RENEWABLE ENERGY ENGINEERING

Module 5

Syllabus

Bio Mass Energy- Biomass conversion technologies –Bio Gasification, Bio ethanol,
Biodiesel , Biogas production from waste biomass, factors affecting biogas
generation Bio Gas-KVIC and Janata model ,Hydrogen Energy – various routes for
production of Hydrogen energy,

Economic Analysis – Initial and annual cost, basic definitions, present worth
calculations, repayment of loan in equal annual installments, annual savings,
cumulative saving and lifecycle cost, economic analysis of add on solar system,
payback period(derivation)

INTRODUCTION
Biomass refers to solid carbonaceous material derived from plants and animals.
These include residues of agriculture and forestry, animal waste and discarded
material from food processing plants. Biomass being organic matter from terrestrial
and marine vegetation, renews naturally in a short span of time, thus, classified as a
renewable source of energy. It is a derivative of solar energy as plants grow by the
process of photosynthesis by absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere to form hexose
(dextrose, glucose, etc.) expressed by the reaction

Biomass does not add CO2 to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same amount of carbon
in growing the plants as it releases when consumed as fuel. It is a superior fuel as the
energy produced from biomass is ‘carbon cycle neutral’. Biomass fuel is used in over
90% of rural households and in about 15% urban dwellings. Agriculture products rich
in starch and sugar like wheat, maize, sugarcane can be fermented to produce ethanol
(C2H5OH). Methanol (CH3OH) is also produced by distillation of biomass that
contains cellulose like wood and bagasse. Both these alcohols can be used to fuel
vehicles and can be mixed with diesel to make biodiesel.

BIOMASS RESOURCES
1. Concentrated wastes:
 Municipal solid
 Sewage wood products
 Industrial waste
 Manure at large lots
2. Dispersed waste residue:
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  Crop residue
 Logging residue
 Disposed manure.
3. Harvested biomass:
 Standing biomass
 Biomass energy plantations

The biomass sources are highly dispersed and bulky and contain large amount of
water (50 to 90%). Thus, it is not economical to transport them over long distances,
and as such conversion into usable energy must take place close to the source, which
is limited to particular regions. However, biomass can be converted to liquid or
gaseous fuels, thereby increasing its energy density and making transportation
feasible over long distances.

Limitations of Utilising Biomass

Following are the limitations of utilising biomass:
 Relatively expensive energy conversion.
 Low conversion efficiency (i.e. small percentage of sun light is converted to
biomass by plants).
 Relatively low concentration of biomass per unit area of land and water.

BIOMASS Classification
Biomass resources for energy production are widely available in forest areas, rural
farms, urban refuse and organic waste from agro-industries. India produces over 550
million tonnes of agricultural and agro-industrial residues every year. Similarly, 290
million cattle population produces about 438 million tonnes of dung annually.

Prime biomass sources are discussed below:

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Forests
Forests, natural or cultivated are a rich source of timber, fuel wood, charcoal and raw
material for paper mills and other industries. Fast growing trees like Eucalyptus,
Neem, Kikar and Gulmohar are grown along canals, railway tracks and on lands of
marginal quality. Wood, saw dust, and bark residue are generated in sawmills.
Forests also provide foliage and logging residues. An important characteristic of
forest residue is its calorific value, which is 4399 to 4977 kcal/kg for softwood
foliage and 3888 to 5219 kcal/kg for hardwood species.

Agricultural crop residues

Crop residues are available in abundance as natural resource, easily collected and
stored. These are rice husk, wheat straw, corn cobs, cotton sticks, sugarcane bagasse,
groundnut and coconut shells. These are converted into briquettes or pellets for use as
clean fuel. These are called ‘biofuels’ which are high efficiency solid fuels.

Energy crops
Energy farming refers to the cultivation of fast growing plants which supply fuel
wood, biomass that can be converted into gaseous and liquid fuels like biogas,
vegetable oil and alcohol. To harvest biomass for power generation, energy plantation
is done on degraded or wastelands which are saline, wind eroded lands in arid areas
and water-logged lands.
Energy farming is promoted by MNRE in nine different agro-climate regions,
namely, Garhwal (U.P.), Gwalpahar (Haryana), Udaipur (Rajasthan) and
Shantiniketan (West Bengal).The other four centres are Madurai (Tamil Nadu),
Calicut (Kerala), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Bhubaneswar (Orissa). These centres
produce quality seedlings of about 35 tree species through clonal propagation. These
fast growing fuel wood species produce 20–25 tonnes of biomass per hectare per
year. The Biomass Research Centre Lucknow found the ‘Kubabul’ tree that grows
well on saline and rocky soils, provides wood of high calorific value
(4500 kcal/kg).

Vegetable oil crops

Oil can be extracted from fertile area crops such as, sunflower, cotton seed,
groundnut, rapeseed, palm and coconut. These oils after purification can be blended
with diesel oil suitable as engine fuel.
There is an arid area shrub ‘Jajoba’, its seeds provide oil which is an important
renewable source of energy. It is cultivated in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Orissa under
hot-arid conditions. It is an ideal plant for areas of scanty rain with low fertility soil
and produces up to 2000 kg of dry seed per hectare annually. Jajoba oil having good
insulating property can be used as transformer oil. Its products are high quality
lubricants and waxes, suitable for industry and transport sector. It is a good raw
material for paints and varnishes.

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Aquatic crop
Aquatic crop constitutes three water plants, namely algae, water hyacinth and sea
weed. These plants grow abundantly in water bodies and provide organic matter for
biogas plants. Energy plantation programme is directed to bring sub-standard soil
under cultivation. It restores the fertility of land, halts desertification, prevents soil
erosion, reduces flooding and improves microclimate.

Animal waste
Animal waste, an organic material with combustible property, is a rich source of fuel.
Dung cakes prepared with animal waste are used for cooking in rural and semi-urban
areas. It is also a raw material for biogas plants.

Urban waste
Urban waste is of two types: (i) Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) which includes
human excreta, household garbage and commercial waste. (ii) Liquid Waste from
domestic sewage and effluents from institutional activities.
As per MNRE estimate about 42 million tonnes of solid waste (1.15 lakh tonnes per
day) and 6000 million cubic metres of liquid waste are generated every year in urban
areas. At present MSW is dumped in sanitary landfill, where fuel gas is produced
which is a valuable source of renewable energy. Sewage is suitably processed to
produce biogas.

Industrial waste
Energy recovery from industrial waste was taken up in 1994. Projects are
implemented with technical assistance of national laboratories. Projects developed
under this programme are:
Pulp and Paper Industry Effluent, Starch and Glucose Industry Waste, Palm Oil
Industry, Distillary Waste and Tanneries Waste. Each project is aimed to treat its
waste for the production of bio-energy which can be used for power generation.

