1

1
Sources of Energy 1.1 Energy Demand The degree of industrial development as well as the prosperity of most nations is known to be somewhat loosely related to their per capita energy consumptions. Tables 1.1 and 1.2 exhibit electrical energy consumptions and gross domestic products (GDP) of four countries to show that the degree of development of countries is related to to GDP. In general, the higher the GDP, the higher the electrical energy consumption per person 1. This implies that the industrially more advanced and rich countries consume Table1.1. Electrical energy consumption (kWh/capita-year) Year 1990 1995 2001 Table Country (March) 1.2. Gross 253 350 489 domestic India product China 596 (GDP) per United 5300 12,170 capita States Japan 4908 Year GDP Population in US$ billion millions Country 1988 1988 USA 4881.00 246.30 Japan 2859.92 122.60 China 332.79 1105.61 India 267.24 797.73 2007 (Approx) 605 2009 (Approx) 635 Developing Developing Developed

Developed GDP US$ per (capita-year) 1970 1988 4922 19,815 1930 23,325 120 301 100 335

more energy than the less developed and poorer countries of the world. Japans and Germanys total per capita installed capacity is equivalent to 6 kW and that of USA, 4 kW. Indias installed capacity is abysmally low: a mere 0.14 kW per capita. Even that of Bangladesh is slightly higher at 0.2 kW. The Indian per capita energy consumption has been historically very low: in 1947 it was an abysmal 11.9 kWh, in 1960 it was 53 kWh, in 1969 it was 81 kWh and even in 2007, it was barely 635 kWh. Presently (2009), the total installed electrical capacity in India is estimated to be around 147,800 MW and the per capita power consumption around 635 kWh. The annual power output increased from about 190 billion kWH in 1986 to more than 680 billion kWh in 2006. The intent is to add 78,000 MW of generation capacity by 2012. (The actual power consumption in India is probably lower than indicated, since there is considerable wastage and pilferage between the source and the point of consumption in India). As opposed to this, the electrical consumptions per

hat of Japan). This is due to a lower efficiency of energy use and overall wastage. ????
1

2 capita in USA during the years 1960, 1969 and 2007 were respectively 4860, 5300 and 12,865 kwh. If India, with no increase in population were to consume energy at the same rate as USA, the production would have to increase by a factor of 21! An analysis for other kinds of energy consumption in the two countries shows similar figures for the energy needed for India to match USAs rate of consumption in 2007. (The real match required is not one of electrical power consumption but of per capita domestic output. USA is known to waste energy unnecessarily when compared with Japan and the industrially advanced countries of Europe and Asia. In India, efforts are always directed at incurring minimal energy and expenditure and the total output is not necessarily related to commercial energy consumption as closely as it is in industrially advanced countries. Animal and human muscle-power are used on a large scale and these are not counted in the total energy consumption lists. As a result, the per capita domestic output in India may be higher than what is indicated by the figures presented above. Even so, it is way too low to be of great significance for technical and industrial advancement). In addition, since the population rises continuously and the state of technology advances, the factor 21 may become an underestimate very soon. (During the last thirty years, the demand for energy in India has grown at an average of 3.6% per annum. The demand for electricity has grown faster, at the rate of 4.6% or more. Assuming that these rates of increase continue, the demand for total energy will double every 20 years and that for electricity, every 15.5 years). According to several projections of power requirements, the total demand for electrical power by the year 2030 may become as large as 800,000-950,000 MW. (For this to happen, the installed power capacity should increase annually at the astounding rate of 8% and requiring the capacity to double every 9 years). If the energy requirements of all the underdeveloped countries of the world increase equally fast, the demand will place a heavy strain on Indias and the earth's limited energy reserves. It is therefore necessary to take stock of all energy sources on hand and consider which of the exploitable sources are plentifully available to fulfill the foreseeable needs of the country and also those sources which are not being properly used. This will be done in the following sections. 1.2 Available Energy Sources

It is well recognized that renewable sources of energy are the only resort for a longlasting solution to energy needs, since fossil fuel reserves are finite (limited in extent) and will be definitely exhausted very shortly (about 40-150 years), if consumption continues at the presently expected rates all over the world. The increasing energy demand to sustain the fast increasing energy needs of India (and the rest of the world) cannot therefore be met through increased use of non-renewable sources. Several highly industrialized countries (e.g., Norway, Germany and Japan), are presently trying to utilise non-conventional energy sources, in particular, solar energy. Still, the presently installed capacity of power plants using solar energy is negligible (in comparison with the total power used, even if applications like cooking, water-heating and drying are included. The scope for hydro-electric power is vast and constitutes a reasonable fraction of all the power obtained from fossil fuel-fired plants. India, in particular, has large potential sources for the production of hydro-electricity, though they are not yet fully exploited. Presently, only about 22.3% of the total electrical power in India comes from hydraulic sources. Table 1.3 shows the renewable energy potential for India. It is seen that the estimated gross power from hydraulic energy is around 137,000 MW. Theoretically, it means that atleast for the present, much of the power generated in India can be obtained from hydraulic sources alone so that one can nearly stop using the depleting fossil fuel reserves! Unfortunately however, instead of concentrating on hydroelectric power stations, India has been building more and more thermal power stations

3 and even importing coal in some areas to operate them. It appears that we invariably follow the model of the western world without even considering the resources that we have on hand. (For many countries of the west, use of fossil fuels and nuclear energy is probably the optimum choice, since their hydro-electric sources are small and in some cases, nearly fully exploited. This is not true for India. A better model for India would be that of China which has increased its installed hydro-power to 90,000 MW from levels very similar to those of India during 1950s. During this period, Indias hydro-capacity has gone up only to 29,000 MW). Table 1.3. Renewable Energy Sources of India (Potential) Hydro energy* Small hydro 137,000 MW (maximum), Proven capacity 84,000 MW. Usage: 36,648 MW. 10,000 MW (Includes small plants, each 100-200 kW and mini plants, each with capacity below 100 kW). Usage: 172 MW (???) 20,000 MW** Usage: 4375 MW 50,000MW, (17,000 MW) (141???) 120 million, Usage: 1.8 million Unlimited (5000 Trillion kWh/year), At 20 Wm-2 insolation, Q = 60,000 MW (Solar thermal at the minimum???)

Wind Energy Biomass energy Biogas plants (number) Solar energy

In 2006, India was the sixth largest energy consumer in the world, accounting for 3.4% of the world energy consumption. Of the total, about 53% was obtained through the combustion of coal. Presently, the main sources of electricity are thermal (68%), hydro(28.5%) and nuclear (1.5%) with relatively small contributions from renewable energy sources like solar energy and wind power. (India has also invested in recent years in renewable sources of energy such as wind energy). But the potential for proved resources of hydro-energy in India are around 84,000 MW of which only about 36,648 MW have been tapped so far. (In China, on the other hand, the installed hydro capacity is about 88,000 MW). As of now, Indias total installed electrical capacity is about 147,800 MW of which nearly 93,600 MW arise from thermal power. Evidently, India should concentrate on reducing its use of electrical power from thermal energy and increasing its share of hydroelectric power so that its dependence on imported oil may be reduced if not completely eliminated. Increased dependence on thermal power and the associated use of coal, imported oil and pollution may thus be reduced. The increasing use of thermal energy and the consequent environmental degradation have multiplied the problems of global warming as well as Ozone depletion in many parts of the world. Some values of global warming gas production due to various types of fossil fuel usage are listed in Table 1.4.

Fig. 1.1. Sources of Electrical power generation in India (1986-2006).[1] Indias electrical power development is expected to require Rs. 85,000 crores of investment to meet power demand by 2012. Coal currently supplies around 53% of total electrical power requirements, though natural gas2 is emerging as the preferred fuel in the power generation sector. Overall, the use of fossil fuels poses a serious threat to the environment caused by global warming gases and particles of ash, etc., as already seen from Table 1.4. (There are plans for wind power to contribute as much as 20,000 MW to the installed capacity). On an overall basis, the major sources of world energy which are presently used may be divided into two categories, viz., solar energy and nuclear energy. The term solar energy includes both the direct solar energy (the sun's energy incident on the ground), and accumulated forms of indirect energy such as the energy from fossil fuels (exhaustible sources), hydraulic energy, energy from vegetation and wind power (renewable and perennial sources). Direct solar energy is not being used on scales comparable with those of fossil fuels or hydraulic energy, though on a small scale, it is being to use in several countries for water-heating, cookingand power production. In India, it is being used even for lighting purposes in small villages. Until very recently, mankind has depended almost totally on the energy released from the combustion of fossil fuels. These fuels represent the collected solar energy from the past eras, when large amounts of vegetable matter were buried under the earth's surface and gradually converted by heat and pressure into their present forms. In 1960, upto 98% of the total energy produced in the world came from fossil fuels. Even now in some areas, around 86% or more of the energy comes from fossil fuel combustion. As late as in 1973, around 90% of the world energy was obtained from fossil fuels, despite efforts directed towards the use of other kinds of energy. Since fossil fuels have to come from what is buried underground and hence finite, they constitute an exhaustible source.
2

But natural gas also comes under the category of depleting sources of energy. So we cannot depend too much on this if the energy planning is for the long.term basis though required for everlasting solution of energy problems.

