WIND ENERGY Introduction : Wind energy is rightfully an indirect form of solar energy since wind is induced chiefly by the

uneven heating of the earths crust by the sun. Winds can classified as planetary and local. Planetary winds are caused by greater heating of the earths surface near the equator than near the northern or southern poles. Local winds are caused by two mechanisms first is the differential heating of the land and water. During the day land mass becomes hotter than water , air near to the surface of the land heats up and rises ,the cooler heavier air above the water moves in to replace it. This is the mechanism of shore breeze. T the night direction of the breeze reversed . The second mechanism of local wind is caused by the hills and mountains. The air above the slopes heats up during the day and cools down at night, more rapidly than the air above the low lands. This causes heated air during the day to rise along the slopes and relatively cool heavy air to flow down at night. It has been estimated that about 2 percent of all solar radiation falling on the face of the earth is converted to kinetic energy in the atmosphere and that 30 percent of this kinetic energy occurs in the lowest 1000m of elevation.. It is thus said that total kinetic energy of the wind in this lowest kilometer, if harnessed , can satisfy several times the energy demand of a country. It is also claimed that wind power is pollution free and that its source of energy is free. Solar energy is cyclic and predictable , and even dependable in some parts of the globe, wind energy . however, is erratic, unsteady, and often not reliable , except in very few areas. Properties of wind: 1) Wind power is pollution free. 2) Fuel provisions and transport are not required in wind power systems. 3) Wind energy is a renewable source of energy. 4) Wind energy when produced on small scale is cheaper, but competitive with conventional power generating systems when produced on large scale. 5) Wind energy is highly erratic in nature. 6) Wind energy is unsteady. 7) Due to its irregularity it needs storage devices. 8) Wind power generating systems produce ample noise. 9) Wind speeds increases with height. 10) Average wind speeds are greater in hilly and coastal areas than they are well inland. 11) Velocity of wind over the water remains almost constant. Availability of wind in energy in India Data quoted by some scientist that for India wind speed value lies between 5 Km/hr to 15-20 Km/hr. These low seasonal winds imply high cost of exploitation of wind energy. India has potential of over 20,000 MW for power generation and rank one of the promising courtiers for tapping this source Wind power projects aggregate capacity of 8MW including 7 wind farms projects of capacity 6.85 MW have been established in different parts of the country of which 3MW capacity has been completed in 1989 by DNES. Wind farms are operating successfully and have already fed 150 lakh units of electricity to the respective grids. Over 25 MW additional power capacity from wind is under implementation. Under demonstration program 271 wind pumps have been installed up to 1989. Sixty small wind battery chargers of capacity 300 watt to

4KW are under installation. Likewise to stand alone wind electric generators of 10 to 25 KW are under installation.

Wind velocity and power from the wind Wind posses energy by virtue of its motion. A device which is capable of absorbing this energy and converting in to useful work is known as the wind converter or wind turbine. The power output from the wind energy converter is dependent on the i) The wind speed ii) The cross section wind swept by the rotor iii) The overall conversion efficiency of the rotor., transmission system and generator or pump. Wind mill works on the principle of converting kinetic energy of the wind in to mechanical energy. The total power of a wind stream is equal to the rate of incoming kinetic energy of that stream KE or Ptot = m KEi = m Vi2 / 2gc (1) Where Ptot = Total power , W M = Mass flow rate Vi = Incoming wind velocity , m/s gc = Conversion factor = 1.0 kg / (N.s2) The mass flow rate is given by the continuity equation m = AVi Where = Density of incoming wind, A = Cross sectional area of stream , m2 Thus Ptot = AVi3 / 2gc (2) Thus the total power of a wind stream is directly proportional to its density, area, and the cube of its velocity. Generally the swept area is circular of diameter D in horizontal axis aero turbines, then A = D2 / 4 Using this in equation 2 Available total wind power Ptot = D2 Vi3 / 8gc (3) Thus doubling the diameter of the rotor will result in a fourfold increase in the available wind power. The combined effect of wind speed and rotor diameter variations ar shown in fig.

60m

er in M W otal pow T

40 m

20 m 0

5 W ind speed in m /s

1 0

1 5

Wind machines intended for generating substantial amounts of power should have large rotors and be located in areas of high wind speed. In wind turbines only fraction of the power available in the wind can be converted in to useful power. As the wind passes through the rotor, rotor absorbs fraction of the kinetic energy available with wind and its speed decreases to a minimum in the rotor wake. Subsequently wind regains its speed and energy at a sufficient distance from the rotor. While the speed is decreasing, air pressure in the wind stream changes in different manner It first increases as the wind approaches the rotor and then drops sharply by an amount p as it passes through and energy is transferred to the rotor. Finally pressure increases to ambient pressure.

eter otor diam R

T urbine w heel P a

re ressu P

P i P b

P e

V i

V a V t V b V e

elocity V

V t

D istance

Maximum power: Consider a horizontal axis , propeller type wind mill or turbine has thickness a-b , incoming wind pressure and velocity , far upstream of the turbine , are Pi and Vi and that exit wind pressure and velocity , far down stream of the turbine , are Pe and Ve, respectively. Ve is less than Vi because kinetic energy is extracted by the turbine. Assumptions : 1) Incoming air between I and a as a thermodynamic system. 2) Density remains constant . 3) Change in potential energy is zero. 4) No heat or work added or removed between i and a The general energy equation reduces to kinetic and flow energy terms only. Thus energy equation between i and a Piv + Vi2 / 2gc = Pav + Va2 / 2gc (1) Or Pi + Vi2 / 2gc = Pav + Va2 / 2gc (2)

