Biomass Gasifier system and a field of solar collectors.

• Locally available biomass is used in the Biomass Gasifier to produce synthesis gas, which will then be used to run an engine to produce electricity.

• Additionally the heat energy from the sun and gasifier is being utilized by the VAM to produce cooling effect in the cold storage.

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The System

Cold Storage

Ammonia VAM

Biomass Gasifier Gas Engine

Solar Dishes

Electrical Power 19

The System

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Solar dishes

VAM

Gasifier system

Cold storage

To provide

• 50 kW clean grid quality power

• Cold storage facility for about 20 tonnes of fruits or vegetables.

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TRNSYS simulation results Initial cooling load profile after product

has been loaded in cold chamber

Cooling load over next 30 days after

product has been brought to storage

temperature

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TRNSYS

model

Project Site

Located in SEC campus, Gurgaon, near solar

parabolic trough collector field

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The Beginning… 23

Setting up of system

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Complete system

Technological USPs

• First of a kind in World

• Ammonia based VAM – GAX cycle – built for sub zero temperature State of the ART

• Biomass – TERI’s Advanced Gasification System

• Solar –Fixed focus concentrating dish

Renewable Energy

• Electricity generated from gasifier & gas engine Grid

Independent

• Integration of Biomass gasifier, Solar dishes and Ammonia VAM with Cold storage

System Integration

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Specifications

Cold Storage capacity : 20 MT

Cooling Capacity : 15 kW

Cold storage Temperature : 0 to 5°C

Gas Engine capacity : 50 kWe

Biomass consumption : 60 kg/hr

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Deliverables = Needs

Power Generation

Grid quality power for domestic,

community, and

productive loads

Cold Storage

Fruits

Vegetables

Dairy & Milk

Flowers*

Fish & Meat*

Size

Cooling Duty

(15 to 50 kW)

Capacity

(20 to 100 MT)

Energy Requirement

Self Sufficient

Derivative schemes

Energy side variations

Biomass

Solar

Technology

Absorption technology for

positive temperatures

Absorption technology for sub zero temperatures

Vapor compression technology for all

temperatures

Application

Horticultural

Non horticultural

Food processing

Deep Freezing

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Mix ‘n’ match

• Biomass coupled with absorption Technology Scheme A

• Solar & Biomass Hybrid Coupled with Absorption Technology Scheme B

• Biomass coupled with vapor compression Technology Scheme C

• Solar PV powered Scheme D

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First Field System :)

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50kWe advanced biomass gasifier power generation system

Cold Storage of 15 MT storage capacity

Advanced prepaid metering system and safety features

Operated by village community

Designed and commissioned by TERI

Salient features of the field system

Overview

• Project partners – TERI, CSIRO (Australia)

• Project funded by - AusAID

• Location - District Sitapur, State – Uttar Pradesh

• Villages covered - 2

Coverage

• Cold Storage – 15 MT

• 140 households (to start with)each with 100 W load

• Productive loads - Irrigation pumps, Flour mills,

Battery charging

• Community - Street lights, School, Local Office

Project highlights 140 households spread over two villages are being provided 100 W each

Technical specifications and safety features conforming to REC standards

Power monitoring at generation and load centres to prevent pilferage

Smart metering

o Differential prepaid electricity billing for all consumers

o Display of balance money for individual houses/load centres

o Over consumption isolates the household/load centre automatically, requiring manual

intervention to restart

LED streetlights with efficient features, dimming, and movement actuated

Productive loads to be covered – irrigation pumps, flour mills and battery charging.

Site Layout

Electricity distribution system, along with Cold store in inset (right)

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Thank You!!! anand.upadhyay@teri.res.in

Thank you for your patience !!!