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF BIOMASS/BIOFUELS

Following are the effects/benefits of biomass/biofuels :
 Biomass can pollute air when it is burned but less than those of fossil fuels.
 Biomass, when burned, does not release green-house gases (or CO2).
 Burning biofuels do not produce pollutants like sulphur, which results in acid
rain.
 When biomass crops are grown, nearly equivalent amount of CO2 is captured
through photosynthesis.

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 BIOFUELS
Biomass is an organic carbon-based matter obtained from plants. Biomass is a source
of energy and 40% of the total energy consumed in India comes from wood, crop
residues, cow dung, etc. for cooking and various domestic uses. Dry biomass gives
heat energy by direct combustion. Direct burning of firewood in traditional chulhas
utilises only 10% heat. Besides inefficient burning, smoke discharge in kitchens is a
health hazard. To harness fuel value, technologies are required to convert biomass
into a high quality usable solid, liquid and gaseous fuels called ‘biofuels’. Such fuels
are discussed below.

Charcoal
Charcoal is a smokeless dry solid fuel with high energy density. Modern charcoal
retorts (furnaces) operate at about 600°C to produce charcoal from 25–35% of dry
biomass feed. It contains 75–80% carbon and is useful as a compact fuel. It can be
burnt to provide heat for domestic, commercial and industrial applications.

Briquetting
Biomass briquetting is densification of loose biomass into a high density solid fuel.
Biomass of any form such as cotton sticks, rice husk, coconut shells, saw dust and
wood chips can be converted into briquetts. It reduces the volume-to-weight ratio,
thus making transportation easy for efficient commercial and industrial use. The
calorific value is about 3500 kcal /kg. Biomass briquettes can replace ‘C’ grade coal
used in industrial boilers.

Vegetable oil
Vegetable oils such as rapeseed, palm, coconut and cotton seed oil can substitute
diesel as engine fuel. Jajoba trees cultivated in marginal lands produce oil seeds.
Jajoba oil is considered liquid gold like crude oil as it can be processed into a wide
range of products like motor oil, lubricants, mono-unsaturated alcohols and oil of
cosmetic value. Euphorbia species produce latex which after water removal gives
light hydrocarbon oil.

BIOGAS
Biogas can be produced by digestion of animal, plant and human waste. Digestion is
a biological process that takes place in a digester with anaerobic organism in absence
of oxygen at a temperature between 35°C and 70°C. In rural areas, household biogas
plants operate from cow and buffalo dung which provides gas for cooking and
lighting. Biogas is a mixture of CH4 (55% to 65%), CO2 (30% to 40%), H2, H2S and
N2 (< 10%) having a calorific value between5000 and 5500 kcal / kg.

PRODUCER GAS
Producer gas is obtained by partial combustion of wood or any cellulose organic
material of plant origin. It is a mixture of a few gases and its constituents are CO2

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(19%), CH4 (1%), H2 (18%), CO2 (11%) and N2 (45–60%). Hydrogen and methane
keep heating value between4.5 MJ/m3 and 6 MJ/m3 depending upon the volume of its
constituents. Producer gas can be burnt in a boiler to generate steam. It is used as fuel
in IC engines used for irrigation pumps, in spark ignition engines and gas turbines for
power generation.

LIQUID FUEL (ETHANOL)

Ethanol (C2H5OH) is a flammable colourless biofuel. It can be produced by
fermentation of any feedstock which contains sugar or starch and even cellulose
material. Biomass containing sugar are: sugar-beets, sugarcane, sweet sorghum;
starch crop covers corn, wheat, cassava and potato. Cellulose is found in all plant
tissues, is available in wood, solid waste and agriculture residues. Ethanol is suitably
used as a fuel additive to cut down a vehicle’s carbon monoxide and other smog-
causing emissions. In nine sugar producing Indian states, petrol blended with 5%
ethanol is supplied.

BIOMASS CONVERSION TECHNOLOGIES

Biomass material from a variety of sources can be utilised optimally by adopting
efficient and state-of-the-art conversion technologies such as:
1. Densification of biomass
2. Combustion and incineration
3. Thermo-chemical conversion
4. Bio-chemical conversion

Biomass Densification

In this process bulky biomass is reduced to a better volume-to-weight ratio by

compressing in a die at a high temperature and pressure. The biomass pressed into
briquettes or pellets (easier to transport and store) can be used as clean fuel in
domestic chulhas, bakeries and hotels.

Advantages of biomass densification for combustion

 Simplified mechanical handling and feeding
 Uniform combustion in boilers
 Reduced dust production
 Reduced possibility of spontaneous combustion in storage
 Simplified storage and handling infrastructure, lowering capital requirements at
the combustion plant
 Reduced cost of transportation due to increased energy density

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Pre-Treatment of Biomass
 Chop length/grinding
 Drying to required moisture content
 Application of a binding agent
 Steaming
 Torrefaction

Chop Length/Grinding: Each densification process requires specific chop length

and/or grinding to achieve:
 Lower energy use in the densification process
 Denser products
 A decrease in breakage of the outcome product

Drying: Low moisture results in improved density and durability of the fuel. For most
biomass densification processes, the optimum moisture content is in the range of 8%–
20% (wet basis). Most compaction techniques require a small amount of moisture to
"soften" the biomass for compaction. Above the optimum moisture level, the strength
and durability of the densified biomass are decreased.

Addition of a Binding Agent: The density and durability of densified biomass are
influenced by the natural binding agents of the material. The binding capacity
increases with a higher protein and starch content. Binding agents may be added to
the material to increase binding properties. Commonly used binders include vegetable
oil, clay, starch, cooking oil or wax.

Steaming: The addition of steam prior to densification can aid in the release and
activation of natural binders present in the biomass.

Torrefaction: Torrefaction is a pre-treatment process used to improve the properties

of pellets. It can also be used as a stand-alone technique to improve the properties of
biomass. Torrefaction is a mild version of slow pyrolysis in which the goal is to dry,
embrittle and waterproof the biomass. This is accomplished by heating the biomass in
an inert environment at temperatures of 280°C–320°C.

Mechanical Densification
The method of densification depends on the type of residues and the local situation.
Many non woody bio mass suffers from major disadvantage of having low bulk
densities for efficient utilization. In physical method of conversion, biomass is
densified into solid briquettes or pellets.

Briquetting: The process of briquetting consists of applying pressure to a mass of

particles with or without binder and converting it into a compact agro-mate. The

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products obtained could be in a solid geometrical form or in the form of hollow
cylinders.

Bales: A traditional method of densification commonly used to harvest crops. A bale

is formed using farm machinery (called a baler) that compresses the chop. Bales can
be square, rectangular or round, depending on the type of baler used.

Pellets: Pellets are very high in density. They are easier to handle than other densified
biomass products, since infrastructure for grain handling is used for pellets. Pellets
are formed by an extrusion process, using a piston press, where finely ground
biomass material is forced through round or square cross-sectional dies and cut to a
desired length. The standard shape of a biomass pellet is a cylinder, having a length
smaller than 38 mm (1.5 in.) and a diameter around 7 mm (0.3 in.).

