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BIOMASS POTENTIAL IN PAKISTAN:
The Power crisis in Pakistan:
At present Pakistan is experiencing severe energy crisis which
is resulting in adverse long term
economic and social problems. The Electricity and Gas shortages
have directly impacted the
common man, Industry and commercial activities.
High cost of Energy mix is the main underlying reason behind the
power crisis. The main fuel for
the local power industry is natural gas however due to the
continued depletion of this source
and demands elsewhere the power generation companies are now
dependant on Furnace oil.
Crude oil prices which have remained around US$ per 112 barrel
for a long time make power
generation very expensive.
The energy mix of Pakistan for the year 2010-11 is given in
figure 1:
*Others (Nuclear, LPG and Imported Elect
FIGURE 1
The Consumption pattern of Power in Pakistan is in Table 2:
CONSUMER SHARE (%)
Domestic 45.7
Commercial 7.5
Industrial 28.1
Agricultural 11.8
Public Lighting 0.5
Bulk Supply 6.4
Total 100 Table: 2
Gas (47.57%)
Oil (32.05%)
Hydro Electric (11.77%)
Coal (6.74%)
Others* (1.88%)
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FIGURE 2: POWER CONSUMERS IN PAKISTAN
Extent of Power generated in Pakistan during the last 4 years is
given in Table 3:
YEAR GWH
2007-08 72,770
2008-09 69,659
2009-10 73,561
2010-11 73,806 Table 3i
FIGURE 3ii POWER GENERATED IN PAKISTAN.
Domestic (45.7 %)
Commercial (7.5 %)
Industrial (28.1 %)
Agricultural (11.8%)
Public Lighting (0.5%)
Bulk Supply (6.3%)
67,000
68,000
69,000
70,000
71,000
72,000
73,000
74,000
75,000
2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
GWH
GWH
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The problem being faced by the utilities in Pakistan is not
shortage of generation capacity
(which stands at 23,578 MW) but the available capacity remains
around 14,000 MW, the un-
utilised capacity is mainly due to non-availability of Furnace
oil to generate power at expensive
rates.
The way out of this crisis is:
Power production at low cost (meaning seeking for fuel sources
at much
lower than current purchase price)
Fuel security (reduced dependence on fuel sources which are
susceptible
to international price fluctuations and require foreign exchange
for
purchase)
It boils down to one target i.e. to look for fuel sources which
are cheap and abundantly
available within the country. This description and requirement
is fulfilled by resources which
have been largely ignored in the past and are also available in
sufficient quantities to remove
the Power crisis prevailing in the country. These sources can be
classified as the Biomass.
The Technology Platform: The Technology and equipment mainly
used for generating power
from biomass is shown in figure 4:
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The equipment required for generating Power from biomass is
Steam boilers to produce
steam by burning biomass as fuel; the steam is fed to a
condensing type steam turbine
which is drives a Power generator. The main equipment i.e. steam
boiler and the
ancillary equipment like cooling towers, pumps and piping can be
manufactured within
Pakistan whereas the Steam turbine generator (constituting 40%
of the power plant)
will have to be imported from overseas. Similar systems are
being used by the sugar
industries in Pakistan using the sugar cane Bagasse (another
waste agricultural biomass)
as fuel.
Some of the newly installed sugar factories using this
arrangement are exporting their
excess power to the grid during the sugar cane grinding
season.
BIOMASS SOURCES IN PAKISTAN:
Being an agrarian country Pakistan has numerous sources of
biomass available from agricultural
crops, secondly due to high population density in the urban
centres solid waste is also being
generated in quantities suitable for power generation.
Main sources of Biomass in Pakistan are:
AGRICULTURAL RESIDUES.
ANIMAL WASTE.
MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE. AGRICULTURAL RESIDUES: Agricultural
residues include those crop leftovers which have a fuel value and
their potential is not being fully utilized. The main agricultural
residues available locally are:
1. Wheat Straw: At present this is the main source of cattle
fodder so cannot be
considered as a source of fuel to generate power.