Where v and are the specific volume and its reciprocal, the density, respectively both considered constant. Similarly for the exit region b-e Pb + Vb2 / 2gc = Pev + Vb2 / 2gc (3) As the pressure of wind is high at the entry and low at exit , the equations 2 and 3 can be written as Pa Pb = [Pi + (Vi2 - Va2 ) / 2gc] - [Pe + (Ve2 Vb2 ) / 2gc] (4) It is reasonable to assume that, far from the turbine at e, the wind pressure returns to ambient or Pe= Pi Velocity within the turbine , Vt , does not chandge because the blade width a-b is thin compared with the total distance considered, so that equation 4 reduces to Pa Pb = (Vi2 Ve2 ) / 2gc (5) The axial force Fx , in the direction of the wind stream , on a turbine wheel with projected area , perpendicular to the stream A is given by Fx = (Pa Pb)A = A (Vi2 Ve2 ) / 2gc (6) This force equal to the momentum of the wind ( From Newtons second law) Fx = (mV) / gc Where m is the mass flow rate is given by m = AVt (7) Thus Fx = AVt ( Vi-Ve) / gc (8) Equating equations 6 and 8 Vt = ( Vi +Ve) / 2gc (9) Assuming no changes in potential , internal energies and system between i and e as adiabatic , the general energy equation reduces to steady flow work W = Kei Ke = (Vi2 Ve2 ) / 2gc (10) The power P is the rate of work P = m (Vi2 Ve2 ) / 2gc = AVt (Vi2 Ve2 ) / 2gc (11) Using equation 10 P = A( Vi +Ve) (Vi2 Ve2 ) / 4gc (12) The optimum value of Ve can be calculated by differentiating equation 12 with respect to Ve for a given value of Vi and equating to zero. i.e., dp/dVe = 0 which gives 3Ve2 + 2ViVe Vi2 = 0 This is solved for a positive Ve to give Ve.opt ( The quadratic equation gives two solution i.e., Ve = Vi and Ve = 1/3 Vi , only second solution is physically acceptable ). Ve.opt = Vi /3 (13) Combining equation 12 gives Pmax = A( Vi +Vi /3 ) [Vi2 (1/3 Vi )2 ] / 4gc = [A (4Vi/ 3) x ( 8 Vi2 / 9 )] / 4gc = (A Vi3 8)/ 27gc Fraction of the wind power that can be extracted by the rotor is called the power coefficient thus max = Power to the wind rotor / power available in the wind = 16/27gc [ AVi3 / 2gc ] = 16/27 Ptot = 0.5926 (14)

Forces on the blades and thrust on turbines: Two different types of forces are acting on the blades they are circumferential forces in the direction of wheel rotation that provide the troque and the axial forces in the direction of the wind stream that provide an axial thrust that must be counteracted by proper mechanical design. Circumferential force or torque T is obtained from T = P/ = P / (DN) Where T Torque , N = Angular velocity of the turbine wheel m/s D = Diameter of the turbine wheel = (4/)1/2 A , m N = Wheel speed in rpm The real efficiency = P / Ptot = AVi3 / 2gc Or P = AVi3 / 2gc (1) For a turbine operating at power P, the torque T is given by T = AVi3 / (2gc DN ) = ( D2 /4)Vi3 / (2gc DN ) = DVi3 / (8gc N ) (2) At maximum efficiency (max = 16/27) , the torque has maximum value Tmax which is equal to Tmax = 2 DVi3 / (27gc N ) (3) The axial force or axial thrust given by Fx =A (Vi2 Ve2 ) / 2gc = D2 (Vi2 Ve2 ) / (8 gc) (4) The axial force on a turbine wheel operating at maximum efficiency where Ve = Vi/3 Fxmax = 4AVi2/ (9gc) = D2 Vi2/ (9gc) (5) From the above equation it is clear that axial forces are proportional to the square of the diameter of the turbine wheel, this limits turbine wheel diameter of large size. Problems associated with the wind power: 1) Location of the site The selected site must be gig enough with reasonable average high wind velocity. 2) Variation in the wind velocity : Wind velocity varies with the time and varies in direction and also varies from the bottom to top of a large rotor . This causes fatigue in blades. 3) Need of storage system: At zero wind velocity conditions, the power generated will be zero and this means some storage system will have to be incorporated along with the wind mill. 4) Strong supporting structures: Since the wind mill generator will have to be located at height, the supporting structure will have to be designed with stand high wind velocity and impacts . This will add to the initial costs of the wind mill. 5) Occupation of large areas of the land: Large areas of land will become unavailable due to wind mill gardens. The whole area will have to be protected to avoid accidents. 6) Nature of ground: Ground surface should be stable . Erosion problem should not be there, as it could possible later wash out the foundations of WECS, destroying the whole system. 7) Wind structure at the proposed site: For better performance of the wind turbine velocity (Vt) curve must flat,i.e., a smooth steady wind that blows all the time is necessary. But a typical site is always less than ideal Wind specially near the ground is turbulent and gusty, and changes rapidly in direction and in velocity.