Cubes: Cubes are larger pellets, usually square in shape. Cubes are less dense than
pellets. Cube sizes range from 13–38 mm (0.5–1.5 in.) in cross section, with a length
ranging 25–102 mm (1–4 in.). The process involves compressing chopped biomass
with a heavy press wheel, followed by forcing the biomass through dies to produce
cubes.

Pucks: They are produced using a briquetter and are resilient to moisture. Pucks have
a similar density as pellets, with the advantage that they require lower production
costs compared to pelletization.

Combustion
Combustion is the process of burning in presence of oxygen to produce heat (utilised
for cooking, space heating, industrial purposes and for electricity generation), light
and by-products. The combustion of biomass is more difficult than other fuels since it
contains relatively higher moisture content. Biomass is free from toxic metals and its
ash. This method is very inefficient with heat losses to 30 to 90% of the original
energy contained in the biomass.

Incineration
Incineration is the process of burning completely the solid biomass to ashes by high
temperature oxidation. The terms incineration and combustion are synonymous, but
the process of combustion is applicable to all fuels, i.e., solid, liquid and gaseous.
Incineration is a special process where the dry Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is
incinerated to reduce the volume of solid refuse (90%) and to produce heat, steam
and electricity. Waste incineration plants are installed in large cities to dispose off
urban refuse and generate energy. It constitutes a furnace with adequate supply of air
to ensure complete combustion upto a capacity of 1000 tonnes/day.
Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves
the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials. Incineration and

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other high-temperature waste treatment systems are described as "thermal treatment".
Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas and heat. It
reduces the mass of waste up to 96 percent. In modern incinerators the waste is
burned inside a properly designed furnace under very carefully controlled conditions.
The combustible portion of the waste combines with oxygen, releasing mostly carbon
dioxide, water vapour, and heat. The ash is mostly formed by
the inorganic constituents of the waste and may take the form of solid lumps
or particulates carried by the flue gas. The flue gases must be cleaned of gaseous and
particulate pollutants before they are dispersed into the atmosphere.
In some cases, the heat that is generated by incineration can be used to
generate electric power.

Thermo-chemical conversion
It is a process to decompose biomass with various combinations of temperatures and
pressures. Thermo-chemical conversion takes the following two forms:
(i) Gasification
(ii) Liquefaction
.
Gasification
It is the process of heating the biomass with limited oxygen to produce 'low heating
value' or by reacting it with steam and oxygen at high pressure and temperature to
produce 'medium heating value gas'. The output gas is known as "producer gas", a
mixture of H2 (15-20%), CO (10 to 20%), CH4 (1 to 5%), CO2 (9 to 12%) and N2 (45
to 55%). As compared to solid mass the gas is more versatile; it can be burnt to
produce heat and steam, or used in I.C. engines or gas turbines to generate electricity.

Liquefaction
Biomass can be liquefied through fast or flash pyrolysis, called "pyrolytic oil" which
is a dark brown liquid of low viscosity and a mixture of hydrocarbons. Pyrolysis
liquid is a good substitute for heating oil. Biomass can also be liquefied by "methanol
synthesis". Gasification of biomass produces synthetic gas containing a mixture of H2
and CO. The gas is purified by adjusting the composition of H2 and CO. Finally, the
purified gas is subjected to liquefaction process, converted to methanol over a zinc,
chromium catalyst. Methanol can be used as liquid fuel.

Pyrolysis
Biomass is heated in absence of oxygen, or partially combusted in a limited oxygen
supply, to produce a hydrocarbon, rich in gas mixture (H2, CO2, CO CH4 and lower
hydrocarbons), an oil like liquid and a carbon rich solid residue (charcoal).
The pyrolitic or ‘bio-oil’ produced can easily be transported and refined into a series
of products similar to refining crude oil. There is no waste product, the conversion
efficiency is high (82%) depending upon the feedstock used, the process temperature
in reactor and the fuel/air ratio during combustion.

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Pyrolysis process consists of both simultaneous and successive reactions when
carbon-rich organic material is heated in a non-reactive atmosphere. Simply
speaking, pyrolysis is the thermal degradation of organic materials in the absence of
oxygen. Thermal decomposition of organic components in the waste stream starts at
350°C–550°C and goes up to 700°C–800°C in the absence of air/oxygen.

The main products obtained from pyrolysis of municipal wastes are

 A high calorific value gas (synthesis gas or syngas),
 A bio fuel (bio oil or pyrolysis oil) and
 A solid residue (char)

BIOCHEMICAL CONVERSION
There are two forms of biochemical conversions:
1. Anaerobic digestion
2. Ethanol fermentation

Anaerobic Digestion
This process involves 'microbial digestion' of biomass and is done in the 'absence of
oxygen'. The process and end products depend upon the micro-organisms cultivated
under culture conditions. (An anaerobe is a microscopic organism that can live and
grow without external oxygen or air; it extracts oxygen by decomposing the biomass
at low temperatures upto 65°C, in presence of moisture). This process generates
mostly methane (CH4) and CO2 gas with small impurities such as hydrogen sulphide.
 The output gas obtained from anaerobic digestion can be directly burnt, or
upgraded to superior fuel gas (methane) by removal of CO2 and other
impurities. The residue may consist of protein-rich sludge and liquid effluents
which can be used as animal feed or for soil treatment after certain processing.

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  Aerobic decomposition is done in the presence of oxygen and it produces CO2/
NH3 and some other gases in small quantities and large quantity of heat. The
final by-product of this process can be used as fertilizer.

Ethanol Fermentation
Fermentation is the process of decomposition of organic matter by micro-organisms
especially bacteria and yeasts. It is a well established and widely used technology for
the conversion of grains and sugar crops into ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Ethanol can be
produced by decomposition of biomass containing sugar like sugarcane, cassava
sweet sorghum, beet, potato, corn, grape, etc. into sugar molecules such as glucose
(C6H12O6) and sucrose (C12H22O11).
Ethanol fermentation involves biological conversion of sugar into ethanol and CO2.

Ethanol can be blended with gasoline (petrol) to produce gasohol (90% petrol and
10% ethanol).

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 BIOMASS GASIFICATION
Gasification implies converting a solid or liquid into a gaseous fuel without leaving
any solid carbonaceous residue. This process is carried out in a `gasifer'. Gasifiers use
wood waste and agriculture residue.

Gasifiers
Gasifiers (essentially a chemical reactor) is an equipment which can gasify a variety
of biomass such as wood waste, agricultural waste like stalks, and roots of various
crops, maize cobs etc. In a gasifier, the biomass (as it flows) gets dried, heated,
pyrolysed, partially oxidised and reduced.
Classification of gasifiers :
Biomass gasifiers may be classified as follows:

A. According to the "type of bed”:

1. Fixed bed gasifiers:
(i) Updraft,
(ii) Downdraft,
(iii) Crossdraft
2. Fluidised Bed Gasifiers

B. According to the "output power”:

(i) Small size gasifiers - Output upto 10 kW
(ii) Medium size gasifiers - Output in the range of 10 kW to 50 kW
(iii) Large size gasifiers - Output in the range of 50 kW to 300 kW
(iv) Very large gasifiers - Output of 300 kW and above.