5 Table 1.4. Global warming gas release. Sl. No. Fuel Global warming gas, source kgkWh-1 1 2 3 4 5 Coal Oil Gaseous fuel Nuclear Hydro 1.12 0.97 0.57 0.0 0.0

Nuclear energy is a product of nuclear fusion or fission reaction (Chap. 2). In order to obtain nuclear energy for industrial development and power production, the reaction should be controlled and the energy released gradually. So far no method has been devised to obtain a controlled fusion reaction, though a controlled fission 3 reaction is possible and is utilised in atomic power stations in India, France, Britain, Russia, USA and several other countries. India has several atomic power stations at Tarapore near Mumbai, Ranapratapsagar in Rajasthan, Kalpakkam in Tamilnadu, Kaiga in Karnataka and a few others. (The capacities of some of these stations to produce power are being increased and new nuclear stations are being constructed in an effort to reduce atmospheric pollution due to green-house gases and to reduce the countrys dependence on foreign oil). Though sunlight has been mentioned as a source distinct from nuclear energy, it is the energy emerging at the suns surface due to a nuclear fusion reaction, deep within the solar sphere. If this is taken into account, all the energy that has been used on earth so far is of purely nuclear origin. Figure 1.2 shows some estimates of man's present and foreseeable energy needs, as well as all the energy supplies [2]4. The energy consumed in the world from all the sources in 1960 was estimated at 34.51012 kWh or 4.3109 e.t.c. (An e.t.c. is an equivalent ton of coal, having an energy output due to combustion of 8000 kWh). By the year 2000 A.D., the estimated total world energy requirements were 1401012 kWh (17.5109 e.t.c.). As against these requirements, the estimated coal reserves are 6.41016 kWh (8000 B e.t.c.s) [3]. Very pessimistic estimates place the resources at a tenth of the above value, about 0.6410 16 kWh (800 B e.t.c.), representing an energy value of 64001012 kwh. Water power resources though perennial, are estimated to be just sufficient if fully developed, to equal the energy needs of 2000 A.D. So, hydraulic power will not be able to supply even a fraction of the energy needs a century from now. Since the conventional sources of energy will thus be totally inadequate after some time, from the long term viewpoint, it is imperative that efforts be directed at the utilisation of the primary energy sources, namely, direct solar energy and nuclear energies. In addition, efforts should be directed towards the use of other energy sources those which may be direct or indirect consequences of solar, nuclear and gravitational energies and abundant in some areas of the world.

3 4

See Chapter 2 for explanations of nuclear fusion and fission reactions. These estimates are quite old. Nevertheless they provide decent ideas of the orders of magnitudes of these numbers though the individual estimated values may have increased or changed considerably.

Fig. 1.2. Foreseeable Energy Resources for the future. 1.3 Direct Solar Energy The source of all solar energy is the sun, an average star by astronomical standards with a mass of 1.991030 kg, located at an average earth-sun distance of about 149.710 6 km. Since the sun is very nearly spherical, (diameter = 1,390,000 km), its area and volume may be calculated as 6.091018 m2 and 1.411027 m3 respectively. The surface of the sun radiates like a nearly black body at an approximate temperature of 6000K. The equivalent thermodynamic temperature at the sun's interior is several millions of degrees. The sun releases tremendous amounts of energy through a process of slow and controlled fusion that results in the formation of a helium nucleus from two nuclei of deuterium (Chap. 2). In order to estimate the energy released by the sun and compute that incident on earth, experiments have been conducted with balloons, artificial earth satellites and other vehicles which carried instruments to the outer fringes of the earth's atmosphere. These experiments have shown that the intensity of solar radiation outside the earth's atmosphere varies between 1.321 and 1.412 kWm-2, depending upon the time and the earth-sun distance. With these data and previously available figures, the intensity of solar energy on a unit area per unit time has been fairly accurately determined at normal incidence when the earth is at its mean distance from the sun. This quantity is called the solar constant and has a value of 1.36772% kWm-2 [4]. The solar constant is so small (a fair sized candle or a burning match when it is at its brightest, produces the same energy intensity), that one may tend to think of the energy produced by the sun as small. However, the total energy released by the sun is extremely large. To estimate this magnitude, it may be assumed that the radiation intensity is equal to the solar constant, S , over a sphere whose radius is equal to the mean earth-sun distance, Rs-e = 149.7109 km. Thus one gets for the total energy released by the sun, Qs = (4Rs-e2)S = 4(149.7109)2(1.368) = 38.521022 kW. This quantity is unimaginably large and no attempt will be made to give an idea of its magnitude. We do not have access to all this energy anyway, being confined to the surface of the earth. To see how much solar energy is incident on the earth's surface, we compute:

7 Qs-e = (Re2)S = (6.3 7 106)2(1.394) = 17 4 . 4 1012 kW. In the equation above, Qs-e is the energy incident on the outer periphery of the earth's surface and R e i s the earth's radius, 6370 km. Assuming that about 65% of this energy, 113.41012 kW, actually reaches the land, it amounts to a total solar input of 1018 kWh per year. Since the world's total energy consumption was about 1 . 3 9 1014 kWh (average in year 2005, out of which 80.9% came from fossil fuels and other non-renewable sources), the solar energy incident on the earth is about 7200 times that consumed. This implies that in just an hour, solar insolation on the Earths land surface is enough to supply nearly all of present-day energy needs for one whole year. At the present rate of world energy consumption, a very small fraction, 0.02% of the incident solar energy can replace all of the energy obtained from fossil fuels and nuclear sources. Considering that all the proved sources of oil and coal maybe almost completely exhausted during the next 40 to 150 5 years, solar energy is an inexhaustible and non-polluting source that can be used for extremely long times to come. Apart from the inexhaustible nature of solar energy, there are several other advantages that have to be borne in mind while comparing it with other energy sources, in particular, fossil fuels and nuclear fusion or fission. These are:

Available in abundance in India (and at most places in the world). It is not subject to political interference and economic blackmail from foreign nations. There is no emission of polluting green-house gases, smoke, and corrosive oxides of sulphur and nitrogen (as with thermal energy released from fossil fuels due to combustion). It is an ever utilizable, clean and pollution-free source of energy. For India, it is free from fire hazards for the types of applications needed in a village. It can be used for cooking, water heating, drying and lighting. (Several villages in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan use a type of solar-powered chargeable lanterns to light their homes during nights). It has been used for largescale power generation in USA and some countries of Europe. A few more are being planned, especially in Spain and a few other countries. No transportation problem. It is available in abundance all over Indias countryside. No expenditure needs to be incurred on transmission costs, since electricity can be generated anywhere power is necessary without having to install a few very large power plants from which power has to be distributed. The cost involved is associated with concentration where necessary and/or that of conversion into electricity for power. Solar energy may be directly converted into electric power by using photo-voltaic cells and other similar devices, if the cost of these devices is brought down sufficiently to compete with those of other modes of power generation (Table 1.4). The costs of solar energy use are presently high in comparison with that of power from fossil fuels and nuclear power, primarily due to the large investment costs involved. These have to be written off over a period of time. In addition, one does not have to fear its depletion in the future since it is an everlasting energy source. It is suitable for many applications like slow cooking,
5

This statement is based on estimates of current data on proved fuel reserves and the assumption that the rate of consumption will remain the same as at present during this period. These assumptions need modifications as time passes.

8 drying, baking as well the production of natural manure, etc. purposes that solar energy has been in use through the ages. It is for these

The solar energy incident on a surface of area equal to that of India is now calculated to determine that which is available at the outer fringes of the atmosphere. Since the land area of India is approximately 3 . 2 8 7 106 km2, the energy incident on Indias land area will be about 4.571012 kW, or roughly 4050 kW per person. (In comparison, the total energy consumed per person in India was only 0 . 329 kW in 1980 and was about 0.887 kW in 2006 [5]). If we assume a solar-to-power conversion efficiency of 10% (about the efficiency of a photo-voltaic solar cell), the power available will be roughly 65 kW per person and this will provide enough electricity to meet the needs of India for an extremely long time. With better solar cells which exhibit efficiencies around 20-25%, it may provide about 130-160 kW per person. The figures above do not mean that the solar energy incident outside the earth's atmosphere is completely available for use. In reality, about 30% of the incident energy never reaches the earth's surface since it is absorbed by the outer layers of the earth's atmosphere. Fine particles of water vapour, clouds and dust present in the atmosphere reflect, disperse and absorb some energy; therefore, the intensity of radiation at the earths surface is never equal to the solar constant, even under the most favorable conditions. As compared with that outside the atmosphere, the solar intensity at ground level is lower due to four major causes: (i) (ii) sunlight, light, (iii) The degree of cloudiness or haze and, (iv) The variation of sun's position in the sky with the time of day. When losses due to all these causes are subtracted, it is found that the intensity of normal solar radiation incident in the northern hemisphere on a clear, cloudless day is close to 1 kWm-2. The intensity of sunlight varies both with the time of the day and the orientation of the receiving surface. The radiant energy which a surface normal to the sunlight receives during bright sunny conditions with no clouds varies during the day. The maximum intensity is about 1.03 kWm-2 and occurs around mid-day (depends on latitude). It varies slightly with time due to the angle of the sun and scattering, the incident normal insolation being around 0.9 kWm-2, between 7:30 A.M and 6 P.M. It remains zero all through the night until day-break. The total normal energy incident over the day averages to 10.5-11 kWhm-2, depending upon the location and other local conditions. The total solar energy incident on a horizontal surface, however, is different from that of normal incidence due to the angle of the sun-ray and diffuse radiation. Of the normal thermal flux from the sun (1 kWm-2), the horizontal surface receives only cos kWm-2, where is the angle between the the direction of the sun and a line normal to the surface. In addition, it receives the energy scattered by the particles (dust, haze, etc.), in the atmosphere as diffuse radiation. (Diffuse radiation is independent of direction and applies to all surfaces, horizontal or otherwise). The sum of the direct solar energy and diffuse radiation constitutes the total energy incident on a horizontal surface. The magnitude of diffuse energy coming from the atmosphere is about 0.7 kWhm-2 per day and the total average Absorption and reflection in the outer layers of the earth's atmosphere, Atmospheric pollution, the presence of dust, soot, etc., which scatter incident