8) Availability of the wind curve :It determines the maximum energy in the wind and hence the principal initially controlling factor in predicting the electrical output and hence revenue return from the WECS machine. If there are long periods of calm the WECS reliability will be lower than if the calm periods are short.. In making such reliability estimates it is desirable to have measured Vt curve over about 5 year period for the highest confidence level in the reliability estimates. 9) Availability of high average wind speed: Wind velocity is the critical parameter. The power in the wind Ptot, through cross sectional area for a uniform wind velocity V, is P = K Vi3 . It is evident ,because of the cubic dependence on wind velocity that small increases in Vi remarkably affects the power in the wind. 10) Other problems: Other problems like icing, salt spray or blowing dust should not present at the site , as they may affect aero turbine blades .

Type of the wind machine and their characteristics: All the win machines are classified as I) Based on the axis of rotor rotation 1) Horizontal axis wind machine : Axis of rotation is horizontal , aero turbine plane is vertical facing the wind 2) Vertical axis wind machines : The axis of rotation is vertical Ex Darrieus wind mill II) According to size : 1) Small scale (up to 2KW ) : These might be used on farms remote applications, and other places requiring relatively low power. 2) Medium size machines: ( 2-100 KW) These turbines are used for supplying electricity to several residence and local use. 3) Large scale(100 KW and above) They are used to generate power for distribution in central power grids III) According to out put power 1) DC output : Dc generator, alternator rectifier 2) AC out put : i) Variable frequency ii) Constant frequency IV) According to rotational speed: 1) Constant sped with variable pitch blades 2) Nearly constant speed with fixed pitch blades 3) Variable speed with fixed pitch blades. V) According to utilization 1) Battery storage. 2) Direct connection 3) Other forms of storage 4) Interconnection with conventional electric utility grids.

Horizontal axis machines: 1) Horizontal axis machine with two aerodynamic blades:

This machine schematically shown in the figure. In this type rotor drives a generator through a step up gear box. The components are mounted on a bed plate which is attached on a pintle at the top of the tower. When machine is in operation blades are subjected to aerodynamic , gravitational and inertial loads. If the blades are made up of metal , flexing reduces fatigue life which may cause serious damage to both blades and tower. If the vibrational frequency of the rotor coincides with the natural frequency of the tower , the system may shake itself in to pieces. On economical point of view more than two blades are not recommended. Rotors which are having more than two would have slightly higher power coefficients.

2) Horizontal axis propeller type with single blade:

In this arrangement a long blade is mounted on a rigid hub. Induction generator and gear box are also shown. Extremely long blades create various problems like gravity and sudden shifts in wind directions. To reduce rotor cost , use of low cost counter weight is used which balance long blade centrifugally. Advantages : 1) Simple blade controls, lower blade weight and cost, lower gear box cost. 2) Counter weight costs less than a second blade. 3) Counter weight can be inclined to reduce blade coning. 4) Pitch gearing do not carry centrifugal force. Disadvantages: 1) Vibration level is too high. 2) Unconventional appearance. 3) Large blade root bending moment. 4) Staring torque is reduced. 5) One per rev coriolis torque produced due to flapping.

3) Horizontal axis multi bladed type

Multi bladed horizontal axis wind turbine is shown in the fig . Blades are made from sheet metal or aluminum. The rotors have high strength to weight ratios and have been known to service hours of freewheeling operation in 60 Km/hr winds. They have good power coefficients, high starting torque and added advantage of simplicity and low cost. 4) Horizontal axis Dutch type:

Dutch type wind machine is shown in the figure. This is one of the oldest designs . The blade surfaces are made from an array of wooden slats which rotates at high speeds.

5) Sail type :

It is of recent origin. The blade surface is made from cloth, nylon or plastics arranged as mast and pole or sail wings. There is also variation in the number of sail used. Vertical axis Wind machines One of the main advantage of the vertical axis type wind machine is that they do not have to be turned in to the wind stream as the wind direction changes. Because their operation is independent of wind direction, vertical axis machines are called panemones. Most of the vertical axis machines are drag devices. Such devices have relatively high starting torque compared to lift devices , but have low, tip to wind speeds and lower power outputs per given rotor size, weight and cost. Vertical axis machines are difficult to control in strong winds The transmission and generator are on the ground rather than at the top of a tall tower. Advantages: 1) They will react to the wind in any direction and therefore they do not need yawing equipment to turn the rotor in to the wind. 2) They require less structural support.. 3) Rotors are not subjected to cyclic gravity loads. 4) Installation and maintenance is simple. Two different types of vertical axis rotors are common ,Savonius and Darrieus Savonius Rotor:

It consists of two half cylinders facing opposite directions such a way as to have almost an S shaped cross section. These two semi-circular drums are mounted on a vertical axis perpendicular to the wind direction with a gap at the axis between the two drums. Irrespective of the wind direction the rotor rotates such as to make the convex sides of the buckets head in to the wind. Form the rotor shaft we can take the power for use like water pumping , battery charging etc. The force of the wind is greater on the cupped face than the rounded face. The wind curving around the back side of the cupped face exerts a reduced pressure much as the wind does over the top of an air foil and this helps to drive the rotor. Characteristics of Savonius Rotor 1) Self starting 2) Low speed 3) Low efficiency Advantages: 1) It eliminates the expensive power transmission system from the rotor to axis. 2) It has its low cut in speed. 3) Cost of the vertical axis wind turbine is lower than that of standard wind turbines. 4) It has simple structure , hence easy to manufacture . 5) Overall weight of the turbine may be substantially less than that of conventional system. 6) Yaw and pitch controls are not needed to bring it into the wind or operate in high winds. Disadvantages: 1) This type of machine is too solid it leads to excessive weight. 2) It is useful for a very tall installation .

Darrieus Type machine :

It has two or three , thin curved blades with airfoil cross section and constant chord length. Both ends of the blades are attached to a vertical shaft. Thus the force on the blade due to rotation is pure tension This provide stiffness to help withstand the forces it experiences. The blades can thus be made lighter than in the propeller type. When rotating these airfoil blades provide a torque about the central shaft in response to a wind stream. This shaft torque being transmitted to a generator at the base of the central shaft for power generation. Darrieus type rotors are lift

devices, characterized by curved blades with airfoil cross section. They have low solidity, but high tip to wind speeds and , therefore relatively high power outputs per given rotor weight and cost. Characteristics: 1) No self starting 2) High speed 3) High efficiency 4) Potentially low capital cost. Advantages: 1) The rotor blades can accept wind from any direction. 2) It eliminates tower structure and can be operated close to the ground level. 3) It eliminates the yaw control requirement for its rotor to capture wind energy. 4) Pitch control is not required this reduces the cost. 5) The tip speed ratio and power coefficients are considerably better than those of the S rotor . Disadvantage: 1) It requires external mechanical aids for start up . 2) Wind energy conversion system is some what lower than that of conventional horizontal rotor. 3) The less energy out put. 4) Vibratory stresses level encountered are high. 5) Special high torque breaking system is needed Design principles of Horizontal axis wind turbines Some of the main design considerations of the horizontal axis wind turbines are outlined below. Rotor: A wind turbine rotor may have any number of blades which may be made from wood, metal or composites of several materials. From a performance point of view , taller the tower better because wind speeds increase with height. Horizontal axis rotors can be either lift or drag devices. Lift devices are generally preferred because they develop more power than the drag devices. Lift devices use slender blades with an aerofoil section that generate aerodynamic lift when placed in an air current. Small rotors can rote at higher speeds with blade tip speed 8-10 times that of wind speeds. Drag devices are less efficient wind energy converters and always turn more slowly than the wind. Drag devices are capable of generating higher torques. They are less suitable for power generation. For lift type devices solidity ratio is usually kept lower (0.1 to 0.01). Solidity ratio is the ratio of projected area of the rotor to swept area of the rotor. Lift type rotors often use tapered and/ or twisted blades to reduce the bending strains on the roots of the blades. Maximum efficiency can be achieved by maintaining high lift and drag ratio. The ratio of the speed of the rotor blade tips to the speed of the wind is called the tip speed ratio. . Maximum efficiency can be achieved when ever the tip-speed ratio is at optimum level. The tip speed ratio calculated numerically as TSR = Vtip / Vi Where Vtip = Speed of the rotor tip, Vi = Free wind speed.

Rotor with high TSR needs less material and can have relatively slender blades. Rotor with low TSR needs more number of blades. As the TSR value increases the number of blades required decreases. Numerically solidity can be expressed as S= NC / D (1) Where N is the number of blades C is the average breadth of a blade D is the diameter of the circle described by a blade. If the characteristics of both load and rotor torque speed are known, the system performance can be defined. Torque coefficient T = T / Tmax (2) Where T = Shaft torque , Tmax is the torque at the maximum efficiency For a propeller turbine of radius R Tmax = F max R (3) 2 And Fmax = Ai Vi / 2 (4) So Tmax = Ai Vi2 R/ 2 (5) For a working machine the torque T = T Tmax We know tip speed ration = Vt / Vi = R / Vi (6) Using equation 4 and 5 Tmax = Ai Vi2 Vi / 2 = Ptot / (7) Shaft power derived from turbine P so P = T (8) = T Tmax Now from equation P = Ptot thus using 2 , 3 and 8 becomes Ptot = T Tmax = T Ptot = T Note that in practice power coefficient and torque coefficients T will both be function of and are not constants . By the Betz criterion the maximum value of is 0.593, so in the ideal case max = 0.593/ (9) Machine with higher speeds have slightly higher maximum but much lower T , particularly for starting .The choice of the rotor is made mainly on the pumps load characteristics. Number of blades: Wind turbine have been built with up to six propeller type blades but two and three bladed propellers are most common . One bladed rotor with counterweight has advantages , including lower weight and cost and simpler controls, over multi blade type. Two bladed systems are receiving major attention.