Downdraft (or cocurrent) gasifier

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In downdraft gasifier (where fuel and air move in a cocurrent manner, air enters at the
combustion zone and the gas produced leaves near the bottom of the gasifier.
Fuel (biomass) is loaded in the reactor from the top. As the fuel moves down it is
subjected to 'drying (120°C) and pyrolysis (200-600°C) where solid char, acetic acid,
methanol and water vapour are produced. Descending volatiles and char reach the
oxidation zone (900 to 1200°C) where air is injected to complete the combustion. It
is the reaction zone and the temperature rises to 1100°C.This helps in breaking down
the heavier hydrocarbons and tars. The products moving downwards, enter the
reduction zone (900 to 600°C), (reaction being endothermic) where 'producer gas' is
formed by the action of CO2 and water vapour on red hot charcoal.
The producer gas contains products like CO, H2 and CH4, it is purified by passing it
through coolers, tar is removed by condensation, whereas soot and ash are removed
by centrifugal seperation.
Clean producer gas provides the process heat to operate stoves (for cooking), boilers,
driers, ovens and furnaces. The downdraft gasifier is most commonly used for
"engine applications" because of its ability to produce a relatively clean gas.
Fixed bed gasifiers can attain efficiency upto 75 percent for conversion of solid
biomass to gaseous fuel.

Updraft (or counter current) gasifier

In such a gasifier (where fuel and air move in counter current manner) air enters
below the combustion zone and the 'producer gas' leaves near the top of the gasifier.
The gas produced contains tar and water vapour and the ash content is almost nil.
These gasifiers are suitable for stationary engines (which use tar free fuels like
charcol).

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Crossdraft gasifiers

Cross draft gasification is one of the simplest types of gasification; the reactor for this
gasification is much like the updraft gasifier in that the fuel will enter from the top
and the thermo-chemical reaction will occur progressively as this fuel descends into
the reactor. The crucial difference is that the air will be entering the gasifier from the
side of the reactor, rather than from the top or the bottom. The start-up time for this
reactor is relatively short, and high temperatures can be attained using this type of
gasification.
In this type of gasifier, the gas produced passes upwards in the annular space around
the gasifier that is filled with charcoal. The charcoal acts as an insulator and a dust
filter. These gasifiers are suitable for power generation upto 50 kW.

Cross draft gasification isn’t seen very often in commercial processes mainly because
other gasification methods offer more flexibility with respect to fuel types; this type
of gasification doesn’t handle fuel that has a high tar content and bridging can be a
consequence of the particle size of the fuel.

Fluidised Bed Gasifiers

Fluidized Bed Combustion (FBC) is a better option to use than the problematic
biomass of farm residues like rice husk (high ash content), bagasse, industrial waste
such as saw dust and pulping effluents, sewage sludge etc. FBC constitutes a hot bed
of inert solid particles of sand or crushed refractory support on a fine mesh or grid.
The bed material is fluidized by an upward current of air as shown below.

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Pressurized air starts bubbling through the bed and the particles attain a state of high
turbulence, and the bed exhibits fluid like properties. A uniform temperature within
the range of 850–1050°C is maintained. Large surface area is created in the fluidized
bed and the constantly changing area per unit volume provides a higher conversion
efficiency at low operating temperatures compared to the fixed beds. High heating
capacity of sand and the uniform temperature of fluidized bed makes possible to
gasify low-grade fuels of even non-uniform size and high moisture content.
When the gasifier is put in use, the bed material is heated to ignition temperature of
the fuel, biomass is then injected causing rapid oxidation and gasification. Fuel gas so
produced contains impurities, dust, char particles and tar. It needs conditioning and
cleaning for utilization as an engine fuel.

BIOGAS
The main source for biogas is wet cattle dung.
Some of the other sources are:
 Sewage
 Crop residue
 Vegetable wastes
 Water hyacinth
 Alga
 Poultry droppings
 Pig-manure
 Ocean kelp
It is a clean but slow-burning gas and usually has a heating value about 18 kJ/m3. It
can be used directly in cooking, reducing the demand for firewood.

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The material from which the biogas is produced retains its value as fertilizer and can
be returned to soil. 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.

When functioning well, the bacteria convert about 90% of the feedstock energy
content into biogas (containing about 55% methane), which is a readily useable
energy source for cooking and lighting. The sludge produced after the manure has
passed through the digester is non-toxic and odourless. Also, it has lost relatively
little of its nitrogen or other nutrients during the digestion process thus, making a
good fertiliser.

Biogas Applications
Biogas is a flammable fuel gas usually with 60% CH, and rest CO2. The gas can be
upgraded by removal of CO2 with water scrubbing and the gas with high heating
value can be used in I.C. engine.
The main applications of biogas are:
 Cooking.
 Domestic lighting and heating.
 I.C. engines.
 Fuel cells-electricity can be produced by using biogas in a fuel cell with air
oxidant. The electrolyte is usually potassium hydroxide (KOH).

Biogas Technology
Biogas is produced from wet biomass through a biological conversion process that
involves bacterial breakdown of organic matter by micro-organisms to produce CH4,
CO2 and H2O. Theprocess is known as ‘anaerobic digestion’ which proceeds in three
steps.
1. Hydrolysis (Stage 1)
2. Acid formation (Stage 2)
3. Methane formation (Stage 3)

Hydrolysis
In this stage, the complex compounds, such as fats, proteins and carbohydrates are
broken into small size compounds through the effluence of water and enzymes called
"Hydrolysis". The rate of hydrolysis depends on bacterial concentration, quality of
substrate, pH (between 6 and 7) and temperature (30°C–40°C) of digester contents.

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Reaction of hydrolysis:

Acid formation
Decomposed simple organic material is acted upon by acetogenic bacteria and
converted into simple acetic acid.
In this stage, the soluble glucose and nutrients are converted into simpler volatile
fatty acid and acetic acid as byproduct, which accounts for 70 per cent of methane
by-product with the help of acid forming bacteria.
Reaction of acidification:

Methane formation
During this stage, the methane producing bacteria converts the organic acid into
biogas having its main constituent as "methane".
Reactions of methane formation:

The methane content of biogas is about 60% which provides a high calorific value to
find use in cooking, lighting and power generation.

Advantages of Anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion claims the following advantages:
 The biogas produced as a byproduct, has a calorific value (which can be used
as energy source for producing steam or hot water).
 Low nutrient requirement.
 Low odour.
 Reduction of pathogens.
 Stable sludge.
 New sludge production.
 Sludge acts as a soil conditioner.
 Low running cost.

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Advantages of Biogas Production
 Gas production is cheap.
 Less pollution.
 Waste material can be used as fertilizer.
 Gas is used for cooking, lighting, as fuel etc.

