GreenFlip

By: Dr. Zakaria Siddiqui, Research Associate, J-PAL South Asia [With Joel Ruet, 2009, in J. Lesourne and W.C.Ramsay (eds) "Energy in India's future:Insights" IFRI, Paris]

Beyond India’s vast field of macroeconomics with their already sizeable concerns, lies a sea of variegated microeconomic issues: public/private coordination issues, locales, urban and rural specificities linked to poverty alleviation, regional variations, and particular dynamism of some firms which have already gone global and are inventing new business models. This paper shows that energy is no exception; contrary this subject has economic as well as political implications par excellence, and concerns macro as well macro levels. It exemplifies the complexities, progress and contradictions of the country, and its continuing national and social construction.

 Given India’s increasing growth rates and catching-up processes, and given its demographic dynamics, India is now shaping its own models (business, urban forms, adoption/development of technology) for the next decades.

 ———-

 In Hinduism, the goddess Shakti is associated with creative energy as well as motion. This idea is in line with the recompositions and inventiveness one sees in India. This image, thought belongs to the Hindu Pantheon, has been in fact rather “secularized” and its use here should be seen in this sense. Less of a religious symbol in contemporary India, Shakti has largely become a symbol of the state: Shakti Bhawan—literally the house of energy—is the official lnme by which every Indian knows the Ministry of Power and its Bureau of Energy Efficiency in Hindi, the second official language of India with English.

Read the Full Paper HERE.

Guest Post by: Pankaj Lal, University of Florida

Bioenergy production has increased significantly in the last decade, and recent legislative efforts in U.S. such as the discussion draft for the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 are expected to encourage even more growth. In the quest for energy sources to meet higher energy demand, the policy push for renewable energy, including woody biomass, is gaining momentum. Several other factors are also catapulting woody biomass use for energy. These include growing concerns about energy security and dependence on foreign oil, uncertainty associated with costs for fossil fuels such as petroleum, the possibility to improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk, and the potential to provide socio-economic benefits in the form of additional income from forestlands and new jobs.

Historically, woody biomass used for energy was comprised of waste from the production of lumber, pulp and paper, and other wood products. However, if bioenergy markets become competitive, use of woody biomass from logging residues, stands damaged by natural disturbances such as wildfire, pest outbreaks, storms, small diameter trees from thinning, plantations and other forests, and energy crops such as eucalyptus and poplar is quite possible. Biofuels from woody biomass, commonly called cellulosic or second generation fuels are shown to have advantages over starch-based fuels (corn ethanol for example) by avoiding the food versus fuel debate, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and yielding greater energy input-output ratio. However, several complex issues are influencing the development of these markets in economically efficient and environmentally benign ways. Some of the key issues that stand out are: biomass availability or supply; technology and market competitiveness; monetizing environmental benefits; soil, water and biodiversity impacts and  the uncertainty regarding interplay of carbon markets and  forest bioenergy.

Large variance in biomass supply estimates makes informed policy making difficult.  The available wood biomass supply information is, perhaps, essential to policymakers who establish renewable energy goals and formulate subsidies, credits, trade tariffs, and other interventions to realize those goals. On the bioenergy technology front, there is no emergent favorite technology.  Several technologies exist for converting wood biomass to liquid fuels, biopower, and bioproducts. While all technologies are proven to be possible, most of them are not yet economically competitive. Even for supposedly low hanging fruit in the country such as cofiring, there are significant challenges such as ash deposition, corrosion, and feedstock selection. Pubic research dollars are exploring all these technologies further in hopes of commercial success.

Another challenge seems to be the method of green accounting or integrated accounting, wherein social and environmental benefits accruing from woody bioenergy can be incorporated for unit cost analysis. This suggestion is consistent with findings that the public is willing to pay a premium for bioenergy to realize environmental benefits. This accounting approach can help in monetizing the benefits gained through GHG reduction. However, convincing general populace about non-market benefits and accounting still requires concerted efforts.