Blade design: Wind turbine blades have an airfoil type cross section and a variable pitch. They are slightly twisted from the outer tip to the root . Better performance can be obtained with blades that are narrower at the tip than at the root.

As shown in the fig the force that propels the blades of conventional wind mill comes from the chord of the airfoil, being tilted away from the direction of motion. In large two bladed wind turbines , the blades are inclined at a small angle called the coming angles to the vertical This design decreases the bending load and helps in avoiding damage to supporting tower under severe wind conditions. The design of the blade must be capable withstanding several forces like , Vibrational, gravitational , forces arising from variation in wind speeds , turbulence , pressure etc. Consequently aerodynamic performance is sacrificed to sum extent in the design of a rotor with adequate strength. The limiting dimensions of the blade depend on the design and constructional materials , but the maximum practical diameter of a two rotor may perhaps be in the range of 90 to 110 m . For small rotors blades are made of laminated wood, covered with skin of aluminum . It possible to construct the blades up to 34 m in diameter using plastic reinforced with glass fibre. The very largest rotor blades have been made of steel to provide adequate strength. Yaw control: The area of the wind streams swept by the wind turbine is maximum,, when blades face in to the wind. This achieved by control arrangement , is which when the wind direction changes , motor rotates the turbine slowly about the vertical axis so as to face the blades in to the wind.

UNIT III BIO ENERGY Energy from bio mass Photosynthesis and oxygen production: Photosynthesis is the process in which radiant solar energy of sun is absorbed by the green pigment chlorophyll in the plant and is stored within the plant in the form of energy rich compounds like sugars and starches. So we can harvest and burn such plants to burn to produce steam in a similar manner as in thermal power stations ultimate to produce electric power. Such an energy plantation would be a renewable resource and an economical means of harnessing solar energy. How ever photosynthesis concept is less attractive as the average efficiency of solar energy conversion in plants is about 1% compared to 10% for photovoltaic cells. In photosynthesis reaction , water and CO2 molecules broken down and a carbohydrate is formed with the release of pure oxygen with the absorption of sunlight by the chlorophyll in plants. The process can be expressed as CO2 + H2O + Light + Chlorophyll Or 6CO2 + 12H2O (H2CO)6 + O2 + Chlorophyll C6 H12 O6+ 6H2O + 6O2

The chlorophyll activated by the absorption of sun light and passes its energy on to the water molecules. The hydrogen atom is then released and reacts with the carbon dioxide molecule to produce H2CO and oxygen. H2CO is the basic molecule in the formation of carbohydrate. The necessary conditions for photo synthesis are 1) Light : Only a part of the solar radiation (40 -45%) of 400 700 Ao wave length is used in photosynthesis. This range of light is called photo synthetically active radiation (PAR) . 2) CO2 concentration: Carbon dioxide is the primary raw material for photo synthesis. It is observed that if CO2 concentration is increased , increase in the yield of several crops , upto a certain limit. 3) Temperature: Photosynthesis is restricted to the temperature range which can be tolerated by the proteins i.e. 0oC to 60oC . The process of photosynthesis has two main steps: 1) Spliting of H2O molecule into H2 and O2 under the influence of chlorophyll and sunlight. This phase reaction is called light reaction. O2 escapes and H2 is transformed in to unknown compounds. 2) In the second phase , hydrogen is transformed from this unknown compound to CO2 to form starch or sugar. Formation of starch or sugar are dark reaction not requiring sunlight. Energy plantation: Energy plantation is the method of tapping maximum solar energy by growing plants. Photosynthesis occurring in naturally , stores more than ten times much energy annually , in plant farm than is consumed by all mankind. But very little of this energy is tapped. Fuel wood accounts for about 60% of all energy consumed in the country . Social forestry programme comprises the schemes a) Mixed plantation on waste lands, and b) Reforestration of degraded forests. Jojaba evergreen shrub around 1.7 m height grows wild in the semi-arid region of USA . Its seeds contain about 50 to 80% of oil and its plantation in USA . The tree species namely