Factors Affecting Biogas Production

There are eight major factors which affect the quality and quantity of biogas.

Solid-to-water ratio
Cattle dung (gobar) contains about 18% solid matter and the remaining 82% is water.
Anaerobic fermentation proceeds at a faster rate if the slurry contains about 9% solid
matter. Digester feed is prepared by mixing water in the ratio 1: 1 by weight to reduce
the solid content. To increase the solid matter, crop residues and weed plants may be
mixed with the feed stock.
Normally, 7 to 9 parts of solid in 100 parts of the slurry is considered ideal. It is
recommended that 4 parts of the cattle dung to be mixed with 5 parts of water.

Volumetric loading rate

It is expressed as the quantity of organic waste fed into the digester per day per unit
volume. It depends upon the plant capacity and also the retention period. Thus, for a
given capacity of the digester, if the loading rate is increased the 'retention period' is
correspondingly decreased.
In general, the municipal sewage treatment plants operate at a loading rate of 1.0
to1.5 kg/m3/day. Overloading and underloading reduce the biogas production with a
fixed retention time. For a desired retention period of 30 days, a quantity equal to
1/30th of digester volume needs to be fed daily.

Temperature
Temperature affects bacterial activity; methane formation is optimum in the
temperature range 35°–38°C. Biogas production decreases below 20°C and stops at
8°C. In cold regions a solar canopy is built over the biogas plants to maintain the
desired temperature.
In hot regions, another micro-organism called ‘thermophilic’ is utilised for anaerobic
fermentation in the temperature range 55°C– 60°C. Gas production rises with the
increase in average ambient air temperature. As the temperature increases, the total
retention period decreases and vice-versa. However, the total gas production remains
practically the same. The rate of gas production 'increases' with the increase in
temperature but the percentage of methane 'decreases'.

Seeding
Cattle dung contains both acid forming bacteria and methane forming bacteria. Acid
forming bacteria multiply fast, while the methane forming bacteria grow slowly. To
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start and accelerate fermentation, seeding of methane forming bacteria is required.
Accordingly, a small quantity of digested slurry rich in methane-forming bacteria is
added to freshly charged digester.

pH value
pH denotes the acidity and alkalinity of the substrate. The pH less than 7 is called
'acidic' and pH more than 7 is called 'alkaline' and pH solution of 7 is called 'neutral'.
Measure of pH value indicates the concentration of hydrogen ions. Micro-organisms
are sensitive to pH of the digested slurry. For optimum biogas production, pH can be
varied between 6.8 and 7.8. At pH of 6.2, acid conditions prevail which restrain the
growth of methanogenic bacteria. Control on pH should be exercised by adding alkali
when it drops below 6.6.

Carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio

Methanogenic bacteria need carbon and nitrogen for its survival. Carbon is required
for energy while nitrogen for building cell protein. The consumption of carbon is 30
to 35 times faster than that of nitrogen. A favourable ratio of C: N can be taken as 30:
1. Any deviation from this ratio lowers the biogas production. A proper balance of C:
N ratio is maintained either by adding saw dust having a high C: N ratio or by poultry
waste having a low C: N ratio.

Nutrients concentration
The major nutrients required by the bacteria in the digester are C, H2, O2, N2, P and S.
To maintain proper balance of nutrients an extra raw material, rich in P and N2,
should be added along with cattle dung to obtain maximum gas production.

Toxic substance
The presence of ammonia, pesticides, detergents and heavy metals are considered as
toxic substances to micro-organisms, since their presence reduces fermentation rate.

Retention time
The period for which the biomass slurry is retained inside the digester is called
‘retention time’. This period ranges from 30 days to 50 days depending upon the
climatic conditions. Generally it is observed that maximum gas production takes
place within 'first four weeks' and it tapers off gradually.
It refers to the volume of digester divided by the volume of slurry added per day.
Thus, a 120 litre digester which is fed at 5 litres per day would have a retention time
of 24 days. It is optimized to achieve 80% complete digestion considering ambient
temperature.

Stirring digester contents

Stirring the contents of the digester is necessary to mix the bacteria rich fluid in the
slurry. It provides better contact between micro-organism and the substrate and

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uniformly distributes the volatile solids in the slurry. Gas production improves by
15% over the full cycle.

BIOGAS PLANTS
Biogas plants converts’ wet biomass into biogas (methane) by the process of
"anaerobic fermentation". The bacteria called "anaerobe" carrier out digestion of
biomass without oxygen and produces methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
The biogas plant is a device that converts cattle dung and other organic matter into
inflammable gas called biogas and into good quality organic manure under anaerobic
conditions.

Main Components of a Biogas Plant

The main components of a biogas plant are enumerated and briefly described below:
1. Digester;
2. Gas holder;
3. Inlet;
4. Outlet;
5. Slurry mixing tank;
6. Gas outlet pipe;
7. Stirrer.

1. Digester. A digester is also called "fermentation tank" and is mostly embedded

partly or fully in the ground. It is generally cylindrical in shape and is made of
bricks. It holds the slurry for a sufficiently long time to complete the digestion.

2. Gas holder. Its function is to keep the gas for subsequent use. The gas connection
for use is taken from the top of the gas holder. In some designs of biogas plants, it
may be separable from the digester whereas in other designs it may be an integral
part of the digester.

3. Inlet. An inlet is provided to add the mixture of dung and water to the digester,
and is sloped accordingly.

4. Outlet. The provision of an outlet is made to take out the digested portion of
slurry.

5. Slurry mixing tank. This tank carries out mixing of the dung with water for
induction in the digester, through the inlet.

6. Gas outlet pipe. It is used for taking out gas from the gas holder and is connected
to its top. The other end of the pipe is connected with the device using biogas.

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7. Stirrer. The stirrers are provided in biogas plants of large size for stirring the
slurry for fermentation inside the fermentation chamber to ensure the normal
production of gas. The small size biogas plants can function without a stirring
device. Some biogas plants also have the arrangement of external heating by solar
/ electrical energy etc. under colder climates. The biogas plants are built in several
sizes, small (0.5 m3/day) to very large (2500 m3/day). Accordingly, the
configurations are simpler to complex.

Classification of Biogas Plants

The biogas plants may be classified as follows:
1. Continuous type biogas plant:
(i) Single stage type;
(ii) Double stage type.
2. Batch type biogas plant.
3. Floating drum type biogas plant.
4. Fixed dome type (Janta model or chinese model).
5. Modified fixed dome type biogas plant — this type of plant has an additional
displacement tank and water seal gas tank.

Continuous Type Biogas Plant

In this type of plant the biomass is fed regularly to the digester and it supplies the gas
continuously. These are two types of continuous biogas plant:
1. Single stage type
2. Two stage type

1. Single stage continuous biogas plant

In this type of plant, the entire processes of conversion of biomass into biogas are
carried in a single digester. This chamber is regularly fed with the raw materials
while the spent residue keeps moving out.
Advantages:
 Simple in construction.
 It does not need skilled labour.
 It is easy to operate and control.
 These are preferred for small and medium sized biogas plants.

