Friday, March 29, 2024

News Destination For The Global Indian Community

News Destination For The Global Indian Community

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Mine precious biomass

Mine precious biomass

Use it to produce fuel, textiles, electricity, raw materials and have more natural end-products with a significantly smaller environmental impact

An average of 50 million tonnes of agro-biomass such as rice straw are set on fire every year in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Punjab and Haryana, contributing significantly to the air pollution woes of these States as well as the national Capital. Data released by the Central Government revealed that in September, the concentration of poisonous PM2. 5 particles in a cubic metre of air averaged at 47.64 micrograms, 17 per cent higher from the same month last year. In places like Haryana and Faridabad, the average Air Quality Index (AQI) ranged from 203 to 245 and the AQI of Delhi ranged from 234 to 269, which is “poor.” Frighteningly, this is almost twice the “safe” level prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Much has been debated about this pollution problem and some solutions have been proffered. A very practical remedy that can not only do away with the practice of crop-burning but improve the livelihoods of farmers is using agricultural waste to produce valuable products and growing alternate crops that provide both ample food and substantial biomass.

Why agricultural waste isn’t really waste? Agro-residues and woody biomass can be used to manufacture high-value products that can replace fossil-based and other environmentally detrimental raw materials. Biomass is fractionated in refineries to its main components — lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose, with high yields and purity. These fractions can be used to replace fossil-derived raw materials in many industrial and consumer sectors. Hemicellulose, for instance, can be used in the manufacture of food ingredients, while lignin finds applications in construction materials. Cellulose, meanwhile, has many uses in the textiles industry. All these facts, especially the last one, are highly significant as they give farmers an additional avenue for income generation while also meeting a national need.

Instead of burning straw and other agricultural waste on their fields, farmers can sell them as raw material for producing textile fibres.The production of cotton usually requires huge amounts of water and pesticides. If, however, a cotton field was replaced with wheat, and 30 per cent of the resultant wheat straw was used for manufacturing textile fibre, we would get the same amount of fibre as from the cotton crop but with substantially less water usage. At the same time, the wheat produced in the field would help in meeting the food requirement of the region.

Raw material for sustainable clothing and sustainable fashion: Agricultural waste can be used to produce highly sustainable textile fibre, as was demonstrated at the Textile Exchange Sustainability Conference in Vancouver in October 2019, where the world’s first clothing made from wheat straw was introduced. Encouragingly, there is a growing demand for sustainable textiles around the world as well as in India. Apparel stores and even fashion shows have begun hosting events with sustainability as one of the themes. This is just as well for studies suggest that it takes up to 2,700 litres of water to produce the amount of cotton needed to make a single T-shirt.

In view of the water crisis that looms on the horizon of most countries of the world, sustainable apparel made out of biomass must be viewed not as a passing fad but as a future necessity. India has an abundant labour supply, a strong domestic market, and well-established capacities for spinning, weaving and apparel-making. Simply by growing the right crops and by using biomass “waste” as raw material for its textiles, the country can reduce imports significantly and play a dominant role in the global market for apparel and fashion.

An environment-friendly source of fuel and power in the future: Rice, as the staple food in many parts of India, is one of the most widely-grown crops in the country. However, after the rice grains have been separated from the stalks, the rest of the plant — a sizeable part — is usually discarded. This “waste” can instead be used to produce biofuels. There is also potential for making ethanol from rice straw. Ethanol-blended petrol can reduce emissions from sectors such as heavy-duty vehicles, aviation and shipping. The National Policy on Biofuels has, in fact, set a target of 10 per cent ethanol blending with vehicle fuel by the year 2022 and 20 per cent by 2030. Bamboo is yet another crop that can provide ample biomass while, at the same time, improve rural livelihoods. Like in the biorefinery in Assam, bamboo can be used to produce bioethanol, biochemicals and even excess electricity. The idea is to use biomass to produce fuel, textiles, electricity, raw materials for industries and have more natural end-products with less resource usage and significantly smaller environmental impact. With a bit of foresight and the willingness to work towards sustainability for all, we could see significantly higher usage of biomass in the years ahead. It will play an important part in our journey towards achieving carbon neutrality and reducing the use of non-renewable resources.