It is also imperative required that what woody biomass based energy should be sustainable. Bioenergy sustainability concerns regarding soil and water quality, biodiversity etc. range stand true for the whole supply chain — feedstock production, harvesting, transport, conversion, distribution, consumption, waste disposal– as well as those regarding job creation and societal benefit distribution. Several organizations at state (Forestry Departments for example), national (Environmental Protection Agency), and international (Global Bio-Energy Partnership and Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels) are trying to develop guidelines and/or standards to ensure the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of bioenergy markets.

 Another factor that influences the bioenergy-GHG emission relationship is the impact of payment for carbon offsets as an incentive for GHG reduction. Carbon offsets are project-based initiatives involving specific activities to reduce, avoid or sequester GHG emissions and are tradable in carbon markets. With a carbon market proposed in future as per provisions of Waxman Markey Bill, it is hypothesized that forest owners can gain carbon credits through ‘additional’ carbon sequestered on their lands. However its viability as project offsets, whereby, needs to be assessed relative to other carbon offset options such as tillage change in agriculture, improving efficiency of power plants, clean coal technologies, timely and important.

It is fair to say that wood based energy markets, if steered appropriately, offer a promise to ensure energy security, promote environmental quality, and realize social benefits. However, several complex issues are influencing the development of these markets. Solutions to these issues would result in winners and losers. Therefore, not surprisingly, stakeholders are increasingly participating and debating these issues.  However, it is imperative that each side should respect the positions and arguments of the other and strive to move forward collectively.  A sustained dialogue through meaningful partnerships amongst biomass suppliers, biomass users, and representatives of civil society is critical to realize woody bioenergy market potentials. 

India has huge natural bamboo stocks that have been an integral part of Indian culture for many millennia. Bamboo in many ways is the mainstay of the rural Indian economy, sparking considerable social and ecological spin-offs. In the early part of the century, large tracts of bamboo occurred in many parts of the country but were treated by forestry sector (which was then cast in a production forestry mode) as a weed of little economic value and were used mostly by the rural communities for crafts, making implements and as housing material. It was the discovery of bamboo as a source of long-fibre by the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun that started the process of using bamboo in a variety of industrial applications, so far unexplored, with several paper mills and rayon mills being set up. But in the absence of a clear policy of husbanding of the resource there was rapid degradation and decimation of the resource in much of the country. Bamboo resources plummeted so alarmingly that at present the resource is limited to few pockets in the country. Two-thirds of the bamboo in the country is restricted to the North-Eastern Region (NER) while the remaining one-third is spread across the country.

But there is hope for the resurgence of bamboo, and this is based on evidence of significant new and contemporary economic opportunities that have emerged over the past decade. A bamboo revolution that holds the potential of reversing economic downturns and ensuring profitability, is very much possible.  Bamboo is an untapped avenue of economic growth and a burgeoning bamboo sector can rope in prosperity, profits, and sustainable livelihoods.

 Despite the severe degradation of the resource in the past, India still has a considerable growing stock of bamboo, and comparative annual harvest figures[1] still place India at the top of the global league. It is important to realize the considerable latent potential that bamboo has to contribute to economic growth, poverty alleviation, generating employment, rehabilitating vast tracts of degraded land generated due to past agricultural and industrial practices and policies, and revitalizing the social, economic and ecological well-being of rural economies.

 In line with this, goals should be aimed to focus on recovering the resource lost to the rural poor, as it has been a natural capital that has helped them to keep their economies afloat even in times of significant cash crunches. Attempts should be made to replenish bamboo stocks, make it economically beneficial to rural communities in a way that it provides them opportunities to earn a sustainable income and improve their standard of living. Efforts should also be made to increase the economic opportunity from the use of bamboo as an industrial raw material, to raise employment opportunities (especially for the educated and unemployed rural youth), and to rehabilitate the degraded lands across the country (making available and productive a natural resource which is increasingly becoming scarce and expensive).

  DEMAND DRIVEN SCENARIOS

 As per the statistics available from the FAO, approximately 678,000 cubic meters of round wood logs were imported into India in 1997. The import quantity has gone up since then. According to the latest estimates available, the volume of logs imported was about 1.4 million cubic meters in 1998-1999. It is estimated that this figure would be around 2.0 million cubic meters for 1999-2000.