2. Rice Husk and Rice Straw: Presently being used as a source of
fuel in the brick kilns
and also as cattle feed is therefore not considered.
3. Cane trash: The waste of Sugarcane crop which is left in the
field and subsequently
burned by the farmers. Sugar Cane trash is a biomass source
which is available in
substantial quantities and can be classified as a potent source
to produce Power.
4. Cotton Sticks and other plant residues of Cotton crop: These
are also a left over in
field, part of this quantity is used for cooking purposes, some
quantity is lifted by the
Brick kiln users, 30% is excess and can be used as a biomass
source.
In this paper emphasis will be given to the last mentioned
sources i.e. Sugar Cane trash and
Cotton Stalks.
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Sugar Cane Trash:
Sugar cane trash is generated through the growing of sugar cane
which is a major crop in
Pakistan; it is mainly used for the manufacture of refined sugar
for local consumption. Sugar is
manufactured in sufficient quantities to fulfill the indigenous
requirements of the country.
Figure 5 Sugar Cane Plant
Figure 6i
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Sugar cane and trash in the field before harvest
Figure 6ii Cane trash left in the field after harvesting it will
be burned in-situ
As per data collected Sugar cane tops and trash constitutes
around 30% of the plant. The cane
tops constitute 20%. Cane tops are used as Cattle fodder and are
taken away by the cane
harvesting labor to feed to their dairy animals. The other waste
Cane trash constitutes 10% of
the Sugar cane crop. Leaving aside wastages 9% cane trash has
been considered as available
biomass for power.
The figures of Sugar cane crop in Pakistan and the trash
generated are given in Table 7
YEAR
Sugar Production
Tonnes
Cane Trash available Tonnes
2006-07 54,741,600 4,926,744
2007-08 63,920,000 5,752,800
2008-09 50,045,000 4,504,050
2009-10 49,372,900 4,443,561
2010-11 55,308,500 4,977,765
Table: 7
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Calorific Value of Sugar cane trash: As per research it has been
determined that the Nett.
Calorific value of Cane trash is = 6.7 Gj/Ton. Taking this
figure as the bench mark the Power
generating potential of Sugar cane trash available in Pakistan
is given in Table 8:
Year
Cane Trash
(Tonnes)
Thermal Energy in Cane Trash @ 6.7
GJ/ton (GJ)
Power Potential
Sugar cane trash
(GWH)
2007-
08 5,752,800 38,543,760 10,950
2008-
09 4,504,050 30,177,135 8,573
2009-
10 4,443,561 29,771,859 8,458
2010-
11 4,977,765 33,351,026 9,475
Table 8
COTTON STICKS:
Cotton is the other main cash crop. It is the main source of raw
material to the local textile industry; the lint cotton is also a
significant export item. During 2010-11, the crop was cultivated on
an area of 2.67 hectares. The crop figures of Cotton are given in
Table 10:
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Cotton field
Year
Cotton Production
(Bales)
Crop Production
(Tonnes)
2006-07 12,856,200 2,186,711
2007-8 11,655,100 1,982,416
2008-9 11,819,000 2,010,294
2009-10 12,913,400 2,196,440
2010-11 11,560,100 1,966,257
Table 10 Cotton crop data-Pakistan
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Quantity and Calorific Value of Cotton Stalks: As per available
information and related
publications the ratio of plant waste to Cotton is 3:1. From the
waste a portion is used by the
farmers as cooking fuel, some is lifted by the brick kiln
operators a substantial quantity is
available for use as fuel for power. The Nett Calorific Value of
cotton sticks has been
determined as 7.3 Gj/Ton. Power potential from cotton sticks is
given in Table 9:
Year
Cotton Stalks
Production (Tonnes)
Cotton Stalks Available for
Power Generation (Tonnes)
Thermal Energy in Cotton Sticks @
7.33 GJ/Ton (GJ)
Power Potential (GWH)
2007-8 5,947,248 1,486,812 10,898,332 3,096
2008-9 6,030,882 1,507,721 11,051,591 3,140
2009-10 6,589,320 1,647,330 12,074,929 3,430
2010-11 5,898,771 1,474,693 10,809,498 3,071
Table 11
ANIMAL MANURE:
Energy from Dairy animals: Dairy animals wise Pakistan stands
fourth in the world in Milk
production, its indigenous production of milk stands at around 4
billion liters per year. The
cattle and dairy population is also substantial and could be
considered for prospecting energy
from the manure from the dairy animals and cattle. The
technology for extracting energy from
cattle and dairy animals is through generation of biogas from
the manure, this technology is
well introduced in Pakistan and its use will not pose any
barriers. The additional advantage for
Power from manure is the Organic Compost and slurry which can
subsequently used in the
fields as a rich source of fertilizer. This will result in
additional revenues at significant levels
improving the profitability of the dairy farmers and the power
operators.