Acacia, Tortila, Albizzia , Lebbak, Prasois, Juliflora and likewise have been identified adaptable to the hot arid regions in our country. The plant namely Erythrina and Leocaena which are known to be fast growing plants are proposed for the subtropical regions . Ethyl alcohol , the most promising compound, for mixing with gasoline, can be easily prepared from starch and carbohydrates available from plants on other sources of bio- mass. Sycamore is a promising tree that yield up to 16 ton / acre per year . All of it is used except the foliage, which contains nutrients and is returned to the soil. A harvesting sycamore produces a number of sprouts that are themselves ready for harvesting in 2 to 3 years. Up to 1990-91 over 14 lakh family size bio gas plants have been set up in the country by DNES only. Its annual production of 1100 million cubic meters of gas equivalent to 38.18 lakh fuel wood is saved . The benefits to society from the biogas plants already in excess of Rs 300 corers per year. Under programme on improved chulhas (NPIC) 42 lakh tones of wood saved . The value of this is equivalent to 168 corers per year. The DNES taken up projects worth 5 MW aggregate capacity split into mechanical and electrical application systems through gasifiers/ stirling engines working on biomass at various locations in the country. Under the biomass programme energy plantation projects have been taken up with a view to fulfill the needs of fuel , fodder , and power generation together with good potential for rural employment. Very encouraging results have been obtained in the production of fast growing species of biomass in the arid areas. Bio gas production from organic wastes by anaerobic fermentation Bio gas is the mixture containing 55-65 % of methane, 30 -40 % of carbon dioxide and the rest being the impurities. Bio gas can produced from anaerobic decomposition of plant and human waste. Its calorific value is between 20935 KJ/Kg to 23028 KJ/ kg or 38131 KJ / m3 . Bio gas is produced by digestion, pyrolysis or hydrogasification. Digestion is a biological process that occurs in the absence of oxygen and in the presence of anaerobic organisms at ambient pressures and temperatures of 35 70oC. The container in which this digestion takes place is known as the digester. Bio gas is generated through fermentation or bio digestion of various wastes by a variety of anaerobic and facultative organisms. Anerobic fermentation produces CO2, CH4, H2 and traces of other gases along with a decomposed mass. In bio gas plant the main is to generate methane and hence anaerobic digestion is used. Here comlex organic molecule is broken down to sugar , alcohols, pesticides and amino acids by acid producing bacteria. These products are then used to produce methane. By another category of bacteria. The anaerobic digestion or fermentation consists of three phases. 1) Enzymatic hydrolysis: Where fats, starches and proteins contained in cellulosic biomass are broken down into simple compounds. 2) Acid formation: Where the micro organisms of facultative and anaerobic group collectively called as acid farmers, hydrolyse and ferment used to break simple compounds in to acids and volatile solids. The initial acid phase of digestion may last about two weeks and during this period a large amount of carbon dioxide is given off. 3) Methane formation: Where organic acids formed above are then converted into methane and carbon dioxide by the anaerobic bacteria called methane fermentors. For the efficient fermentation these acid farmers and methane fermentors must remain in a state of dynamic equilibrium. The methane forming bacteria are sensitive to pH ,and conditions should be mildly acidic (pH 6.6 to 7.0)

The general equation for anaerobic digestion is CxHyOz + [ x y/4 z /2] H2O [ x/2 y/8 + z/4 ] CO2 + x/2 +y/8 z/4] CH4 Foe cellulose this becomes (C6H10O5)n + n H2O 3n Co2 + 3n CH4 Some organic material (lignin) and all inorganic inclusions do not digest. The reaction is exothermic. Gas yield is about 0.2 to 0.4 m3 per kg dry digestible input at STP . Advantages of anaerobic digestion: 1) The bio gas generated is having appreciable value of calorific value and can therefore , be used as an energy source to produce steam or hot water. 2) It produces smaller quantity of excess sludge. 3) The running cost are very less compared to aerobic conversion. 4) Since the system is enclosed the odours are contained. 5) A well adopted anaerobic sludge can be presented unfed for a considerable period of time without appreciable deterioration. 6) It reduces the number of pathogens produces , so reducing subsequent disposal problems. 7) The sludge produced has higher nitrogen content giving it increasing value as a fertilizer. 8) The nutrient requirement is low. Bio gas plants: Bio gas plats are mainly classified as 1) Continuous and batch type. 2) The dome and drum type. 3) Different variations in the drum type. Continuous and batch type Continuous plant: In continuous plant there is a single digester in which raw material are charged regularly and the process goes on without interruption except for their repair and cleaning etc. The continuous process may be completed in a single stage or separated in two stage. i) Single stage: process: The entire process of conversion complex organic compounds into biogas is completed in a single chamber. This chamber is regularly fed with raw material while the spent residue keeps moving out. The biogas is stored at the top portion of the chamber. The collected gas is regularly tapped for using in different applications.

ii) Double stage process: Acedogenic stage methanogenic stages are separated into two chambers. Thus the first stage of acid production is carried out in separate chamber and only the diluted acids are fed into the second chamber where bio- methanisation takes place and the biogas can be collected from the second chamber.

Batch plant The feeding is between intervals , the plant is emptied once the process of digestion is complete. In this type several digesters are charged along with lime, urea etc. and allowed to produce gas for 40-50 days. These are charged and emptied one by one in a synchronous manner which maintains a regular supply of the gas through the a common gas holder. Obviously such a plant would be expensive to install and unless operated on large scale it would not be economical. The main features of the batch plant are gas production is intermittent, several digesters are needed, it is best suitable for fibrous material, needs addition of fermented slurry, plant is expensive and has more problems compared to continuous type.