9 energy available approximates to 6.7 kWhm-2. (Where good data on incident solar insolation are available, they should be used to compute the average value for the given place. In some parts of India, especially in Rajasthan, clear sunny weather is experienced 250 to 300 days a year. The annual radiation varies from 1600 to 2200 kWhm-2). In spite of this depletion in available intensity, the total solar radiation incident on the earth's surface is more than sufficient to meet all the requirements for a very long time. However, utilisation of this energy for practical problems poses rather tough problems because the energy is diffuse, its intensity low, non-uniform and diurnally variable. As may be gathered from the above, direct solar energy is diffuse and hence not sufficiently concentrated to be of use in technology. To be useful in energy conversion, any natural energy should satisfy two important criteria: (i) it should be available in abundance at a low cost and, (ii) it should be so concentrated that high temperatures may be easily obtained. Solar energy does satisfy the requirement of low cost abundance, though it is extremely diffuse. Therefore its collection as well as concentration to produce high temperatures becomes very expensive. Large areas are needed to collect it in sufficient amounts. For example, with an average solar incidence of 0.2 kWm-2, the production of 1 kW of useful power requires about 35 m2 of area, if the collector, boiler and engine (Sec. 5.7) used in the conversion process have an overall efficiency of about 15%. If the overall collector-boiler-engine efficiency drops to 5%, the required area for solar energy collection rises to 105 m2. (In contrast, a small heat engine occupying hardly 0.3 m2 produces about 10 kW). On the other hand, if one intends to use the energy incident on a roof of 100 m2 for cooling purposes by running an absorption refrigeration device (Sec. 7.7), one can obtain about 3.87 t of cooling effect with a device which has a solar collector efficiency of about 0.6, a performance coefficient of 0.5 and average solar irradiation of 0.5 kW during the sunlit hours of the day. This cooling may be sufficient for air-conditioning purposes if the building is properly designed [6]. The examples above illustrate that solar energy, being diffuse and hence of small energy-density, (even though it is the biggest of all available sources and is also renewable), cannot be directly used in industrial applications. Large industrial applications invariably require concentrated sources which provide high temperatures. One can obtain high temperatures only if solar energy is concentrated by using concave/parabolic mirrors, Fresnel or convex lenses covering large areas for its collection and use. According to several references, the efficiency of conversion of solar energy into its useful forms in nature is on the order of 0.1-8% for photosynthesis and about 0.1% for hydraulic energy. (Efficiency is not a matter for nature!). Since solar energy is an inexhaustible source, nature exploits it and concentrates it through photosynthesis, a process not duplicated in any laboratory so far. Photosynthesis uses sunlight, carbon di-oxide and water to produce hydrocarbons (in particular, sugar), the chemical reaction for which may be represented by the equation: 6CO2 + 6H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2.

This reaction occurs under the influence of sunlight, the energy of which is used by chlorophyll in green leaves. This is how the air is oxygenated and maintained at a level suitable (Oxygen 23.1% by weight) to sustain life on the planet earth. Reducing forestcover through the indiscriminate cutting of trees (large-scale deforestation), reduces the production of oxygen and increase the pollutants in the air. In order to use solar energy therefore, it is imperative that efforts be made to duplicate natures methods and find

10 inexpensive ways of collecting it over large areas. Prof. Rose [7] believes that if enough effort and resources are ploughed into research, we can develop the techniques needed to duplicate natural processes at costs low enough to compete with those of energy from fossil fuels6. Solar energy use may be classified into two types, depending upon the purpose for which it is intended. These are: Direct use of solar energy Indirect use of solar energy. Direct use of solar energy: Here the solar energy is used by directly exposing the system to be heated to the sun. The simplest example is the drying of wet clothes. Leaving the clothes outside exposed to the sun warms and dries them as well. The second example is a solar-cooker placed in the sun with food to be cooked. (The difficulty with solar-cooking is that there is no sunshine at night). Hence, all the food should be cooked during the day and stored at night, unless one employs a hybrid solar-cooker which needs a fossil fuel or electricity for heating at night. Various models of solar-cookers are available on the Indian market. Solar energy which cooks slowly at low temperatures is excellent, since it prevents food from charring and smoking. It results in nutrient-rich and better tasting food than that obtained by cooking at high temperatures. Needing no fuel, it eliminates smoke and pollution. It costs nothing to use solar energy whereas one has to pay for fuel or electricity if other means are employed. (The initial investment cost for a solar cooker is high compared with that of a common kerosene or wood stove7). There is very little to go wrong in a solar-cooker. In addition8, hybrid cookers which use solar energy during the sun-lit hours of the day and a conventional fuel like kerosene when sunlight is absent (as at night), or is low in intensity (as during a cloudy day), are also available. Solar Energy Collectors: Collectors are devices which gather the solar energy incident on a given area and use it to heat a flowing fluid. They can be classified into two general types: (i) the focusing- or mirror-type and (ii) the non-focusing type. In both types, a cold fluid enters the collector, is warmed by solar energy to a sufficiently high temperature and is used elsewhere for heating purposes or for running a heat engine.
6

A. Nocera and Kanan (MIT), have developed a process where solar.generated electricity from a photovoltaic-cell with a catalyst consisting of cobalt, a phosphate and an electrode generates oxygen when a current is passed through it. Finely divided platinum is a second catalyst to produce hydrogen at the other electrode. Hydrogen and oxygen can then be recombined in a fuel-cell to produce electric power and regenerate the water which is a non.polluting agent. B. 6 Queensland university in Australia claims to have developed titanium oxide-nano.crystals that can lead to the development of inexpensive solar cells. C. IBM scientists are using a large lens to concentrate the suns power (23) on a solar cell, a technology called concentrator photovoltaics (CPV). This produces 70 kWm-2 of electrical power, about five times the electrical power density generated by PV cells used in solar farms. 7 Government of India subsidizes the use of LPG gas cylinders for cooking but does not subsidize solar energy-related equipment, either for cooking or for water-heating. It is unclear what the intention is. It almost looks like a case of deliberately discouraging solar energy use. 8 In addition to small cookers of the types mentioned here, some extremely large solar cookers to cook food for thousands of people are in used at a few places in India. At the Brahma Kumaris Ashram (Mount Abu), the World Spritual University has a cooker to serve 38,000 meals a day during peak hours. A similar gigantic solar cooker is in use at the Tirupati Devasthanam (Andhra Pradesh). These cookers use the steam produced with concentrating mirrors which heats the food being cooked.

11 Non-focusing types of collectors have been used to obtain temperatures on the order of 55-90C or more. Their operation depends on the properties of certain materials (glass, for example) which transmit energy in the visible and near-visible wave lengths but are opaque to infra-red radiation. The surface to be heated is coated with an absorbing black paint and is placed behind one, two, or three sheets of glass in a box totally insulated at the sides as well as the back. The incident sun-rays heat the surface and the protective glass shield prevents the infra-red radiation emitted by the hot surface from escaping back into space. Tubes carrying water or air to be heated are usually brazed or welded to the hot surface. The warm water or air ensuing therefrom can be used as a heating medium. This system has the advantage that the collector can absorb both direct and diffuse solar radiation and also, does not have to be rotated to face the sun. In the northern hemisphere, it is usual to set the collector inclined at an

Fig. 1.3(a). Flat-plate solar water heater.

. Fig. 1.3(b). Collector details.

angle which is slightly in excess of the latitude at the given place. (In the southern hemisphere, the collector plate should face north and not south). The system has a collection efficiency around 70%. Solar collectors of similar types are in use in many countries including India, where collector plates of 4-6 m2 area are used to heat water in a tank of about 30-50 L capacity from room temperature to 55C. A solar collector developed at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur uses a galvanised iron sheet fixed to a cement concrete block and covered with a single glass-pane above the collector plate. Figure 1.4 shows a cross-sectional view of the collector plate. The area of the collector plate is 1.50.8 m2. The collector is expected to provide 50 L of water at 55C.

