NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC Ltd, launched the “Green Charcoal Hackathon” on December 1, 2020, with a view to reducing carbon emissions and nurturing technology solutions in India.
Speaking on the occasion, Union power minister R.K. Singh said, “This (Hackathon) is also innovation in the pursuit of reducing our carbon footprint. From that point of view, all competitors in the Hackathon should keep in mind that the process of converting this (agro residue) to charcoal should not lead to emissions. Another key thing is the commercial model, which will depend on the cost of both the machine and charcoal production. I am sure we will come out with a machine which economical. I am happy to see the orientation of NTPC towards reducing carbon footprint.”
Typically, a coal-fired power plant of 1,000 mw capacity consumes about 5 million tonnes of coal annually.
Implemented in partnership with EESL, the event’s purpose is to leverage the innovative Indian mind to bridge the technology gap, with the prime objective to clean the air by eliminating farm fire, producing renewable energy out of the agro residue, to promote local entrepreneurship, and to increase the income of the farmers.
The carbon equation
According to Gurdeep Singh, CMD NTPC Ltd, said “Power plants are the biggest consumers of coal. Typically a 1000-mw plant consumes about 5 million tonnes of coal annually. India’s total coal-based power generation capacity is about 2,00,000 mw , which theoretically can consume approximately 1,000 million tonnes of coal annually. Even 10 per cent of that, if replaced with green charcoal will amount to 100 million tonnes of this fuel which will require approximately 160 million tonne of agro residue and municipal waste (considering 60 per cent yield), sufficient to wipe out the entire unused agro residue in the country thus eliminating the farm fires and produce approximately 20,000 mw of renewable power and generating a revenue worth Rs.50,000 crore per year”.
Green charcoal
The increasing air pollution due to the burning of stubble and agro residue by local farmers has become a major concern for the country. As a result, NVVN is looking for technologies to convert the agricultural waste to a form that can be used in the power plants in form of the Green Charcoal Hackathon. One such option is torrefaction which converts the agro residue to green charcoal.
The technology to produce torrefied fuel using agro residue biomass is not easily accessible to small entrepreneurs due to the higher cost of imported machines, lack of sufficient manufacturers. The technology to produce torrefied fuel using agro residue biomass once developed in India will be made accessible to small entrepreneurs.
The awards
The “hackathon” will have prizes in three categories:
- Category – I: Technology for production of 100 kg per day of torrefied biomass pellets
- Category – II: Technology for production of 1000 kg per day of torrefied biomass pellets
- Category – III: Technology for production of 10 tonnes per day of torrefied biomass pellets
Featured photograph (source: https://www.energy-innovation-austria.at/) showing a torrefaction facility is for illustration only.
