Agro-residue based Bio Coal could replace coal in NTPC power plants: Amit Kulshreshtha

After successful implementation of cofiring 10 percent agro-residue based pellets at the Dadri thermal power plant, NTPC is planning to purchase 20,000 tonnes of agriculture residue per day for its plants spread throughout the country.


Devdiscourse News DeskDevdiscourse News Desk | New Delhi | Updated: 26-02-2020 17:33 IST | Created: 04-02-2020 16:52 IST
Agro-residue based Bio Coal could replace coal in NTPC power plants: Amit Kulshreshtha
Amit Kulshreshtha, General Manager, Waste to Energy, NTPC, India Image Credit: Devdiscourse
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Though introduced as a measure of crisis management, the stubble of paddy crop has now become a sustainable alternative for power generation in thermal power plants of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). The public sector company is in the process of purchasing 20,000 tonnes of agriculture residue per day to make pellets and mix it with natural coal for cofiring. 

“The heat value of agriculture residue has been found equal to the coal. Initially, there was a minor decrease in efficiency of the boilers but now it is working properly,” said Amit Kulshreshtha, General Manager, Waste to Energy, NTPC in an exclusive interview to Devdiscourse on sidelines of the Waste to Energy Series of Summits (WMSS) 2020 organized in New Delhi on 30-31 January. “We will require to change the design of boilers to increase the ratio of agro-residue based pellets more than 10 percent. However, technologies are available to make bio-coal or biochar from the agriculture residue which is of the same quality as fossil coal. If we adopt the technology, 100 percent replacement of the coal is also possible,” added Kulshreshtha. Click below to see the full interview.  

NTPC is presently using about 10 percent of crop residue-based pellets with 90 percent of coal in its thermal power plant at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh. The project was started in 2017 when in pursuance of the direction of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Central government asked NTPC to purchase paddy stubble from farmers to avoid stubble burning which was causing huge pollution in Delhi and NCR.

NTPC Dadri power plant is presently co-firing 70-80 tons of agro-residue fuel along with coal. The plant has so far received about 2400 tonnes of non-torrefied biomass pellets from many suppliers in Haryana, Punjab, Rajashtan and Madhya Pradesh. “We are in the process of the tender to purchase 20,000 tonnes of agriculture residue per day for the next year,” informed Kulshreshtha. This will be used in various power plants of NTPC throughout the country.

For more news and views on waste management, please visit Live Discourse on Waste Management Series of Summits (WMSS 2020) being organized by Indus Exposium on 30th - 31st January 2020 in New Delhi.

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