Fig. 1.4. Corrugated Solar Water Heater. The focusing collector is parabolic or semi-cylindrical with a highly reflecting front surface (Surface reflectivity ~ 1). The reflecting characteristics may be due to a thin coat of evaporated aluminium, plastic aluminised plates, an extremely highlypolished aluminium sheet or other material to cover a parent surface with the desired shape. In USA, aluminised* plastic sheets and thin plates are easily available and are glued to a main

12 surface which is parabolic or semi-cylindrical. A highly durable, coated anodized aluminum substrate panel that is weather-resistant with a good reflective surface ( = 0.955), is also available. It is claimed to be 10-20% more reflective than usual glass mirrors, aluminium foil and Mylar reflector film, when the angle of incidence is between 55-70. It is expected to last an estimated 15-20 years in outdoor use. It can be bent to the required shape and bonded to a parent surface which holds it in place to act as a concentrator or merely as a plane reflector. In addition, a specially coated 84 nm thick sheet available in the form of rolls of various sizes is claimed to have reflectivity of 0.94 and an estimated life of 5-7 years. These can be applied to surfaces like glass or metal to act as mirrors. It is not easy to obtain such plates or sheets in India, so polished or nickel-plated thin aluminium sheets are often used. At the focus of the mirror is a tube carrying the fluid to be heated. To absorb the concentrated sun rays, the tube is coated black all round. To produce high temperatures, the tube and mirror must rotate to face the sun at all times. Otherwise, its efficiency will be low. If properly designed, the system can obtain extremely high temperatures of the order of 3000-3500 K by using mirrors with paraboloidal surfaces concentrating the rays to a point. Such, mirrors are used in France for the study of ceramics and other materials at high temperatures. A hybrid electrical plant using gas turbines to produce 100-105 MW of power is under construction at Mathania near Jodhpur, Rajasthan. In addition, the plant will use solar energy with paraboloidal mirrors to produce 35-40 MW of power during sunshine hours and is nearing completion. (The annual solar radiation received in Rajasthan varies between 66.4 kWhm-2). When completed, the project may eliminate the annual discharge of 648,300 t of CO2 or 16.5 Mt over the life of the plant, as compared wih generation from a coal-fired system of the same size. The cost of carbon reduced is estimated at Rs. 355t -1. Figure 1.5 shows the schematic of a system with paraboloidal mirrors to focus sunlight to produce steam used for cooking at the Brahma Kumaris Ashram near Mount Abu. Figure 1.6 shows a system which uses concave mirrors in a stationary water-heater set-up. It may turn out to be relatively inexpensive as compared with commercially available flat-plate

Fig. 1.5. Schematic of solar cooker system at Mount Abu.

13 collectors9. (Concave mirrors which can be easily made with sheet metal, concentrate

sun-light

on pipes which are used as collectors here. In this case, a high level of concentration of the sun-light is not needed since it is sufficient if the light is incident anywhere on the absorbing surface of the pipe). The set-up shown in Fig. 1.6 consists of a set of arcs of six concave mirrors each 1.35 m long, mounted side-by-side, the mirror radius being 105 mm with a sector of angle of 75. Located concentrically near the focal point of each mirror are two concentric metallic pipes to carry the water, with an enclosing glass tube to minimize radiation from the hot metal surface to the surroundings. The exposed surface of the outer metal tube is coated with a black absorbing paint. The metallic tubes are connected to a well-insulated water storage tank of volume 30 L, through appropriate leak-proof fixtures and connectors. The total effective collector area is 1.035 m2. Due to natural convection, cold water from the tank flows into the collector through the inner tube and the warm water flows back into the tank through the outer tube. A five-bar linkage permits the whole assembly of mirrors and collection tank to be tilted and fixed at any one of five positions inclinedat angles ranging between 5 and 50. This permits change of angle from season to season,

Fig. 1.6. Solar water heater with concave mirrors. as the suns angle in the sky changes from month-to-month. Preliminary tests have indicated that the system can provide hot water at 56C with ambient conditions of about 30C. The overall efficiency of the collector was demonstrated to be about 67%. It is believed that the efficiency and the performance of the assembly can be improved considerably by using better quality reflecting surfaces and forming them better. Electricity from the sun Photovoltaic cells: Photovoltaic cells are devices which convert part of the incident solar energy directly into electricity. A phenomenon called the photoelectric effect causes the photons (radiated solar energy packets), to be absorbed by the p-n junction (see below) on which light is incident. In this process, the energy of the photons is transferred to some of the electrons which are knocked out of their orbits. An electric current flows through the outer circuit if these free electrons are directed to flow through the material. Figure 1.7 indicates a schematic of a solar- or photovoltaiccell. It consists of thin substrates of a semi-conductor like silicon, GaAs (Gallium Arsenide),
9

This set up was recently developed at IIT-K as a student project (June 2009).

14 or a GaAs-Ge (dualjunction substrate), doped often with boron (positive) on one side and with phosaphorus (negative) on another side and bonded together. The junction between the positively and negatively doped substrates becomes sensitive to light. As a result, when sun-light falls on the junction, it knocks

Fig. 1.7. Solar-cell (Schematic) out electrons which travel towards the n-side (negative side) of the junction. If the external circuit is completed as shown, there will be a flow of current which can be used to light a lamp for battery charging and even for power, if enough solar-cells are put together in series to provide the requisite voltage. In order to improve the transmission of sunlight into the cell, the surface facing light is provided with an anti-reflective coating and also with a thin glass cover which protects the outer surface of the cell from the ravages of the environment. Though photovoltaic power generation costs 3 to 4 times that of thermal power, it provides light to people who would have no power otherwise in rural areas of India. For larger power production to meet the needs of a house, a typical arrangement of solar power cells connected in series and referred to as a solar panel, is shown on the rooftop of a building is shown, Fig.1.8. The same concept is quite suitable for cold storages and air conditioned buildings as it reduces radiation gain through the roof by 10-15%, in addition Electric Power from Photovoltaic at Roof to providing the other advantages of solar energy. Some computations have been performed to determine the reduction in the amount of fuel used and ash released into the into the atmosphere
ROOF

WINDOW

DOOR

Fig. 1.8. Schematic view of photovoltaic power generation. due to the use of fossil fuels. The results of these computations have been shown graphically, in Fig. 1.9. Since these pollutants are eliminated due to the use of solar-cells to generate electricity, it is inappropriate to charge all the costs of solar-cells to the production of electricity alone. Parts of these charges should include the cost of elimination of pollutants and ash from the atmosphere, the automatic advantages of the use of solar energy and attendant solar-cells.

15

Fig. 1.9. Reduction in Carbon di-oxide due to photovoltaic power. Currently, installed total solar power panels account for approximately 14,100 MW in India. Plans are being made to produce (by the year 2012), 12.5% of the total power (amounting to 20,000 MW), from solar energy. There will be a million roof-top PV systems, each with an average capacity of 3 kW. The total solar-generated power is expected to increase to 100,000 MW by 2030 and to 200,000 MW by 2050. Indias first solar PV power plant of 2 MW capacity was recently inaugurated at Amritsar by the Union Minister for Renewable Energy, on 15 Dec. 2009. The present plan is to produce 20,000 MW of solar power by 2020. With aid from the Clinton Foundation, it is proposed to set-up two 3000 MW plants each in Gujarat and Rajasthan. In addition, the company, Acme Energy Solutions, plans to set up a 100 MW solar thermal power plant in Gujarat and Rajasthan. There exist plans to set up a 10 MW power plant at Nagpur, MP as well. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy reources, The amount of solar energy that can be produced in the country is around 51012 kWh. Apart from these large power solar-cell undertakings, there are efforts for electrification of individual homes/huts in villages by companies that are producing small individual lighting units costing around Rs. 5000-6000 each, and powered by a solar panel. The unit consists of three small LED lights requiring only 1.8 W each, in addition to a mobile phone charger and a panel of 5 W capacity. Upon charging with a solar cell which is also part of the unit for one whole day, all the three LED lamps will be active for four hours if run together. If only one lamp is lit, it may last as long as thirty hours. This unit is marketed and sold by Selco India, a company located in Bangalore, KA[8]. 1.4 Fossil Fuels, Solid, Liquid and Gaseous The exhaustible fossil fuels have been the primary sources of energy for 150 years or more. They are found in the solid, liquid and gaseous forms. The solid fuel is coal or lignite, the liquid fuel petroleum and the gaseous fuel natural gas. Since these fuels have reigned supreme as the energy suppliers of the world (more than 80-90% of the total in several countries still coming from these sources), they will be studied in detail in the following sections. (a) Coal and Lignite: Coal is known to be the end-product of a natural process of decomposition of vegetable matter buried in swamps and left out of contact with oxygen for millions of years. In large and extremely heavily vegetated prehistoric swamps, stagnant water over the ground allowed the remains of vegetation to accumulate, out of contact with oxygen of the air. These were acted upon by micro-organisms as well as anerobic bacteria and converted slowly over a long period of time into peat. Peat is merely partly decomposed vegetable matter and is the first stage in the formation of coal. The peat

16 formed from vegetable decay was entombed by the accumulation of other matter and was pressurised due to the heavy burden on top. Over many millions of years, high pressure and temperature changed the peat into a fossilised form which is termed coal. (Coal is presently used in India to produce about 77,459 MW of energy which is nearly 53% of total installed capacity). The name coal denotes a wide variety of solid fuels which are available in nature and contain complex hydrocarbons with inorganic waste material and moisture. The different types of coal vary in texture, purity, water content and composition, as well as in physical properties. The combustible part of coal contains hydrocarbons, some free carbon and some amount of sulphur, the noncombustible ingredients being mostly mineral materials like ash, along with water vapour. Small amounts of nitrogen are often found in coals. As vegetable matter is slowly altered in composition and changes progressively into coal, its carbon content increases accompanied by a decrease in its oxygen and hydrogen contents. The varieties of available coal in the approximate order of their formation are: (i) peat, (ii) lignite, (iii) bituminous coal and (iv) anthracite. (i) Peat: Being the first stage in the formation of coal, peat is merely vegetable matter which has undergone some disintegration and change without contacting oxygen. Its colour may vary from light brown to dark brown, with the fibrous remains of vegetation often clearly visible. Peat may contain 85-90% moisture, 5.5-10.5% volatile matter and about 4.5% fixed carbon. A chemical analysis of peat usually yields carbon 55-58%, hydrogen 5.5-6%, nitrogen 1.5-2% and oxygen 33-40%. It has an enthalpy of combustion of about 2900 kJkg-1. Because of its nitrogen content, it is often used as a fertilizer. In India, it is available near Anantnag in Kashmir, the Nilgiris, Tanjaoor in Tamilnadu, Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh and the Hooghli river in West Bengal. (ii) Lignite: The second stage in the formation of coal is lignite. Lignites often though not always, have a light brown or brownish-black colour and are therefore referred to as brown-coals. They are fibrous or woody in texture and grains of vegetable matter are clearly visible. They may contain a high percentage of resins and waxes, varying between 3-30%.