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Animals data of Pakistan is given in table 12:
YEAR Cattle
Population
Buffalo
Population
Total Animal
Population
Manure Produced (Tonnes)
2006-07 30,674,000 28,146,000 58,820,000 322,039,500
2007-08 31,829,000 29,001,000 60,830,000 333,044,250
2008-09 33,029,000 29,883,000 62,912,000 344,443,200
2009-10 34,285,000 29,413,000 63,698,000 348,746,550
2010-11 35,568,000 31,726,000 67,294,000 368,434,650
Table 12
Biogas from Manure: The quantity of biogas in any feedstock is
dependent on the organic
content of the Feedstock, the average organic content of Cattle
and Buffalo manure is 12%.
Table 13 gives the power potential from Animals manure
Year
Manure Produced
Tonnes/year
Biogas @ 30 m/Ton
Manure
Thermal energy in Biogas
@ 22 MJ/m
Biogas Power Potential @ 2.14 Kwh/m
(GWH) (m) (GJ)
2006-07 322,039,500 9,661,185,000 212,546,070 20,675
2007-8 333,044,250 9,991,327,500 219,809,205 21,381
2008-9 344,443,200 10,333,296,000 227,332,512 22,113
2009-10 348,746,550 10,462,396,500 230,172,723 22,390
2010-11 368,434,650 11,053,039,500 243,166,869 23,654
Table 13
The Dairy Animal holding in Pakistan ranges from very low per
farm to the largest located at
Karachi (housing around 400,000 animals). The herd size
distribution is given in the table 14
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Herd Size Cattle Buffalo
1-6 5.204 5.001
84.10% 83.40% 7-15 0.826 0.843
13.30% 14.10% 16-50 0.14 0.14
2.30% 2.30% > 50 0.018 0.012
0.30% 0.20% Total 6.188 5.996
100% 100%
Table 14
As per table 11 the maximum % of Cattle and buffalo holding is
from 1 6 animals, the
production of biogas from this size will be very limited however
due to this size the dairy sector
is facing other problems like low productivity, substandard feed
and animals health issues, in
order to obtain maximum benefits from the dairy sector the
collectivization of dairy farms will
have to be practiced which will enable the farmers to sell their
manure to the biogas based
power producers at mutually convenient prices. The second
benefit of such arrangement would
be that the effluent solids and liquid coming out of the biogas
power plants can be converted
into Organic fertilizer source in quantities which can be used
in the fields on large scale.
Municipal Solid Waste:
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is another feedstock which is
available in substantial quantities,
the quantities generated in major city centers of Pakistan is
7,121,626 Tonnes/yr:
The calorific values of Municipal solid waste have been
determined by laboratories and the
average figures as per different classifications are given in
Table 15:
S.NO AREA
CLASSIFICATION MOISTURE
% CALORIFIC
VALUE MJ/KG
1 High Income Residential area 60 7.27
2 Medium Income Residential area 63 6.98
3 Low Income Residential Area 67 6.25
4 Commercial Area 64 6.67
5 Industrial Area 61 7.19 Table 15
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Taking an average calorific value of msw = 6.89 MJ/kg the
Thermal energy and power potential
available in the MSW generated in the major urban centers of
Pakistan is 13,940 GWH/YR.
