Paddy Straw Pelletisation And Torrefaction Plants
Source : The Hindu
GS III : Environment and Conservation
What is discussed under Paddy Straw Pelletisation And Torrefaction Plants?
- What is the process?
- What is Stubble Burning?
Why in News ?
The Union Environment Ministry unveiled a 50 crore initiative to encourage businesses and entrepreneurs to establish paddy straw pelletization and torrefaction factories as winter approaches and incidents of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana increase.
What is the process?
- Paddy Straw are converted into pellets.
- These pellets are pre-treated to improves the physical properties and chemical composition in a process called torrefaction.
Photo by Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz - The estimated cost of setting up a regular pelletisation plant, which can process a tonne per hour, is ₹35 lakh.
- Torrefaction is more expensive, but it can produce a product with a significantly higher energy content and, in theory, replace more coal in a power plant.
- In thermal power plants, coal and torrefied or pelletized paddy straw can be combined to generate power.
- This conserves coal and lowers carbon emissions that would have been produced if the straw had been burned on the fields, as the majority of farmers in Punjab and Haryana often do.
Support from Government
- New units set up after would be eligible for government funding in the form of capital to set up such plants.
- The Center will finance these plants up to a maximum of 70Lakh, subject to capacity.
- Cost of establishing a torrefaction plant is ₹70 lakh and under the scheme, is eligible for a maximum funding of ₹1.4 crore.
- Under this once-only arrangement and regular pellet factories will be eligible for 40 crore of the total.
What is Stubble Burning?
- From the last week of September to November, it is a method of eliminating rice crop remnants from the land in order to seed wheat.
- It is the technique of igniting the paddy or wheat straw that remains after harvesting grains such as rice, wheat, and others.
- It is frequently necessary for places where crop residue is left behind by the combination harvesting process.
Paddy straw Generation
- Every year, about 27 million tonne of paddy straw is generated in Punjab and Haryana.
- Twenty million tonnes, or 75%, come from non-basmati rice, which has a high silica concentration and cannot be used as cattle fodder.
- There were 867 instances of stubble burning in Punjab till October 12 this year.
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