Solar Biomass Hybrid System For Cold Storage & Power Generation

Solar Biomass Hybrid System For Cold Storage & Power Generation

Anand Upadhyay, Research Associate

The Energy and Resources Institute

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1. Background

2. Project

3. System details

4. Future plans

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

Rs.60,000 crores (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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Small sized cold storages should be built…

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…should be built near agriculture field itself

In short…

Small sized cold storages should be built near agriculture field itself

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BUT… Poor power supply

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

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… 22 31-08-2012

Setting up of system

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Before & After

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BEFORE

AFTER

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

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

Specific details on solar energy

• 30% thermal energy met using Scheffler dishes

• 4 dishes of 16 m2 each (from Thermax)

• Detailed hourly simulation done using TRNSYS

• Hybridization with biomass energy

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System at site

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Contd…

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Complete system

Size flexibility

Power Generation

Grid quality power for domestic,

community, and

productive loads

Cold Storage

Fruits

Vegetables

Flowers*

Dairy & Milk*

Fish & Meat*

Size

Cooling Duty

(15 to 50 kW)

Capacity

(20 to 100 MT)

Energy Requirement

Self Sufficient

Source

Biomass

Solar

Hybrid

* Under development

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

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

Adsorption technologies

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What all has been difficult

• Simulating the system for sizing and predicting performance

• Stakeholders !!! (in plenty)

• System integration

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Way forward

Current pilot system

• Long term monitoring and tests to optimize future systems

• System cost reduction

• Field replications

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

Sincere thanks to owners of the photographs (which have been used in this presentation) who have shared their wonderful work on internet, and without which the audience would have been sleeping. Thank you so much !