(The writer heads a clean energy company)

Mine precious biomass

Mine precious biomass

Use it to produce fuel, textiles, electricity, raw materials and have more natural end-products with a significantly smaller environmental impact

An average of 50 million tonnes of agro-biomass such as rice straw are set on fire every year in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Punjab and Haryana, contributing significantly to the air pollution woes of these States as well as the national Capital. Data released by the Central Government revealed that in September, the concentration of poisonous PM2. 5 particles in a cubic metre of air averaged at 47.64 micrograms, 17 per cent higher from the same month last year. In places like Haryana and Faridabad, the average Air Quality Index (AQI) ranged from 203 to 245 and the AQI of Delhi ranged from 234 to 269, which is “poor.” Frighteningly, this is almost twice the “safe” level prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Much has been debated about this pollution problem and some solutions have been proffered. A very practical remedy that can not only do away with the practice of crop-burning but improve the livelihoods of farmers is using agricultural waste to produce valuable products and growing alternate crops that provide both ample food and substantial biomass.

Why agricultural waste isn’t really waste? Agro-residues and woody biomass can be used to manufacture high-value products that can replace fossil-based and other environmentally detrimental raw materials. Biomass is fractionated in refineries to its main components — lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose, with high yields and purity. These fractions can be used to replace fossil-derived raw materials in many industrial and consumer sectors. Hemicellulose, for instance, can be used in the manufacture of food ingredients, while lignin finds applications in construction materials. Cellulose, meanwhile, has many uses in the textiles industry. All these facts, especially the last one, are highly significant as they give farmers an additional avenue for income generation while also meeting a national need.

Instead of burning straw and other agricultural waste on their fields, farmers can sell them as raw material for producing textile fibres.The production of cotton usually requires huge amounts of water and pesticides. If, however, a cotton field was replaced with wheat, and 30 per cent of the resultant wheat straw was used for manufacturing textile fibre, we would get the same amount of fibre as from the cotton crop but with substantially less water usage. At the same time, the wheat produced in the field would help in meeting the food requirement of the region.

Raw material for sustainable clothing and sustainable fashion: Agricultural waste can be used to produce highly sustainable textile fibre, as was demonstrated at the Textile Exchange Sustainability Conference in Vancouver in October 2019, where the world’s first clothing made from wheat straw was introduced. Encouragingly, there is a growing demand for sustainable textiles around the world as well as in India. Apparel stores and even fashion shows have begun hosting events with sustainability as one of the themes. This is just as well for studies suggest that it takes up to 2,700 litres of water to produce the amount of cotton needed to make a single T-shirt.

In view of the water crisis that looms on the horizon of most countries of the world, sustainable apparel made out of biomass must be viewed not as a passing fad but as a future necessity. India has an abundant labour supply, a strong domestic market, and well-established capacities for spinning, weaving and apparel-making. Simply by growing the right crops and by using biomass “waste” as raw material for its textiles, the country can reduce imports significantly and play a dominant role in the global market for apparel and fashion.

An environment-friendly source of fuel and power in the future: Rice, as the staple food in many parts of India, is one of the most widely-grown crops in the country. However, after the rice grains have been separated from the stalks, the rest of the plant — a sizeable part — is usually discarded. This “waste” can instead be used to produce biofuels. There is also potential for making ethanol from rice straw. Ethanol-blended petrol can reduce emissions from sectors such as heavy-duty vehicles, aviation and shipping. The National Policy on Biofuels has, in fact, set a target of 10 per cent ethanol blending with vehicle fuel by the year 2022 and 20 per cent by 2030. Bamboo is yet another crop that can provide ample biomass while, at the same time, improve rural livelihoods. Like in the biorefinery in Assam, bamboo can be used to produce bioethanol, biochemicals and even excess electricity. The idea is to use biomass to produce fuel, textiles, electricity, raw materials for industries and have more natural end-products with less resource usage and significantly smaller environmental impact. With a bit of foresight and the willingness to work towards sustainability for all, we could see significantly higher usage of biomass in the years ahead. It will play an important part in our journey towards achieving carbon neutrality and reducing the use of non-renewable resources.

(The writer heads a clean energy company)

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