2. Two stage continuous type biogas plant

These plants have two digesters for digestion of biomass. In the 'first digester' the
biomass is fed in which the acid production is carried out and then only dilute acids
are fed into the 'second digester' where bio-methanation takes place and biogas can be
collected from the second digester/chamber.
Advantages:
 It produces more gas than the single stage plants.

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  It requires lesser period of digestion as compared to single stage plants.
 (iii)These plants are preferred for large size biogas plants.

Advantages of continuous type biogas plants:

Following are the advantages of continuous type biogas plants:
 Continuous gas production.
 Less retention period.
 Small digestion chambers required.
 Less problems as compared to batch type plants.

Batch Type Biogas Plant

In a batch type plant, the biomass feeding is done in batches with large time interval
between two consecutive batches. A batch loaded digester is filled to its capacity and
given sufficient retention time (35 to 45 days) for digestion of biomass. After the
completion of digestion, the residue is emptied and filled again. Gas production is
'uneven' due to slow start of bacterial digestion and to overcome this difficulty,
several digesters are used which are fed and emptied in sequential manner. Thus, the
regular supply of gas is maintained.
The "salient features" of batch type plant are:
 Gas production uneven/ intermittent, depending upon the cleaning of the
digester.
 Several digesters required, to get continuous supply of gas.
 High space requirements, due to several digesters.
 High initial cost, due to large volume of digester.
 Needs addition of fermented slurry to start the digestion process.
 Operational and maintenance problems.

Floating Drum Type Biogas Plant

A popular model developed by Khadi Village Industries Commission (KVIC) was
standardized in 1961. It comprises an underground cylindrical masonry digester
having an inlet pipe for feeding animal dung slurry and an outlet pipe for sludge.
There is a steel dome for gas collection which floats over the slurry. It moves up and
down depending upon accumulation and discharge of gas guided by the dome guide
shaft.
A partition wall is provided in the digester to improve circulation, necessary for
fermentation. The floating gas holder builds gas pressure of about 10 cm of water
column, sufficient to supply gas up to 100 metre. Gas pressure also forces out the
spent slurry through a sludge pipe.

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Construction & Working
This mainly consists of a digester or pit for fermentation and a floating drum for the
collection of gas. Digester is 3.5-6.5 m in depth and 1.2 to 1.6 m in diameter. There is
a partition wall in the center, which divides the digester vertically and submerges in
the slurry when it is full.
The digester is connected to the inlet and outlet by two pipes. Through the inlet, the
dung is mixed with water (4:5) and loaded into the digester. The fermented material
will flow out through outlet pipe. The outlet is generally connected to a compost pit.
The gas generation takes place slowly and in two stages.
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In the first stage, the complex, organic substances contained in the waste are acted
upon by a certain kind of bacteria, called acid formers and broken up into small-chain
simple acids.
In the second stage, these acids are acted upon by another kind of bacteria, called
methane formers and produce methane and carbon dioxide.

Gas holder
The gas holder is a drum constructed of mild steel sheets. This is cylindrical in shape
with concave. The top is supported radically with angular iron. The holder fits into
the digester like a stopper. It sinks into the slurry due to its own weight and rests
upon the ring constructed for this purpose. When gas is generated the holder rises and
floats freely on the surface of slurry. A central guide pipe is provided to prevent the
holder from tilting. The holder also acts as a seal for the gas.

Advantages:
 Gas pressure is constant.
 Less scum problem.
 No danger of explosion since there is no possibility of mixing of biogas and
external air.
 No gas leakage problem.

Disadvantages:
 High cost.
 High maintenance cost.
 There is a loss of heat through gas holder.
 The outlet pipe, which should be flexible, requires regular attention

Janata Model Biogas Plant (Fixed Dome)

It is an economical design where the digester is combined with a dome-shaped gas
holder. It is known as Janata model; the composite unit is made of brick and cement
masonry having no moving parts, thus ensuring no wear and tear and longer working
life. When gas is produced, the pressure in the dome changes from 0 to 100 cm of
water column. It regulates gas distribution and outflow of spent slurry.

The design of this plant is of Chinese origin but it has been introduced under the
name “Janata biogas plant” by Gobar Gas Research Station, Ajitmal in view of its
reduced cost. This is a plant where no steel is used, there is no moving part in it and
maintenance cost is low. This model have a higher capacity when compared with
KVIC model, hence it can be used as a community biogas plant. This design has
longer life than KVIC models. Substrates other than cattle dung such as municipal
waste and plant residues can also be used in janata type plants.

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The plant consists of an underground well sort of digester made of bricks and cement
having a dome shaped roof which remains below the ground level is shown in figure.
At almost middle of the digester, there are two rectangular openings facing each other
and coming up to a little above the ground level, act as an inlet and outlet of the plant.
Dome shaped roof is fitted with a pipe at its top which is the gas outlet of the plant.
The principle of gas production is same as that of KVIC model. The biogas is
collected in the restricted space of the fixed dome; hence the pressure of gas is much
higher.

Constructional features.
This plant consists of the following parts:
1. Foundation
2. Digester
3. Dome
4. Inlet Chamber
5. Outlet Chamber.
6. Mixing Tank
7. Gas outlet pipe.

Foundation: The foundation is the amply compacted base of the digester made of
cement concrete and brick ballast. Its construction is so carried out that it may
provide a stable foundation to the digester walls and bear full load of slurry filled in
the digester. It should be waterproof so that no percolation or water leakage takes
place.

Digester: It is underground cylindrical wall portion made of bricks, sand and cement.
It is this place where fermentation of dung takes place. It is also sometimes called

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'fermentation tank'. Two rectangular openings facing each other are provided for
inflow and outflow at almost middle of its height.

Dome: It is a hemispherical roof of the digester; has a fixed height and forms the
critical part in the construction of Janata gobar gas plant. The gas gets collected in the
space of the dome and exerts pressure on the slurry in the digester.

Inlet chamber: An inlet chamber has a bell mouth shape and is made of bricks,
cement and sand. It has its top opening at the ground level. Its outlet wall is made
inclined/slopy to enable the daily cattle dung feed to move easily into the digester.

Outlet chamber: It is that part of the plant through which digested slurry moves out
of the digester at a predetermined height. It has a small rectangular cross-section and
above this it becomes larger to a defined height. For easy cleaning of the digester two
steps are provided in it which enables a man to climb down. Its top opening is also at
the ground level. Just near the top opening is provided a small outlet through which
the digested/spent slurry flows to a compost pit.

Mixing tank: It is this tank where dung and water are mixed properly in the ratio of
1:1 to make slurry which is then poured into the inlet chamber.

Gas outlet pipe: It is a small piece of G.I. Pipe which is fitted at the top of the dome
for conveying the gas to the points of use. A valve is fitted at its end to regulate the
flow of gas to the gas connections.

