Taking an early step towards a sustainable energy ecosystem
CONVENTIONAL ENERGY SOURCES
Energy consumption is ever growing at an increased rate every year. Conventional sources like Oil, Coal and Natural Gas are still dominant sources of Energy and are fueling the world economy in a nonstop trail, leaving behind a high carbon footprint. Very little is done to reduce the adverse effects of consuming energy from these sources. The emission of greenhouse gases, thermal pollution, and water pollution are some major concerns that are not adequately addressed and the negative impacts never be realized for the generations to come.
There are alternative sources of energy that can gain prominence and reduce dependence on these essential sources that threaten our generation. Renewable energy is one of the answers to provide clean energy and mitigate climate change that is caused by the conventional sources of energy.
Hydroelectricity, Solar and Wind are clean energy sources but they have their limitations. Hydroelectricity for example can be harnessed only on rivers, while solar energy can be captured only during the day. Wind energy on the other hand is also dependent on the natural wind flow which cannot be consistent and only fairly reliable.
RENEWABLE BIO-ENERGY FROM AAKASH
AAKASH advocates the use of Biomass to meet the energy requirements in a clean and renewable method. AAKASH has identified that Bamboo can provide as much energy as the conventional sources with lesser environmental impact and carbon footprint than those by oil, coal and natural gas.
Biomass is 100% sustainable and there is considerable control over the carbon emissions. It also generates more employment without the need for migration of labour.
Bamboo based Renewable Energy production provides for a higher carbon seizure. This is important because it ensures that carbon does not rise up and trap heat in the atmosphere which causes global warming. Bamboo, by their very nature, absorbs more carbon dioxide than any other plants and hence it naturally provides for higher carbon sequestration. Bamboo plantations on a large scale thus help mitigate climate change.
AAKASH generates Energy from the Biomass in two ways:
- Steam generation, has the capacity of 10MW to any capacity.
- Gasification has the capacity of 0.5MW to 3 MW.
ELECTRICITY FROM AAKASH BAMBOO
Electricity is an essential part of human life in the present world. We need electricity for everyday purposes like lighting, cooling, food preparation, transportation, ventilation, space heating, and more. We are majorly dependent on thermal power plants for our electricity needs while a small proportion of it is supplied by other sources.
Thermal power plants use fossil fuels which are rapidly depleting. Greenhouse gases emitted by these power plants also pose a threat to the global environment in the name of climate change. There is thus an urgent need to seek alternative sources of fuels to meet increasing energy demand.
Electricity from biomass is one such answer to providing clean energy. AAKASH has invested in developing power plants that run on biomass obtained from specific kinds of Bamboo. The feed materials are in the form of biomass, chips, and wood pellets. These power plants are not only environmentally friendly, but they are also sustainable.
STEAM POWER PLANT
AAKASH produces electricity from Steam Power Plants that use Bamboo biomass. The biomass fuel is combusted with oxygen from the air in a combustion chamber to produce heat. A biomass boiler is used to convert the heat into steam, which is run through steam turbines for electricity generation.
The power plant’s byproduct is in the form of Bamboo Ash which is used as fertilizer.
AKASH GROUP has developed a business model which is specially designed for large end users, such as the government, utilizing significant advancements in science and technology to encompass a strategy for the on-site production of its energy requirements.
Having successfully developed Energy projects in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, AAKASH is now seeking new opportunities across the world to enable them with sustainable long term solutions for Energy requirements and also to reduce their carbon footprint together by assuring socio-economic growth and employment.
GASIFICATION
In addition to converting bamboo into biomass as chips and pellets and using them in a combustion chamber, burning with oxygen, an alternative method of anaerobic combustion where burning is done in the absence of oxygen which is also utilized to produce gaseous fuels. This gas is then used in combustion for the production of heat and steam to be utilized in gas turbines, which result in the production of electricity.
AAKASH uses the microbial conversion of biomass for fuels. Microbial conversion is an anaerobic digestion process where a negligible amount of energy is consumed to produce fuel called biogas. Biogas is employed as a fuel for gas for boilers and gas turbines for electricity generation.
BIOFUELS
A cleaner, better and more efficient alternative to the conventional energy sources
In a bid to provide for the rising demands of automobile fuels and gas for household cooking, AAKASH has extended its expertise on Bamboo to meet such essential requirements.
BIO-CNG
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is less polluting to the environment than other popular fuel such as Petrol and Diesel. At present CNG is mostly delivered through pipes which are running for several thousand kilometers.
Bamboo is convertible into biogas which can be processed into Bio-CNG. Bio-CNG is a renewable fuel that is identical in composition and better in purity than fossil CNG. Bio-CNG from Bamboo generates income for the rural population and serves as an import substitute. Every 300 acres of cultivated bamboo can feed one gas bunk on the road side which does not need pipe lining for long distances. Bamboo based Bio-CNG can be produced locally throughout the adjoining highways.
Agro Gas, a subsidiary of AAKASH has tested Bamboo and established a model of a Bio-CNG plant in Pune, India. The technology is developed by Mr.Santhosh Gondlekar after several years of continuous research and hard work. This is the first Bio-CNG gas production and gas dispensing station in India.
Bio-CNG from Bamboo is also suitable for domestic and commercial use as a cooking gas. This can reduce our dependence on natural gas which is more polluting.
ETHANOL
Ethanol is a form of fuel derived from the complex carbohydrate in plants. For decades, scientists have been trying many potential plants for fuel. Many of the plants happen to be in the food chain such as sugarcane, sugar beet, maize, sorghum, etc. Several years of research had led to the successful development of bamboo cellulose into ethanol in countries like Japan, the UK, China, and Taiwan. Scientific research for about a decade at the AAKASH, in the areas of Biotechnology and Agronomy, has led to the development of Bamboo and High-Density Energy Plantation as a means to produce the highest quantity of cellulosic biomass at the affordable cost as a raw material for ethanol production.
CULTIVATION OF BAMBOO AS ENERGY PLANTATION
- Doesn’t harm the environment
- Increase the oxygen while reducing the CO2 5 times faster than any other tree
- Harvested every year, from 2nd year onwards
- Planted once, harvested for centuries
- Biomass at a cost attractive for Bioethanol production
- Higher income from farm cultivation
- Increases the renewable energy