Lignites often contain 25-40% moisture and may crumble on drying. In a finely powdered state, dry lignite in contact with oxygen ignites spontaneously. A typical Indian lignite has 33% moisture, 30% volatile material, 30% fixed carbon and the rest ash. The magnitude of its enthalpy of combustion lies between 13,800 and 17,600 kJkg-1. Besides its use as a fuel, it may be used in the manufacture of producer gas, fertilizers, etc. Lignite can be used as a fuel in power stations that are properly designed. The lignite reserves in India are estimated to be about 36 Bt. About 4.150 Bt is the estimated reserve at Neyveli in Tamilnadu. In Mannargudi (East of Veeranam), reserves of around 24 Bt have been found as well. Lignite deposits have also been discovered in Rajasthan, 22Gujarat, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Pondicherry.

17

(iii) Bituminous coals: Better than lignites are the bituminous varieties of coal which in India may contain between 6-25% moisture. They vary in colour from dark brown to almost black. Fractures in such coals show a lustrous surface. These coals are sub-classified into sub-bituminous coals, bituminous coals and semi-bituminous coals. In all these coals, the composition on a dry basis varies: volatile matter may be 16-43%, fixed carbon, 54-79% and ash, 2.8-5%.
The sub-bituminous variety is the stage after lignite in the formation of coal. It contains 10-20% moisture and 55-60% of fixed carbon. It ignites easily, though not as easily as lignite in its dry state. Its enthalpy of combustion has a magnitude of 18,80023,000 kJkg-1. The lower coal belts in the eastern Himalayan regions, in Kashmir etc., are of the sub-bituminous type. The proved resources of sub-bituminous coal and lignite in India are 4600 Mt. The bituminous coal (better than sub-bituminous), is very dark or black with laminations. It is hard and denser than the previous varieties. The magnitude of its enthalpy of combustion10 lies in the range between 23,000 and 34,700 kJkg -1. It is the coal that is extensively used as fuel in most parts of the world. The volatile types are used in gas plants and coal-tar distilleries, whereas the coking types are used to make coke. Coals in the eastern Himalayan foothills and lower parts are of the bituminous type. Semi-bituminous coal is the highest grade amongst bituminous coals and may contain 11-18% volatile matter. It has an enthalpy of combustion in the range 27,200 to 36,800 kJkg-1. It produces an almost smokeless flame. Semi-bituminous coal may also be of the coking or non-coking type. (iv) Anthracite coals: Anthracite coals are the best type of coal available and also the oldest known. They are rather hard and have moisture ranging from 2.5-3.5%, volatile matter 1.5-13%; fixed carbon 75-91% and ash 8-12%. The chemical composition of anthracite is: carbon 93-95%, hydrogen 2-4% and the rest ash. Anthracites are divisible into two categories, the semi-anthracite coal and the anthracite coal. India has relatively small quantities of anthracite. The semi-anthracite type of coal is harder than bituminous coal, contains 6-11% volatile matter and has a specific gravity of about 1.45. The true anthracite is a black or blue-black coal with a hard, metallic lustre. Its specific gravity varies from 1.3 to 1.7 and the magnitude of its enthalpy of combustion is 34000-35000 kJkg-1. It burns with a characteristic short blue flame, without smoke. It is extremely useful for metallurgical purposes. In India, this variety occurs in small amounts with semi-bituminous and other kinds of coals along the Himalayan foot-hills and in the eastern Himalayan regions. The estimated reserves of anthracite are about 2000 Mt, the consumption being roughly 40-50 Mt per year. The total proved reserves of anthracite and bituminous types are about 54,000 Mt. According to the Geological Survey of India's estimates obtained in 1969-70, the total reserves of metallurgical and coking coals from Jharia, Raniganj, East Bokaro, West Bokaro, Ramgarh, Giridih, and Pench-Kanhan fields amounted to roughly 18,500 Mt. On the other
10

For a definition of enthalpy of combustion, see Chap. 2.

18 hand, non-coking coal reserves were estimated at 97,000 Mt of which about 91,277 Mt were in the lower Gondwana areas covering about 70 coal fields along the river valleys of Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The rest of the 5723 Mt of coal which include 2054 Mt of lignite are of the tertiary type, relatively low in moisture and containing ash, about (4-10%) and sulphur (2-9%). These coals can badly pollute the atmosphere if proper precautions are not taken to remove sulphur dioxide and other oxides from the flue-gases. Tertiary coal fields are located in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Jammu, Tamilnadu, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Of these vast deposits, not all the coal is usable for various reasons, the estimates in 1970 on the recoverability of coking coals being on the order of 4000 Mt [9]. The consumption of coal increased very rapidly in India during the mid-sixties, seventies and the end of the last century. While the coal production was accelerating at the rate of about 12.2% per year between 1965-72, the overall energy produced from coal, coke and other sources increased at the rate of 8.4% per year. During this period, coal accounted for a rise in yearly electrical production at the rate of 6.1%. The present (2010) rate of consumption of all the coals in India is about 560 Mt per annum, about 6.7% of the worlds total. (It was about 430 Mt in 2006-7. India is the third largest producer of coal after China and USA). Table 1.6 shows the estimates of Forbes magazine (Nov. 2006) for the proved coal reserves of India. Of this, approximately 85 Mt (coking coal, 15%), can be used for metallurgical purposes. These are small compared with the total coal reserves of India, presently estimated to be around 267 Bt (10.6% of the worlds reserves: 106 Bt proved, 124 Bt indicated, and 34 Bt inferred). It should be noted that the estimated coal reserves of India have been increasing continuously from a pessimistic minimum of about 3 Bt in 1970, to the present value of 267 Bt! It may very well be that that a further upward revision of reserves based upon new discoveries of coal deposits occurs, putting India in an even better position than presently estimated). The present estimate is that these reserves will last about five hundred years or more and those of the metallurgical coal will be exhausted in about Table 1.6. Energy and Environment
27 November 2006, Forbes magazine India Recoverable Coal 92.45 Bt Reserves Coal Production 366 Mt Coal Consumption 390.6 Mt

75 years if the present rates of consumption continue. Hence, in the immediate future, India is well-placed in terms of coal reserves and no shortages need be expected. Hence, coal is bound to provide a large fraction (approx. 53%) of our energy sources for quite some time to come. Figure 1.9 shows the expected future growth in the requirements of coal, and Fig. 1.10, a comparison of the growth in the total energy requirements due to coal, oil, gas, renewables (solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, etc.), and nuclear over the next twenty years in India. Note that nuclear energy has also been included with renewables, since none of them is expected to be a significant contributor in itself. From the graph, it is clear that the use of coal will continue to increase at the rate of about 7.2% per year, and its requirements in 2030 will therefore be about four times those in 2010. This implies that the emissions from coal may lead to serious environmental pollution unless steps are taken to remove all the ash and the polluting gases it generates during combustion. Fortunately, a large fraction of

19 Indian coal contains somewhat less sulphur (about 0.5%), than coal in other countries and the danger due to oxides of sulphur is somewhat lower than elsewhere.
600

500 Coal Consumption

Coal Consumption , India, Mt

400

Renewables , nuclear

300
Coal Gas

200

100 1980 1985 1990 1995 Year 2000 2005 2010

Oil

Fig. 1.9. Growth in coal consumption

energy

Fig. 1.10. Foreseeable growth in

consumption in India12.

between 1980 and 200611.

With the large estimates of coal presented earlier, if it is assumed that the distribution coal types still remains the same as above, the non-coking Indian coal reserves amount to about 251,250 Mt , the rest being lignite of the amount 15,700 Mt. In spite of the rosy picture about the availability of coal that the above survey reveals, the fact remains that much of the coal available in India has large amounts of inorganic content, mainly ash, some estimates placing this at very high levels in the range 15-45%. This means that much of the coal cannot be used for metallurgical purposes and needs considerable amounts of cleaning to be of any use. According to some authorities, for a coal to be used to produce steam in power stations, the amount of ash cannot exceed about 15%. For metallurgical purposes even better coal is necessary. For this reason and the costs involved in transportations from coal mines to the areas where it is needed in power production, as well as the costs of cleaning, it is found to be less expensive to import coal rather than use the coal available in India, even in power stations. India is presently importing about 10% of its requirements from Indonesia and a few other nations to fire power stations in some areas, especially Gujarat. It is therefore necessary to find an inexpensive process for cleaning ash from the coal before it is shipped from the collieries to the areas where power stations are located. The consumption of coal increased very rapidly in India during the mid-sixties and 70s of the last century. While the coal production was accelerating at the rate of about 12.2% per year between 1965-72, the overall energy consumption from coal, coke and other sources increased at the rate of 8.4% per year. Of this increment, coal accounted for a rise in electrical production at the rate of 6.1% per year. Estimates of total coal reserves in India range from a pessimistic minimum of about 30,000 Mt to an optimistic maximum of about 267,000 Mt, (constituting approximately 10.2% of the total reserves of the world). Approximately 14-15% of this is coking coal and the rest non-coking and hence, cannot b used for metallurgical purposes or the production of cement. According to the Geological Survey of India's estimates obtained in 1969-70, the total reserves of metallurgical and
11 12

Based on data from US Energy Information agency. Short tons converted to Metric tonnes. Based on data from US Energy Information agency. BTU converted to Exajoules.