Deenbandhu Biogas Plant (DBP)

Deenbandhu model was developed in 1984, by Action for Food Production
(AFPRO), a voluntary organization based in New Delhi. This plant developed by the
objective to extend the biogas technology to places where the availability of bricks is
a limiting factor and bamboo is easily available. Its cost is reduced as the surface area
is minimized by joining segments of two different diameter spheres at their bases as
given in the Figure. This plant requires less space being mainly undergound. It is
30% economical compared to the Janata biogas plant. After intensive trial and testing
it has been approved by MNRE for family size installation. It is appropriate for all
types of wastes and minimises biogas losses from inlet chamber.

Schematic diagram of a Deenabandhu biogas plant entire biogas programme of India

as it reduced the cost of the plant half of that of KVIC model and brought biogas
technology within the reach of even the poorer sections of the population. The cost
reduction has been achieved by minimizing the surface area through joining the
segments of two spheres of different diameters at their bases. The Deenbandhu biogas
plant has a hemispherical fixed-dome type of gas holder, unlike the floating dome of
the KVIC-design is shown.

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The dome is made from pre-fabricated ferro cement or reinforced concrete and
attached to the digester, which has a curved bottom. The slurry is fed from a mixing
tank through an inlet pipe connected to the digester. After fermentation, the biogas
collects in the space under the dome. It is taken out for use through a pipe connected
to the top of the dome, while the sludge, which is a by-product, comes out through an
opening in the side of the digester. About 90 percent of the biogas plants in India are
of the Deenbandhu type.

Construction & Working

Construction: It has 'curved bottom' and 'hemispherical top' which are joined at their
bases with no cylindrical portion in between. An 'inlet pipe' connects 'mixing tank'
with the 'digester'.

Working: Cattle dung slurry prepared in 1: 1 ratio with water is fed upto the level of
second step in the outlet tank. As the gas generates and accumulates in the empty
portion of the plant, it presses the slurry of the digester and displaces it into the outlet
'displacement chamber'. The slurry level in the digester falls whereas in the outlet
chamber it starts rising. This fall and rise continues till the level in the digester
reaches the upper end of the outlet opening and at this stage the slurry level in the
outer tank reaches the height of discharge opening.

Main components of deenbandhu

 Foundation: The foundation of the plant is bowl shaped with a collar around the
circumference. The construction of the digester dome is done on this collar.

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 Dome
o Digester: The dome of the digester is divided in 2 parts. The bottom part is
called digester. The mixture of dung and water decomposes in this part and
produces gas due to bacterial activity.
o Gas storage: The upper part of the digester dome is called gas storage. The
gas produced by the bacterial activity is stored in this place.

 Gas outlet pipe: A nipple is fitted on the top of the dome, which is connected to a
GI pipe. The gas reaches the kitchen through this pipe.

 Inlet: The pipe through which fresh dung and water enters the plant is called Inlet
pipe. This pipe is connected to a small tank for mixing dung and water.

 Outlet: The portion of the plant where the slurry accumulates after coming out of
the digester is called outlet tank. It is in two parts. The first bottom part is small
and rectangular, which is connected to the dome opening, while the other part of
outlet tank is dome shaped. A small slurry discharge hole is provided in the outlet
tank. The volume of the dome upto the hole is equivalent to the gas storage
volume. Only the amount of gas equivalent to this volume can be used in a burner
or lamp. The main function of this part is to provide pressure for release of gas
from the dome. The level of slurry rises upto the outlet hole in this tank when the
plant is full with gas.

Advantages:
 This plant requires less space being mainly underground.
 Its cost is reduced as the surface area is minimised by joining segments of two
different diameter spheres at their bases.
 It is 30 per cent economical as compared to Janata biogas plant.

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Comparison between Fixed Dome Type and Movable Drum Type Biogas Plants

ETHANOL FROM BIOMASS

Ethanol is ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH), a colourless flammable liquid. It is a renewable
energy source which can substitute petroleum products. Ethanol can be produced
from a variety of biomass materials, containing sugar, starch and cellulose. The best-
known feedstocks under three categories are:
 Sugars: sugarcane, sugar beet, sweet sorghum, grapes, molasses
 Starches: maize, wheat, barley, potatoes, cassava, rice
 Cellulose: wood, straw, stems of grasses, bamboo, sugarcane bagasse.

Economics of Renewable Energy

ENGINEERING ECONOMICS
A technical analysis for a renewable energy application is normally accompanied by
an economic analysis. Renewable energy applications replace conventional fossil
fuel–based systems while providing the same desired output. A renewable energy
project certainly provides savings from fossil fuel use but it may or may not provide
cost savings compared to fossil fuel systems. A proper account of cost savings can be
handled by means of engineering economics.

An economic analysis can also provide a calculation of total cost of a project over its
lifetime and it allows a cost comparison of competing projects and technologies.

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Another useful application of economic analysis is the determination of payback
period for a project and specifically for a renewable energy application. A decision
whether to implement a project is made based on the results of an economic analysis
complementing a technical analysis.

A project may involve a capital or initial cost and operating and maintenance (O&M)
costs. The capital cost is an account of the initial investment, and it may include labor
and other expenses occurring at the start of the project. Operating and maintenance
costs are due to expenses to keep the system running in proper conditions over its
lifetime. O&M costs can be fixed (such as regular maintenance costs) or variable
depending on the use of a commodity (such as electricity cost of operating an electric
motor). The sale value of the system at the end of its lifetime is called salvage value
or scrap value. The total cost of a system is sum of the capital and O&M costs. This
total should be obtained considering the changes in the value of the money by time.

The cash flow during the life of a project can be indicated by a cash flow diagram as
shown below. The horizontal line gives time series in years, and the vertical arrows
show the cash flows. There is n number of years. The negative arrows indicate
expenditures and positive arrows indicate incomes. At time zero, the capital cost
occurs. Annual expenditures such as operating and maintenance costs occur at each
time interval. The salvage value represents an income that occurs at the end of the
lifetime of the system.

Simple Interest
Simple Interest (S.I.) is the method of calculating the interest amount for a particular
principal amount of money at some rate of interest.
To calculate the SI for a certain amount of money (P), rate of interest (R) and time
(T), the formula is:

SI = (PTR)/100
Here,

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SI = Simple interest
P = Principal (sum of money borrowed)
R = Rate of interest per annum
T = Time (in years)

In order to calculate the total amount, the following formula is used:

Amount (A) = Principal (P) + Interest (I)

Where,

Amount (A) is the total money paid back at the end of the time period for which it
was borrowed.

The total amount formula in case of simple interest can also be written as:

A = P(1 + RT)

Here,

A = Total amount after the given time period

P = Principal amount or the initial loan amount

R = Rate of interest (per annum)

T = Time (in years)

Compound Interest
Compound interest is the interest calculated on the principal and the interest
accumulated over the previous period. It is different from simple interest, where
interest is not added to the principal while calculating the interest during the next
period.