2) Dome and drum type In dome type of bio gas plants , digester and the gas holder both are combined . The fixed dome is best suited for batch process especially when daily feeding is adopted in small quantities. The fixed dome digester is usually built below ground level and is suitable for cooler regions. In drum type , digester and gas holder both are separated. Digester is of masonry construction and gas holder is of M.S plates. The fixed dome plant is called Chinese plant. There are different shapes in both the designs, cylindrical , rectangular spherical etc. The digester may be vertical or horizontal. They can be constructed above the ground or below the ground. 3) Different variations in the drum type: There are two main variations in the floating drum design. One with water seal and the other without water seal. Water sealing makes the plant completely anaerobic and corrosion of the gas holder drum is also reduced. The horizontal plats are suited for high ground water level or rocky areas. Floating drum biogas plant: (KVIC) It mainly consists of two parts 1) Digester or pit 2) The gas holder or the gas collector. Digester: Digester is also called fermentation plant, it is a sort of well of masonry work, dug and built below the ground level. The depth of this well varies from 3.5 m to 6 meters, and diameter from 1.35 m to 6m , depending on the gas generating capacity and the quantity of raw material fed for each day. The digester well is divided in to two semi cylindrical compartments by means of partition wall . The level of the partition wall is lower than the level of the digester rim .Two slanting cement pipes reach the bottom of the well on either side of the partition wall. One pipe serves as the inlet and the other as outlet. An inlet chamber near the digester at the surface level serves for mixing dung and water which is done mechanical or manually. The mixture of dung and water in the proportions of 4:5 by volume, called slurry, flows down the inlet pipe to the bottom of the primary compartment of the digester. The digester is designed to hold the 60 days raw material. The outlet chamber is again at surface level, just a few cms below the level of the inlet chamber. If both compartments of the digester are full and more slurry is added from the inlet, then equivalent amount of fermented slurry flows out of the outlet and discharged in to the composite pit.

Gas holder : It is a drum constructed of mild steel sheets, cylindrical in shape with a conical top and radial supports at the bottom. It sinks into the slurry due to its own weight and rests upon the ring constructed for this purpose . As the gas is generated the holder rises and floats freely on the surface of the slurry. As the pipe is provided at the top of the holder for flow of the gas for usage. To prevent the holder from tilting a central guide pipe is fitted to the frame and is fixed at the bottom in the masonry work . The holder is capable of holding pressure equivalent upto 9 cms of water column. The holder also acts as the seal for the gas . The construction of this plant is very simple and the gas comes out with constant pressure. The only maintenance required is the painting of the gas collector at regular intervals Advantages: 1) It has less scum trouble. 2) No separate pressure equalizing devices are required. 3) In it the danger of mixing oxygen with the gas to form an explosive mixture is minimized. 4) Higher gas production per cum of the digester volume is achieved.. 5) No problem of gas leakage. 6) Constant gas pressure. Disadvantage: 1) It has higher cost , as cost is dependent steel and cement. 2) It has poor insulation aginst heat and hence it troubles in colder regions and periods. 3) Gas holder requires painting once or twice in a year . 4) The overall maintenance cost of the plant is more compared to fixed dome type.

2) Fixed dome or Chinese digester: .

The Chinese digester or Janata model or fixed dome digester is a drum less type similar in construction to the KVIC model except that the steel drum is replaced by fixed dome roof of masonry construction. The dome roof in Chinese model requires specialized design and skilled masonry construction . A poorly constructed roof generally leads to leakage from top and junction of the roof with the digester wall, thereby causing drop in gas yield. Therefore, at least three layers of extra careful plasters are must to prevent any gas leakage. The cement plaster work is very laborious and also adds to the cost of construction. More ever quality and correct proportions of the raw materials during the construction have to be maintained properly to achieve biogas impermeability. In areas where soil swell and shrink considerably there are chances of developing cracks in the brick masonry construction. Advantages: 1) It has low cost compared to floating drum type. 2) It has no corrosion problem. 3) The plant is well insulated against the heat and hence constant temperature can be maintained. 4) Almost all bio mass can be fed. 5) No maintenance. Disadvantages: 1) This plant construction requires skilled masons. 2) Gas production per cum of the digester volume is less. 3) Scum formation is problem as no stirring arrangement. 4) It has variable gas pressure.

Bio gas plant for water hyacinth Behavior of water hyacinth under biodegradation is different from that of cattle dung. Cattle dung has a specific gravity almost equal to water and remains wherever it has been fed into the digester while water hyacinth floats over water surface when fresh and as digestion proceeds partially and fully decomposed material settles down at the bottom. So, traditional bio gas plants based on cattle dung as feed material could not be used for water hyacinth . It sis observed that deliberate attempts are required to bring an intimate contact of microbes with fresh and floating material for decomposition. The final decomposed material obtained is in powder form. The main modifications done to traditional biogas plant using cow dung are.

1) The inlet is provided near the top of the digester with proper sealing.. 2) The slurry outlet is provided from the bottom of the digester. The bottom should be hopper to facilitate the discharge of digested slurry. 3) There is stirring arrangement to bring the intimate of microbes with substrate. In this plant , the 550 gms chopped dried water hyacinth is fed daily with 20 litres of water. 400 litres of bio gas generated. Chopped wet water hyacinth initially mixed with digested slurry from a continuously operated gobar gas plant. Bio gas plant based on dried water hyacinth would be very useful substituting the conventional fuel for cooking.