 The sawn wood and panels import, which was about 57,000 cubic meters, also would have gone up considerably, though no reliable figures are available. Although timber is normally obtained from government forests, community lands and private lands, the national timber production statistics report only timber extracted from government forests. These statistics indicate an increase in demand for wood even as there has been a decrease in the production of timber from government forests. The recorded production of timber accounts for less than half of the industrial wood demand in India.

 Each of the value-added industries that have been identified in the table above would pursue a growth rate based on the demand for the products. The demand, in turn, would be based on the increased acceptability of the products in the international and domestic markets. The demand will be a function of:

• 1. Increase in the cost of substitute materials such as wood, steel and other building materials
• 2. Recognition of the high durability of bamboo-based materials
• 3. Community appreciation of bamboo as a sustainable livelihood crop and their increased acceptance of the same

4. Mass usage of bamboo in government projects like housing and roads

5. Acceptance of bamboo as a material for flooring and furniture making as well as a food item among the higher income groups

From the year 2010 to 2015, the growth in the bamboo industry should be starting to acquire a definite contour. While the focus in the foundation years was on the industries that were already using bamboo as a raw material – the paper industry and handicrafts – and setting up the infrastructure and investment in new industries, the emphasis in this stage will be on the shift from lower value-added applications to higher value-added ones – bamboo board, flooring and bamboo shoot for example. This stage will mark the transformation of bamboo from a mere forest produce to a commercial commodity.

Bamboo charcoal and active carbon are new products developed in recent years. Bamboo being of special microstructure possesses extreme absorbing and other special capacities after carbonization. Their uses in the areas of new technology are of importance. 

 Variety of Bamboo Charcoal: There are many kinds of bamboo charcoal. In line with their origin, bamboo charcoal can be divided into two parts: raw bamboo charcoal and charcoal stick of chips. Raw bamboo charcoal is made of small sized bamboo, old bamboo, and bamboo tops, roots, which are not fit for making other bamboo products. Charcoal stick of chips is made of residue from bamboo processing industries. In the process of making different kinds of industrialized products, there will be residue, which should be broken in chips, dried, and pressed into sticks before carbonization.

 Charcoals are of different shapes: cylinders, pieces, chips and powder. In line with the temperature of carbonization charcoals can be divided into three groups: charcoal of low, medium and high temperature. Physical and mechanical properties of charcoal differ due to different temperature of carbonization. Charcoal for regulating humidity is made at temperature of 600 degrees Celsius, that for absorbing is at 700 – 800 degrees Celsius, and for higher electric conductivity is higher than 1000 degrees Celsius. According to their uses charcoal is defined as fuel, water purifier, for cooking, for improving soil, for regulating room humidity, for preservation of vegetables, fruits and flowers, for deodorizing, for conducting electricity etc.

Process of making bamboo charcoal

Bamboo is an organic matter with high polymer content, composed of cells of different shapes and properties. The process of making bamboo charcoal is the process of heating and resolution, which can be divided into four stages according to the change in temperature, show in the adjoining table.

Methods of Charcoal making: There are two different methods of charcoal making: dry distillation (pyrogenic decomposition), and direct kiln burning.

 The main equipment for pyrogenic decomposition is a cauldron for distillation. Bamboo material should be pre-dried to decrease the water content to +/- 20% before loading into the cauldron for pyrogenic decomposition. The mixed steam gas is to be processed in jar-separator and in condenser for retrieving bamboo vinegar liquid and bamboo tar. In this process, the oxidation of bamboo material is lower, and the rate of production is higher.

In the process of direct kiln burning, the heat resulting from fuel burning curls up to the top of the kiln and spreads in the kiln. Most of the heat moves about in the upper part of the kiln, the rest of it radiates on all sides, step by step goes down to dry and pre-carbonize the bamboo material. In the process of carbonization, a small part of bamboo material is being oxidized and burnt, raising the temperature in the kiln and removing volatile matter. The smoke and steam moves in circles, and regulating the temperature in the kiln. Thus the canonization and refining process is complete producing bamboo charcoal fine and close in texture. In this process the bamboo material undergoes stages of pre-drying, drying, pre-carbonizing, carbonizing, refining and natural cooling. The temperature differs in different stages. The temperature of refining stage influences the density and electric conductivity of charcoal greatly. The rate of production through this method is low and the quality of charcoal is not stable.