To obtain an annual value for 4 years it has been assumed that
the generation rate of MSW will
be directly proportional to the population growth rate which is
2 % per annum. In the final
analysis narrated in Table 16 the increase in MSW based power
potential has also been
incremented at this rate.
Year
POWER AVAILABLE FROM MSW
GWH/YR.
2007-8 13,940
2008-9 16,728
2009-10 20,074
2010-11 24,088
Table 16
Conclusion: Having determined the theoretical values of the
power potential in the agricultural
and urban waste available in Pakistan a summary can be prepared
for the total Power which
can be realized. This figure is given in Table 17:
YEAR
Power from Sugar cane trash
(GWH)
Power From MSW @ 2% increase/yr
(GWH)
Total Biomass Power
available (GWH)
Power from
Cotton Sticks (GWH)
Power from Dairy Biogas
(GWH)
2007-08 10,950 3,096 21,381 13,940 49,367
2008-09 8,573 3,140 22,113 14,219 48,044
2009-10 8,458 3,430 22,390 14,503 48,781
2010-11 9,475 3,071 23,654 14,793 50,993
Table 17
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It is also important to compare the potential or theoretical
figures with the total power
presently being generated in Pakistan this comparison is given
in Table 18:
Year
Power generated in Pakistan
GWH
Biomass Potential of
Pakistan GWH
Biomass potential as % of Total Power
consumed
2007-
08 72,770 49,367 68 %
2008-
09 69,659 48,044 69 %
2009-
10 73,561 48,781 66 %
2010-
11 73,806 50,993 69 %
Table 18
Studying the above comparison and assuming that even if the
Biomass potential of Pakistan is
realized it can easily replace major part of the total power
generated in the country and
become a substitute for the Imported and expensive furnace oil
and natural gas required in
other sectors. This replacement will be much cheaper than power
generated from furnace oil.
Additionally advantages adopting the biomass route will be
multi-dimensional like:
Power supply at affordable rates to the consumers.
A sustained supply without the menace of regular and long power
outages.
An indigenous resource for localized power generation which is
not dependent on the
price fluctuations linked with imported fossil fuels.
An additional source of income for the growers of Sugar Cane,
cotton crop and the dairy
farmers thereby creating additional profits for the
stakeholders. A source of business
opportunities for traders buying biomass raw material from the
farmers processing it
and selling to power operators.
A source of employment in the rural areas and prevent migration
of populace to urban
centers seeking job opportunities away from home.
Power from biomass can be generated through technology platforms
and equipment
which is mainly indigenous and the technical manpower to operate
it is also abundantly
available in the country.
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The Msw based power plants have to be installed in the cities
(where the garbage is
generated) thus removing the problems associated with garbage
collection and disposal
and making available a source of income for the funds starved
civic agencies of the
cities.
Barriers in implementation:
Setting up centralised biomass based power plants will be a
barrier, this hurdle can be
overcome by installing a chain of smaller power plants ranging
from 15MW to 50MW
located in those areas where the biomass is available in
economical quantities, and this
will also save in the transportation costs and will result in
reduced line losses.
The Micro-grid concept should be adopted for time savings and
immediate
implementation.
In absence of a centralized approach the second option would be
to go for micro power
plants of 15 Kw to 1000 Kw range based on Gasifier and biogas
plants using the
agricultural biomass and animal manure as the feed stock, this
route will also be viable
and could be adopted on the basis of individual participation of
the small and medium
land holding farmers. The assistance of NGOs and small and
medium scale
entrepreneurs would be helpful in adopting this route.