20 coking coals from Jharia, Raniganj, East Bokaro, West Bokaro, Ramgarh, Giridih, and PenchKanhan fields amounted to roughly 18,500 Mt. On the other hand, non-coking coal reserves were estimated at 97,000 Mt of which about 91,277 Mt are in the lower Gondwana areas covering about 70 coal fields along the river valleys of Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. (These numbers mean that coking coal was estimated to be about 16% of total estimated coal reserves at that time and is in good agreement with the present estimate of 14-15%). The rest of the 5723 Mt of coal which include 2054 Mt of lignite were expected to be of the tertiary type, relatively low in moisture and containing ash, about (4-10%) and sulphur (2-9%). These coals can badly pollute the atmosphere if proper precautions are not taken to remove sulphur dioxide and other oxides from the flue-gases. Tertiary coal fields are located in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Jammu, Tamilnadu, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Of these vast deposits, not all the coal is usable for various reasons, the estimates in 1970 on the recoverability of coking coals being on the order of 4000 Mt [10]. The present rate of consumption of all the coals in India is about 550 Mt per annum out of which approximately 17-18 Mt (22%) are used for metallurgical purposes. It has been estimated that the coal reserves will last about 500-900 years and those of the metallurgical type will be exhausted in about 75 years. Hence, in the immediate future, India is well-placed in terms of coal reserves and no shortages need be expected, though coal is bound to provide a large fraction of our energy sources for quite some time to come. Since coal is the only abundantly available fossil fuel in India, its use for power production and other purposes is a foregone conclusion for a considerable period of time. Given this fact, it is imperative for India to concentrate on developing inexpensive technologies to clean the coal and to reduce all the pollutants including ash in the exhaust gases to the minimal levels possible. Then, the use of coal may not add excessive pollution to the atmosphere. The amount of ash in coal is a matter of great concern in India. The minimum amount is around 15% and even in coking coals, its average is around 21%, ranging to a maximum13 around 22-23%. Other types of Indian coal have 35 or even 40% ash depending upon the type and area from which they are obtained. For use in steel making and industries where coking coal is essential, the level of ash must be below 17%. This needs cleaning (either prior cleaning before it is sent into the furnace or cleaning during combustion), to ensure that the coal burned has no more than 15% ash and far smaller amounts of sulphur (0.5% or less) than that in naturally available coal. Fortunately, coal in India contains less sulphur than that in many foreign countries and requires less of treatment to remove it as compared with imported coal from Australia and Indonesia. The coals that contain large amounts are of the tertiary type mentioned above, with sulphur content varying between 2-9% (max) and are all of the non-coking type used in boilers. These contain much less ash (4-10%). (b) Petroleum and Natural Gas: Naturally available crude oil is a thick and viscous liquid, its colour varying from greenish to light yellow, reddish brown, dark brown and even black. Its specific gravity varies from 0.76 to 0.98. Dark oils are denser than light oils. A crude oil with a specific gravity in excess of 0.93 or more is referred to as a heavy crude oil. The amounts of petroleum and natural gas consumed in a country are closely related to the country's prosperity and wealth in the industrialized world. The approximate World consumption in 1968 was about 1406 Mt. By the year 2004, the demand for oil was roughly
13

See coal and electricity, 2003.

21 4200 Mt and remained nearly constant (rising very slowly) during the next four years. In 2008, the production was approximately 4273 Mt. Demand for oil in India occurs due to requirements of petroleum as well as products of petroleum, generally petrol, diesel oil, kerosene, naphtha, etc. The consumption of petroleum and petroleum products in India went up steadily from 2 Mt in 1947, to 5.7 Mt in 1957, 8.3 Mt in 1961, l0 Mt in 1963 and 17.5 Mt in 1969. These numbers represent increases in consumption at the rate of 7% every year. (Nevertheless, the total consumptions are very small by the industrially advanced- world standards). During 1980s and 1990s, the rate of increase declined first to 6% and then to 5.3%. The total demand for petroleum in India had risen to 110 Mt in 2002-03, the production of crude oil during this period being around 32 Mt. It is predicted that crude production will be approximately 45 Mt by 2011-12, though the expected demand may rise to 195 Mt. There is thus a big gap between the demand and production of petroleum, the gap becoming larger and larger with each passing year. The yawning gap between demand and production is being filled through ever increasing imports of oil and petroleum products. (Among the countries of the Asia Pacific region, only Japan, China and South Korea consume more petroleum than India). The demand for petroleum products may roughly double from the present value of 96 Mt per year to 195 Mt per year by 2011-12. India is one of the fastest growing consumers of petroleum. About 3/4th of the effective commercial energy used in India is being met by oil. From 1953-54 to 1962-63, the consumption of petroleum products increased over 126%, at an average rate of approximately 9.5% per year. At the same time, the total energy (commercial, and non-commercial) due to oil went up by 4.3% per year. Around 1970-71, about 23% of the total energy was derived from oil. By 1980-81, it was estimated that about 35-37% of the total energy came from oil [11]. This means that the total oil consumption was around 30 Mt by 1975-76 and had risen to about 50 Mt by 1980-81. A large fraction of this increased demand on energy supplied from oil has been due to the requirement of kerosene oil (about 29.5%, used for lighting and heating purposes almost all over the Indian countryside, where gas and electrical power are not available). Its enthalpy of combustion is about 46.2 MJkg-1. Kerosene is the main fuel used for cooking by villagers and the poor. The Indian government subsidizes and maintains the price around Rs. 7.5 per litre of kerosene, primarily to prevent the indiscriminate destruction of trees and forests for use as firewood. (In Andhra Pradesh and a few other areas, the demand for kerosene has been reduced by using solar energy to charge battery powered lanterns which are used to light small houses and huts). The next in order of importance in terms of demand is fuel oil (26.2%), followed by high-speed diesel oil (18.3%), motor spirit (12.4%), and light diesel oil (9.4%). Small amounts of aviation fuel, petroleum gas and others make up the balance of total requirements of oil in the country. As opposed to these requirements, the distribution of refinery output of the country is in the form: kerosene 17.9%, fuel oil 31.4%, high-speed diesel oil 20.4%, motor spirit 20.0%, light diesel oil 10.1% and the rest about 0.2%. Thus, the production of refined petroleum products shows an imbalance relative to demand, being short on kerosene oil by a large amount. According to the Geological Survey of India [12], potential oil bearing regions exist in Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur, West Bengal, the Jwalamukhi region of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Cambay-Kutch, the Ganga valley, coasts of Tamilnadu, Andhra and the Andaman-Nicobar islands. In addition, Gulf of Cambay off the coast of Saurashtra has been a rich oil bearing region, still yielding about 300,000

22 bbl a day. The presently oil producing regions of India are in Assam (Digboi, Naharkatiya, Morar, Rudrasagar, and Sibsagar), Gujarat (near Ahmedabad, Baroda, Ankleshwar, Broach District, Bhavnagar, the Mumbai-High (off-shore north-west of Mumbai) as well as Surat. There exist some large newly discovered reserves in the Bay of Bengal and in Rajasthan. Another large oil field is in the Krishna-Godavari basin. This is expected to produce nearly 40% of Indias current requirements when the project is completed. Exploration is still continuing in and around Assam, especially in Mizoram, Tripura, and Nagaland. The total known reserves of oil in India are about 131.3 Mt, and of natural gas about 59.25 billion m3. In 1969, it was estimated that the total recoverable reserves of crude oil and natural gas in Assam were 69 Mt, and 42 Gm3 respectively. These constitute approximately 53% of the total recoverable resources of oil and 69% of those of natural gas in India. Since the time of the estimate, new reserves have been discovered in Assam as well as in a few other parts of India. According to Oil & Gas Journal (OGJ, 27 Jan. 2009), India has 5.6 Billion bbl of exploitable oil reserves. In 2008, Indias oil production stood roughly at 880,000 bbl a day, nearly 650,000 bbl per day coming from crude oil and the rest from other liquids and refineries. The total number of oil wells in India is somewhere around 3,600. The oil production has increased very little during the last few years (About 0.75 Mbbl in 1995 and about 0.8 Mbbl in 2008), failing completely to match the demand which has risen from 1.2 Mbbl in 1990 to about 3 Mbbl in 2008. This represents a shortfall of nearly 2.2 Mbbl a day, resulting in the import of 70-75% of its total oil requirements to pay nearly Rs. 465,850 crores in foreign currency during 2008-09. Unfortunately, most of the oil is used to satisfy the demands of transportation, primarily those of railways, trucks and automobiles, as well as cooking heating and lighting. Very little is used for power production (an insignificant 0.9% of total installed power, amounting to barely 1,200 MW in 2009). Large imports of oil will continue for a long time to come. With these imports, it is likely that more than enough of the light distillates such as petrol will be produced, but the major demand in India is for the middle distillates. It may therefore be preferable to use petrol in engines similar to automobile engines for pumping water and for small scale irrigation in areas where electricity is not readily available. It may even be necessary to discourage the use of diesel for road transport and encourage the use of petrol through tax incentives. A method suggested quite some time ago to reduce the expected increase in imports is to use a certain type of coal available in Assam and produce oil therefrom, using chemical processing methods [13]. The estimated reserves of this coal in Assam were 4500 Mt (~ 1970). Each tonne of the coal is expected to yield about 0.40 tonne of mineral oil. Assuming 60% of the coal to be recoverable, one expects to produce around 1000 Mt of mineral oil from the use of this coal alone. No successful efforts have been made to develop a technique to achieve the required conversion at a sufficiently low cost, even though this proposal was made over 35 years ago. The natural gas available near oil fields and other sources contains methane, ethane, propane, butanes, nitrogen, hydrogen and even some sulphides at times. There were unfortunately no large natural gas reservoirs in India. Assam and Gujarat were the only areas where natural gas was obtained earlier, but recently, Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) discovered gas in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin, making the total gas reserves in the fields 1.25 Tm3, placing India in the 12th position among gas producing countries. It will

