IIT-M to develop technology to tackle stubble burning

Stubble burning has been a major issue in north Indian states of Punjab and Haryana for long and is cited as one of the reasons for spike in pollution in New Delhi and other cities during winter.

Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) has now stepped into tackle the issue by developing technology in thermal power generation using paddy straw as fuel.

National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) at IIT-M and Sukhbir Agro Energy Ltd (SAEL), which operates two biomass-based power plants, have entered into a collaboration for conducting research and developmental activities on using paddy straw as fuel.

Stubble burning not just causes soil erosion but kills beneficial soil organisms besides emitting harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and methane along with particulate matter. More than 35 million tons of paddy straw which cannot be fed to cattle are being burnt every year in Punjab and Haryana alone resulting in pollution in New Delhi and other parts of north India.

Usha Nagarajan, Chief Operating Officer of NCCRD, told DH that the paddy straw has useful heating value of around 3200 to 3500 K Cal/kg, which is closer to the coal used for power generation in thermal power plants.

“These paddy straws are burnt over two months every year, but we have found that they can be used in generating 4,000 MW of power each year. SAEL has a robust supply chain for paddy straws and we are helping them with required technology to optimise the parameter of the boiler and characterise fuel,” she said.

Usha Nagarajan said the IIT-M is looking at technological solutions to make sure that paddy straws become economically beneficial for the farmers and reduces pollution. “If the paddy straws are sold to such companies, they can use them to generate electricity. Stubble burning has several ill-effects, but paddy straws can be made economically beneficial to farmers as well,” she said.

As SAEL is in the process of commissioning two 100 per cent paddy straw-based power plants in Punjab, the company whose plants are based on the technology provided by Danish companies to the Indian OEMs approached the NCCRD.

The study would propose solution to the fouling problem faced in the operating plant, detailed research on establishing optimal operation of the power plant with 100% paddy straw through systematic analysis and exploring possibilities of using paddy straw to produce useful fuels and/or chemicals.

To carry out the study, the IIT-M will build facilities inside its campus and the results would be put to test for further development in a boiler environment with a facility created at one of the power plants of SAEL.

“Starting from systematic fuel characterization, mathematical models to simulate and understand the salient aspects of paddy straw combustion will be developed, and the operating parameters of the boilers will be optimized. This will enable emission reduction and long-running of boilers fuelled by paddy straw,” Prof V Raghavan of Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, IIT-M, said.