Utility

1. Bamboo Charcoal: Bamboo charcoal is used as water purifier (drinking water, sewage and industrial water treatment), air purifier, medical applications, deodorizing agent, soil improvement, etc

Bamboo Active Carbon: Bamboo active carbon can be used for water and gas treatment, refining coarse sugar, refining wines and edible oils, pharmaceuticals and cosmetic applications, filters in atomic reactors, improving soil through nitrogen fixation, as electrodes in microelectronic technology, etc.

Charcoal is next only to firewood in terms of meeting the energy needs of rural communities. The decreasing availability of wood and the greater need for its sustainable use necessitate the use of alternative sources of energy. Bamboo charcoal is one such source. It has a high calorific value and can be produced using simple equipment that can be made locally. Honeycomb briquettes extruded using powdered bamboo charcoal (calorific value of 26-29 MJ/kg) and the producer gas generated during char production (average calorific value 4,520 kJ/nm3) is both good sources of energy. In one hour, a thermal gassifier can produce 100 kg of charcoal from 400 kg or bamboo. Therefore, in 24 hours, 2.5 tons of charcoal can be produced from about 10 tons of bamboo. This translates into an annual production of 625 tons of charcoal using 2,500 tons of bamboo, assuming 250 days of operation. A supply chain set up to service this scale of production would financially benefit a large number of producers, while reducing deforestation and increasing energy security.

The main raw material for the production of bamboo ply/mat board is bamboo, which is the fastest growing plant and occurs naturally in the forests and is also suitable for plantation even over degraded lands. For manufacturing boards, bamboo is to be converted into mats. The sheets have been found to be resistant to water, fire, decay, termites, insects, etc.[1]

The manufacturing process consists of the following:

1. Procurement of bamboo slivers in mat form from the farmers. Mats are woven from bamboo slivers.  Mostly women in rural or tribal areas do the weaving manually, as part time vocation to supplement family income.  From split bamboo epidermal layer is removed and slivers of thickness ranging from 0.6mm to 1.8 mm are made and dried in air to moisture content of around 15%.  Three types of mats are required for the ply board (normally a couple of cms longer and wider than the size of the finished ply board)

2. The mats are dried to a moisture level not exceeding 15%

3. Bamboo mats are dipped in modified phenol formaldehyde resin mixed with a preservative to increase resistance to termite and decay.  Resin coated mats are dried to a moisture content of around 10% in steam heated drying tunnels.

4. Dried resin coated mats are assembled in 10 to 15 plies and hot pressed to produce bamboo mat ply board of desired thickness. The mats are assembled in a manner that cross layers are on top and bottom while the longitudinal and transverse mats alternate till the desired thickness.

5. This combination is now pasted on either side with resin coated impregnated paper or wood veneer as desired.

6.  The composite is now pressed in hot press for half an hour to the required thickness.

7.  The ply board is now ready to be trimmed from the edges to the required dimension using rotary cutters.

8. After trimming the edges the ply board is inspected for dimensions, thickness, surface finish and sent for packing.

Market Size: Factory-produced, these bamboo boards represent a significant new market for rural bamboo producers. Wafer board and OSB are widely used in the US and Canada, with 95% houses being made of these. Bamboo is an ideal raw material for the production of wafer board and OSB due to its strength and dimensional stability. The price of wafer board/OSB made of bamboo is approximately US$8/ft3, which is equivalent to US$0.40/ft2 approx. of 15 mm thick boards – approximately half the cost of treated wood boards of same dimensions. Technology has been developed to produce roofing sheets from wafer board that also insulate thermally, which makes it a very competitive product as against those from bamboo mat board, which has failed to impact the market owing to high prices.