23 meet some of Indias energy needs. With these new finds, the total gas reserves have risen to nearly 3.178 Tm3 (including a gas find of 0.706 Tm3 earlier). According to the National Council of Applied Economic Research [14], the demand for natural gas, starting at 89 Mm3 in 1965-66, reached 134 Mm3 in 1972, and was roughly 192.5 Mm3 by 1975-76. Of this amount, about 103 Mm3 was used for power generation. In 2009, thermal power generated from gas was 14,734 MW, nearly 10% of total power of 144,340 MW generated from the three major sources: (fossil fuels, hydro- and nuclear power) the gas usage being about 23 Gm3. Indias current gas production is around 93 Mm3 per day as compared to a demand of 124 Mm3, leaving the country with a deficit of 30 Mm3 per day [15]. By the time the newly found gas fields start sizeable commercial production (2009-2010), Indias demand for gas will also increase considerably. From only 0.022 Tm3 per year in 1995, natural gas use was nearly 0.034 Tm3 in 2003 and is projected to reach 0.049 Tm 3 in 2010 and 0.064 Tm3 in 2015. The production facilities in these areas are being redesigned to accommodate initially 0.099 Gm3 per day, increasing to 0.148 Gm3 per day. (This is triple the originally planned capacity). But a large import of natural gas will continue, either via pipeline or as liquefied natural gas (LNG), since gas consumption is expected to rise even faster than that of any other fuel in the coming years. The growth in gas consumption is expected to be 4.2% per year between the years 2006 and 2030, taking the total yearly requirements to nearly 0.071 Tm3. For this reason, negotiations with Iran for a pipe-line to import gas over land through Pakistan have been nearly completed. In addition to natural gas, a certain amount of combustible gas is produced during the refining of petroleum. Many Indian refineries bottle this gas and market it for use as a domestic fuel used primarily for cooking purposes. The demand for liquefied petroleum gas rose to 10,200 t in 1961 and to 99,200 t in 1971. It was expected to go upto 171,900 tonnes by 1976. The amount of this gas used for industrial purposes remained below 1/3 of the total demand until 1971 and has been rising considerably since then. The increase in demand is on the order of 6% per year, amounting to about 120 Mm3 at STP (Standard Temperature and pressure, weight 77.95106 kg) and is expected to reach 400 Mm3 at STP (weight 259.8106 kg), in three years. This includes both CNG and LNG. Currently, gas contributes only 9% of the total Indian energy requirements and is expected to increase to 20 per cent by 2025. 1.5 Hydraulic Power Water power potential created by rivers flowing down from hills into valleys and finally into the sea is indirectly, evidence of solar energy. The sun's rays heat the water of the ocean and evaporate some of it. Wind carries the water vapour in the form of clouds to the top of hills and other cool areas. If the vapour condenses, it falls to earth as liquid water or rain. Precipitation over large areas collects into rivers and flows down-hill. The potential energy of the water at the top of a hill is of use in power generation. The efficiency of solar energy utilisation in this manner is only of the order of 0.1% or less but provides large quantities of hydraulic power because of the tremendous amounts of energy incident on the ocean. India was one of the pioneering countries in Asia and established its first hydroelectric plant at Darjeeling, WB, as early as in 1898. The second one was built at Shimsha

24 (Shivanasamudram, KA), in 1902. The installed hydroelectric power capacity in 1990 was 18,000 MW and in 2008, it was approximately 36,648 MW. (The hydroelectric power production doubled in 18 years, the increase per year being approximately 4%). The large size and population of India mean that for fast development, India should speed up its rate of energy consumption to compete with the best industrialized nations in terms of gross output of goods and wealth. Presently, India is the sixth largest in terms of total energy use, though it accounts for only 3.4% of global energy consumption. With its growing economy, the demand for energy has grown at an average of 3.6 per cent annually over the past 30 years. This requires an ever increasing, non-polluting energy production at a relatively low cost. The only power source that presently satisfies this requirement is hydraulic energy, since solar energy, even though plentiful and non-polluting, cannot yet be used for power production at a cost comparable with those of fossil-fuel generated or hydraulic power. Modern hydraulic power stations can use differences in elevation ranging from 20 m to as high as 1700 m for the production of electrical power and hence, can be generated at a large number of places in India, wherever a reliable supply of water is available. The Himalayas and lower level mountains from which the rivers of India spring have assured a plentiful supply of water though as will be seen below (Table 1.6), the sources of water and rivers for power production are not uniformly distributed throughout the country. Since many parts of the country still do not have an assured electrical supply, hydraulic power can be developed wherever possible and districuted to those regions that need it at a reasonable cost. According to the estimates of the Government of India, the electrical power requirements of the country will rise to 200,000 MW (year 2012) and to 400,000 MW (year 2020). Hence India needs to exploit all its available natural resources to the maximum possible extent to close the ever-widening demand-supply gap in electrical power. Hydroelectric power offers enormous advantages in comparison with thermal power. These are:

Hydro-power is due really to solar energy that evaporates water from the seas and large lakes and makes it available all over the earth. This is the source that has been providing crops for all people and was the only one used (apart from wood), before thermal power came into existence. It is only during the last two centuries that fossil-fuels have taken the lead and even supplanted others, leading to pollution and rising temperatures all over the world. In India, the estimated available capacity for hydraulic power is 137,000 MW, of which about 84,000 MW can be harnessed to produce electricity. Small-scale hydraulic resources are estimated to produce a total of about 10,000 MW from plants each of which can generate 2000-15,000 kW. Mini hydro-electric installations with a capacity of 100-2000 kW each and micro-power stations with a power production capacity of 100 kW (or smaller), can be built from small water sources. These units may be able to meet the requirements of villagers that need power for agriculture and lighting on a small scale. It is a renewed by nature and is available as long as the source (river, lake, etc.), exists. Available in many parts of the country, though the largest sources are around the foot-hills of the Himalayas, the other great rivers in the north and south of India, especially those arising near the western ghats.

25 Integrated energy development is possible, rendering water for irrigation, flood-control, navigation, drinking and commercial use, fisheries, forestry, water charging of ground, recreation and tourism. So, though the cost of construction of dams is high, the water can be used for several purposes in addition to power production, so that the total cost is spread over different projects and will pay for itself in a reasonable period of time. With the construction of dams and careful use of water, better growth of crops and conservation efforts, it is estimated that loss of human and animal life worth over Rs. 40 Billion per year could be saved. In addition, the miseries to people, loss of lives and of crops associated with floods may be reduced quite significantly. Though hydroelectric power projects need years for planning and construction, they provide trouble-free service for long periods of time, sometimes extending over a hundred years. (Indeed, the first Indian hydro-plant completed in 1898 at Darjeeling is still in operation. It has more than paid for itself since the time it was constructed). The operating, maintenance and power generation costs of hydraulic power are small in comparison with the corresponding costs of all thermal power stations including those fired with coal, oil or natural gas, as well as gas turbines and nuclear power stations. Since it needs no fuel, the cost of generation of hydro-power is free from inflationary effects during its life-time. Hydroelectric power plants have extremely high efficiencies (around 90%) since they convert the available potential energy of water into mechanical and finally, electrical work. The cost of operation of these plants is small compared with those of thermal power stations which have very low efficiencies (they convert energy from the thermal to its mechanical form and hence are confined to the limitations of the Carnot cycle). The payment for fuel used in thermal power stations can be quite high. The expenditure on maintenance can also be large in these power stations since the turbines that operate at high temperatures need repair and servicing far more often than hydraulic power stations that produce similar amounts of power. Hydraulic power stations do not suffer from long starting and shut-off times which are characteristic of steam stations, since no steam needs to be produced from cold water. This and the ability to accept as well as to turn-off load quickly makes them suitable to meet peak demands and to enhance system reliability and stability. Hydroelectric projects are generally located in remote regions far from urban areas and may lead to the development of the neighborhood with improvements in infrastructure, educational institutions, health facilities, telecommunications, etc. When not properly controlled and used for irrigation and power production, this nature-given, nearly non-polluting source is generally wasted with incidental damage to crops, human life and structures. In spite of all these advantages, there have been concerns about its use. Overall, it is the least polluting of all sources of energy, though it affects areas of land and forest it submerges due to the construction of dams and reservoirs as well as the production and release of methane into the atmosphere. Whenever a dam or other similar large-scale project is undertaken, it displaces all the people originally residing in the neighborhood of the reservoir and storage area where the dam is built. The displaced people have to be rehabilitated and resettled. This