Kachra gas plant:

A family size biogas plant based on continuous fermentation process was designed and tested at Gujarat Agricultural University Ananad. This plant was named as Kachra gas plant. The plant is as shown in the fig. The brief description of the plant is as follows. Feeding: The feeding material must be chopped to few cm sized pieces when it consists of fresh water plant materials. The feeding material can charged in any position. For example , paddy straw or wheat straw or water hyacinth was pushed with a stick at the rate of 10 kg chopped material every day through the corner of the digester. Thus the problem of slurry making in the beginning is not involved. Stirring: Stirring is the most important operation , since the material floats in a thick layer (3040cm) . The stirring should be so designed that it should be able to submerge the floating material. In the above plant horizontal stirrer is provided which is mounted on a 4 cm dia water pipe shaft. Operation of the plant : The plant is initially filled with water in which few buckets of cow dung or dirty drain water or well rotten compost are added. The fresh fibrous plant material is processed through the chaff cutter and about 10 kg chopped material is spread on the ground . This is frequently sprayed with water to keep it moist. Thus the material is charged in to the digester after ten days of decomposition . About one kg of urea may also be added to the digester . The evolved gas is regularly let out into air for about a week. During this period the gas never be tested for burning due to possible danger of its explosion and accident. Problems related to Bio-gas plants: 1) Handling of effluent is major problems if the person is not having sufficient open space or compost pits to get the slurry dry. 2) The methanogenic bacteria are sensitive to the temperature variations . During winter as the temperature falls , there is decrease in the activity of the methanogenic bacteria and subsequently fall in the gas production rate. Many methods have been suggested to overcome this temperature problem. 1) Using solar heated hot water to make slurry 2) Green house effect 3) Manual or auto stirring 4) Addition of nutrients 5) Covering the bio gas plant by straw bags .

3) Improper way of preparing slurry may results failure of bio gas plant due to accumulation of fatty acids and drop in pH . 4) Some persons add urea fertilizer in large quantities due to which toxity of ammonia nitrogen may cause a decrease in gas production. 5) pH and fatty acids play an important role in anaerobic digestion and should remain under optimum range otherwise this may cause upsetting of digester and even its failure. 6) Leakage of gas from gas holder especially in case of Janata type biogas plants is a major and very common problem. The immediate detection and repair of gas leakage is always required .

Application of bio gas The bio gas can be utilized effectively for household cooking, lighting, operating small engines, utilizing power or pumping water, chaffing fodder and grinding flour by using already known technology. In the rural areas popularizing the bio gas is the only way to save house wife from the irritating smoke of the dung cakes and wood. It helps solving the several health hazard problems like respiratory diseases and trachoma of eyes. Bio gas can be burned using bio gas burners with mixing ratio of bio gas and air (1:10). Bio gas lamp needs a mantle, which is made of a Ramic fibre . With one cum of bio gas we can save electricity equivalent to burn 60 watt lamp for 6 hours. One horse power engine can work for two hours roughly with a one cum of bio gas. This quantity of gas can cook three meals for family of about five. It is possible to build power house at the places of bio gas generation so that electricity can be produced and the same supplied to the grid. Bio gas can be used to operate both CI and SI engines . 425 litres of bio gas is required to operate 1 HP engine for one hour. In sewage treatment plants the gas is utilized as fuel for the boilers that supply hot water for heating the digesters, for running gas engines which may be coupled to pumps, blowers or generators. The other main product of the biogas plant is the organic manure. This comes out at outlet as slurry which is quite rich in nitrogen . When the slurry can not be used with irrigation water it can be used for rapid fermentation of compost. Application of biogas engines: Bio gas can be used to operate both CI and SI engines. CI engines can run on dual fuel(biogas + diesel) and injection of the diesel is necessary for igniting the mixture of air and bio gas inside the cylinder. But the starting of the engine is carried out using only diesel. SI engine can be operated on biogas after initially starting on petrol. The existing diesel engines can be directly converted to use biogas , with slight modification, saving thereby 80% of diesel oil. It is possible to reduce the diesel oil consumption by further research. The petrol engines can be used to burn the bio gas by simple modification of carburetor. The SI engine needs following modification. It includes the provisions for the entry of bio gas , throttling of intake air and advancing the ignition timing. Bio gas can be admitted to a stationary SI engine through the intake manifold and air flow control valve can be provided on the air cleaner pipe connecting the air cleaner and

caburettor for throttling the intake air, as shown in the fig. In this case the intake air is required to be manual throttled in the initial stage.

The CI engine which is running on the dual fuel needs necessary engine modifications includes provision for the entry of biogas with intake air, advancing the injection timing and provision of a system to reduce diesel supply. The entry of biogas and mixing of gas with intake air can be achieved by providing a mixing of biogas with air before entering into the cylinder. The admittance of bio gas in to the engine cylinder increases the engine speed and therefore , a suitable system to reduce the diesel supply by actuating the control rack needs to be incorporated.

It is concluded that

i) Bio gas is a suitable for conventional engine fuels with little modifications in both SI and CI engines . petrol replacement of the order of 100% and diesel replacement of about 80% is possible using bio gas ii) SI engines develop 85% of rated power where as CI engine develop full power on biogas. Thus application of biogas in CI engine is a better alternative. iii) By reducing the CO2 content in bio gas the engine performance can be improved . iv) The injection timing of SI engine using bio gas fuel can be advanced by 4-5 degrees for better engine performance. v) The injection timing CI engines operating on dual fuel shall be kept between 31-33 degrees before TDC for better performance. vi) It is economical to use biogas in engine keeping in view the present trend of increase in prices of conventional fuel and their shortage. vii) In sewage treatment plants the biogas engines are used for running the compressors, pumps, blowers or generators.