The time value of money

The value of money changes with time due to interest and inflation among other
factors. In a given energy project, the cash flow can occur at different times in the
lifetime of the project. If one simply adds the incomes and subtracts the expenditures,
this neglects the time value of the money. An appropriate economic analysis
considers how the value of the money changes with time.

Let P represent the present value of money and F the single future value of money.
What is the value of a present amount of money in a future time? Let i represent the

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interest rate. The interest rate is sometimes called the discount rate. The value of this
money in 1 year is

This equation is known as compound interest formula. The money grows

exponentially over the time. This is known as compounding. The compounding can
be done yearly, monthly, weekly, daily or even hourly. However, in engineering
calculations yearly compounding is commonly used.

As an example of the use of Eq. (A), assume you deposit $1000 in a bank account
that pays an annual interest rate of 6 percent. What is the value of this amount in 4
years?

Therefore, $1000 today is worth $1262 in 4 years at an interest rate of 6 percent.

What happens if the money is compounded monthly instead of annually? In this case,
the monthly interest rate is i = 0.06/12 = 0.005, and the number of time period is n =
4 × 12 = 48. Then, from Eq. (A),

The difference in future value of money for annual and monthly compounding cases
is negligible for most applications.

In today’s world we deal with problems that involve annual/monthly equal payments
such as home mortgage payments, vehicle loans or loans for consumer electronic
goods. The following relationships hold good for problems involving such uniform
series:
The periodic income or expenditure is called uniform series amount, and denoted by
U. It may be expressed as a function of the present value as

………………………………..(B)

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The U in this equation represents the fixed amount over the number of time period
‘n’. If the uniform series amount is given, the corresponding present value may be
expressed by rewriting the above equation as

………………………………..(C)

The uniform series amount U can also be expressed by a future amount F by

combining Eqs. (A) and (B) yielding

………………………………..(D)

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Life-cycle cost
The life-cycle cost (LCC) of a project is the total amount of all costs incurred by the
project from its initial design stages to its decommissioning.

Some of these costs are:

 Research & Development (R&D) cost
 Fuel cost
 Construction cost
 Financing
 Operation and management cost
 Cost of commissioning and decommissioning the project
 Carbon costs (or other environmental costs relevant to the type of project)
 Maintenance, retrofitting and replacement costs.

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Life-Cycle Cost Analysis
To determine what the life-cycle cost of a project will be, firms carry out life-cycle
cost analysis (LCCA). A LCCA takes into account all costs, from the cost of
construction, cost of fuel or repairs to the cost imposed by emissions from the project.
The analysis takes into account all known and projected costs. Costs such as the
social cost from pollution are difficult to quantify and therefore the LCCA is not
exact. The LCCA of a project allows firms to compare different projects to determine
which is the cheapest in the long term.

The life cycle cost can be evaluated in different ways. The net present value method
is based on expressing all expenses and benefits that will occur over the lifetime of
the project on the present time basis P. Summing all the benefits and subtracting from
the expenses on the present time gives the net present value of the project. The
greater the positive value or the smaller the negative value represents a desirable
project from an economic point of view.

The life cycle cost of a project can also be calculated using the levelized annual cost
(or levelized annual value) method. The net cost (or benefit) of the project is
expressed by equal annual amounts over the lifetime of the project. Each
benefit/expense of the project occurring at different times is expressed by a uniform
series amount U. The net value of U is calculated by adding benefits and subtracting
expenses on an annual basis.

Cost-Benefit Analysis
In general, a project option may involve costs and benefits in economic terms. Some
projects only involve costs with no monetary benefits. For example, the installation
of an environmental control technology requires cost consumption but it may not
yield any monetary benefit. The benefits in this case are due to reduction in certain
pollutants. Of course, indirect economic benefits of reducing pollutants are not
accounted for.
A life cost analysisresults in the total cost of the project expressed in present term or
annual cost term. Renewable energy projects are beneficial to the environment but
they are also intended to be financially attractive to the investors. Therefore, the
economic benefits are expected to outweigh the cost of the project.

A comparison of benefits and costs associated with a project can be made using a
cost-benefit analysis. The net present value calculated by adding all the benefits and
subtracting from all the expenses at present time basis is used to determine whether
the project is acceptable.

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If the net present value is greater than zero, the project yields a net benefit, and
therefore, it is acceptable. The cost-benefit method can also be expressed using
benefit-cost ratio as

If this ratio is greater than unity, the project is acceptable. If it is less than unity, it is
unacceptable.

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Renewable Energy Engineering, Mod 5, AJT, CCET Page 37
Reconsider the above example; determine the levelized annual value (cost or benefit)
of this project.

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PAYBACK PERIOD ANALYSIS
In most renewable energy projects, it is very important to know how long it will take
for the investment to pay for itself. This is called the payback period. The payback
period should be less than the life of the project but this does not guarantee a green
light for the project. The payback period should be sufficiently shorter than the life of
the project. In today’s economic environment, it is difficult to get support for projects
whose payback periods are longer than 3 or 4 years. However, renewable energy
projects also provide environmental benefits, and this may justify longer payback
periods.
Consider a project that requires a total investment in the amount of P in present time
and it provides an annual savings in the amount of U. How long will it take for
theinvestment to pay for itself from the savings it provides? You may have figured
out that the answer of this question is given by

Of course, the unknown here is the number of years n, which is equal to the payback
period ndpb. Solving for the payback period, we obtain

Here, P is the present value of the total cost of the project and its calculation, in
addition to capital cost, may involve operating and maintenance expenses and salvage
value of the investment, U represents annual savings due to the project, and i is the
interest rate. This payback period is called discounted payback periodndpb because the
time value of money is considered.

In most engineering applications, the time value of the money is neglected and a
simple payback period is calculated from

Here, “Investment” represents the total cost of the project, and it is the simple sum of
all the costs associated with the project over its lifetime. Usually only initial cost is
considered. Again U represents annual savings. It can be shown that the simple
payback period nspb is shorter than the discounted payback period ndpb, and thus it
underestimates the actual value. As the interest rate gets smaller, the difference
between the two payback periods also gets smaller. The simple payback period nspb is
primarily used in engineering calculations, and the discounted payback period ndpb is
rarely used.

Renewable Energy Engineering, Mod 5, AJT, CCET Page 39

The payback period analysis is sometimes used for comparing competing options. In
this analysis, the project with a shorter payback period is selected. However, this may
be misleading because an option with a longer payback period may have better net
economic benefits for the entire lifetime of the project. For example, consider two
projects with the same life periods. Option A has a net present value (benefit) of
$10,000 and a payback period of 2 years. Option B has a net present value of $15,000
with a payback period of 3 years. Clearly, option B provides higher monetary benefits
and thus it is economically more attractive even though it has a longer payback
period.

Prepared By

Arun Jose Tom

Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Carmel College of Engineering & Technology, Alappuzha Punnapra

Renewable Energy Engineering, Mod 5, AJT, CCET Page 40