26 needs, apart from humanitarian considerations, larger expenditures not directly associated with dam construction. Further, it damages aquatic life (may be limited if measures like building fish-ladders and designing turbines appropriately so that fish pass through them with minimal damage). There is also a real possibility of dam failure due to terrorist attacks. Hydroelectricity thus assumes far greater importance than before as India still has a huge untapped hydro-power potential. According to the Central Electricity Authority, India is endowed with economically exploitable and viable hydro-potential assessed to be about 84,000 MW at 60% load factor (137,000 MW installed capacity)][11]. In addition to this, 6872 MW from 1512 small hydro schemes can be economically exploited. Further, government agencies have identified 56 sites from pumped storage schemes with an aggregate installed capacity of 94,000 MW. In spite of this vast potential, the total installed capacity of hydroelectric power plants in the country was only 36,680 MW in 2008. Currently, the hydroelectric power plants generate only 21 per cent of the electricity consumed in the country with 64% of the total electrical power being generated by thermal power plants which are highly polluting and depend on non-renewable fossil fuels. For these reasons, the government must improve the process of clearing new hydroelectric power projects and encourage private enterprise to establish small hydro schemes. This will require suitable policy changes to speed the process. The worlds total production of electrical power from hydraulic power sources amounted to 690xl012 kWh in 1960, out of which 16.61012 kWh came from India. By 1963, the world and Indian productions had become 9801012 kWh and 22.5l012 kWh respectively. In 1971, the estimated corresponding productions were 1100l012 and 34l012 kWh. The world utilisation of hydro-power is going up at the average rate of 4.1% even as the Indian production goes up at an average rate of 11.3% per year. Large as these power productions and rates of growth sound, it should be remembered that of the total energy used in the world, hydraulic power constitutes barely 3%. India's use of hydraulic power is only 3.1% of the world's, in spite of the large potential sources existing in India. In 1954, for example, the total Indian installed power capacity was 2000 MW. It had risen to nearly 10,200 MW in 1966, and in 1969, to 14,300 MW. By the end of the fourth five-year plan, the total installed capacity was expected to reach about 23,000 MW. Of these totals, hydraulic power stations constituted about 4090 MW in 1966, 5910 MW in 1969 and about 15,000 MW in 1975-76 2. Clearly, these figures are below the capacity of the utilisable hydro-sources (see table below), so that a large increase in power production in the near future based on hydro-power should cause no difficulty. This situation is far different from that of many of the well-developed western countries including US, France and Germany which have used much of their hydroelectric power resources and have very little of unutilized power capacity. Whereas the industrialized nations have to use expensive power from nuclear power stations, oil or coal to increase installed capacity, India has plenty of inexpensive and usable hydro-power sources to satisfy all the expected future needs for hundreds of years. These sources, however, are not uniformly distributed over India. According to the Committee on Energy Survey of India[11] and other sources, the hydro-power potentials o f various parts of India are as shown in Table 1.6. This nonuniform distribution of hydraulic power (Assam and Arunachal Pradesh constitute 41.55% of total), will make it necessary to look for other potential sources especially in places like Rajasthan, where fossil fuel reserves do not exist. However, wherever hydraulic energy is available, it is the cheapest means of generating electrical power. It was estimated by the Energy Survey of India Committee (1965) that electrical energy obtained from hydraulic

27 power would cost about 6.1 paise/kWh for of generating electrical power. It was estimated by the Energy Survey of India Committee (1965) that electrical energy obtained from hydraulic power would cost about 6.1 paise/kWh (presently 1-2 Rs/kWh) for a plant where the plant factor was 60%. This should be contrasted with power from thermal and nuclear Table 1.6. Potential Hydroelectric power distribution in India River Basin 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Hydro-potential at 60% load factor14 106 kW 109 kWh/year 8.37 44.0 7.34 38.58 7.36 38.68 14.79 77.68

The Ganga Basin Central Indian Rivers West Flowing Rivers, S. India East Flowing Rivers, S. India (i) Brahmaputra basin (Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram) 8.34 43.83 (ii) Arunachal Pradesh 26.57 139.70 Sindhu River Basin 11.27 59.24 _____________________________________ Total: 84.04 441.71 ______________________________________

sources, which are likely to range between 8-19 paise/kWh [11] (presently 2-5 Rs/kWh). Even though the estimates of [11] are not relevant at todays (2009) prices, hydraulic power is still the least expensive among the three cited above. One of the main reasons is that its operating expenses are low. In addition, it has the advantage that it causes negligible environmental pollution due to production. In order to generate hydro-electric power in areas like Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and areas nearby, the Government of India established the North-Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO, April 1976), to exploit, utilise and develop the inherent power generation capability of the north-eastern region. The largest hydroelectric project at the Ranganadi river in Arunachal Pradesh (to produce 405 MW), will be commissioned by NEEPCO shortly. In addition, NEEPCO will undertake the following projects for execution at various states in the north-east - the 210 MW (370 MW) Tuivai project (Aizawal district, Mizoram), the 600 MW (4150 MW) Kameng hydro-electric project (West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh), the 150 MW (350 MW), Lower Kopili hydro-electric project in Assam, the 180 MW (360 MW) Ranganadi project, Stage-II (Arunachal Pradesh) and the 1,500 MW (6250 MW) Tipaimukh project (Manipur). The last project will be completed in an estimated time of 12 years. NEEPCO is also studying the execution of three more hydroelectric projects in Arunachal Pradesh. They are: the 100 MW Papumpam project, the 105 MW Pakke project and the 100 MW Dikrong project. When completed, the hydro-power in the north-eastern states should amount to approximately 3250 MW of newly installed capacity for electrification. In addition, NHPC Ltd., Indias largest hydroelectric power company, will undertake a total of 12 projects with installed capacity of 5322 MW during the Eleventh Plan (2007-2012).

14

"Estimated from data in Table 2, p. 124 of Demand for Energy in India, National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi, Nov. 1966 and Big Potential for Hydroelectric Power, Article in Project Monitor, 1 Jan 2002.

28 It is necessary to undertake a large number of mini and micro-hydroelectric projects in India as exemplified by: (i) Professor Anil Joshi15 who has modified an old traditional device, the gharaat, used to grind grain, to produce 5-10 kW of hydroelectric power. Initially, such modified gharaats were used in 1000 villages of Uttarkhand. They have been executed in several more villages, estimated to be 25,000 in number. (ii) Tribals in Orissa's Koraput district have set up a hydroelectric power station with the help of a self-help group All India Backward Class Village Development organization. The plant generates around 30 kW of electricity out of which villagers currently use 10 kW. 1.6 Nuclear Power Theoretically, it is possible to produce power in a nuclear reactor by fissioning the nuclei of any one of the isotopes U235, U233 or Pu239. However, until now power on a large scale has been produced only through the fission of U 235 and to a smaller extent, from Pu239. The isotope U233 is not available in nature and is produced when a Thorium-232 nucleus absorbs a neutron and then undergoes radioactive decay (see Chapter 2). Similarly Pu 239 is not available in nature and can be produced only through neutron capture and later decay of U238. Both U235 and U238 are available in nature in the form of uranium oxide (U308) in pitch-blende. Naturally available pitch-blende is a mixture of uranium di-oxide and uranium tri-oxide (65.90%), with small amounts of iron, copper, bismuth, lead, silver and nickel. Its specific gravity is about 6.4. Many uranium deposits have been located in the states of Bihar, Rajasthan16 and Tamilnadu. It is estimated that there are about 10,000 tonnes of uranium oxide in the pitch-blende available in India17. According to the Committee on Energy Survey of India, the uranium available in pitch-blende is sufficient to produce about 5000 MW of nuclear power for 20 years at 75% load factor. Low grade ore containing 0.03-0.1%, sometimes ranging upto 0.3% of the oxide, is found at the Singhbhum copper belt in Bihar. It can yield about 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of uranium. An ore of a similar type is also found in Rajasthan. Other areas containing limited deposits of concentrated ore (10.39%) with complex uranium bearing minerals are in Andhra, Tamilnadu, Kashmir and Kerala. The total reserves of uranium in India are estimated to be in the range of 80,000112,000 tons of low grade ore (about 1% of worlds reserves). Nevertheless, it is sufficient to supply all of India's reactors for a short time. Assuming that the estimated consumption of nuclear fuel increases by a factor of four to become 20,000 MW by 2020, nuclear power generation will require only 2000 t of uranium per year. This represents a 40 to 50 years uranium supply for India's nuclear power reactors. (It may be possible to increase the fuelsupply many times through spent-fuel reprocessing and regeration of new fuel with breeder reactors and hence increase the period of time when all uranium sources are exhausted). If
15 16

Thu, Mar 06, 2008 at 17:09, India section, CNN-IBN. New large deposits of uranium have been found at Dhala, a village in Shivpuri district, MP [16] and at the Kadapa basin (AP). A team of Atomic Mineral Division (AMD) and Mr. Pati, Reader at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, AU, have discovered a structure (named the Dhala Impact Structure), rich in coffinite, a uranium bearing mineral. Preliminary estimates indicate that there may be over 3000 tonnes of very rich and readily extractable uranium spread over a 65 km dimeter near it. This estimate needs further confirmation. The deposit in Kadapa basin (AP) is estimated to contain 28,000 tonnes of which 15,000 tonnes can be used to produce electricity. These may make India become independent of foreign sources and associated constraints on their use. 17 The amount of uranium cited here was the estimate a long time ago and needs to be revised upwards to include the new finds.

29 the uranium needed for India's nuclear armaments an estimated level of 30-35 tonnes, India's domestic uranium supply is more than enough to meet all the needs for defence as well. Therefore, India has sufficient resources to meet its power requirements (nuclear power and weapons use) for about fifty years at the present rate of consumption. The monazite beach sands of Kerala, besides yielding small amounts of 0.2-0.46% uranium oxide, yield 5-10% thorium oxide. The total amount of uranium ore available here is estimated to be about 5000 t, and that of thorium, about 500,000 t. Thorium is not radioactive like uranium in its natural state and hence the danger of radiation damage is nonexistent during handling and transporatation of thorium (Estimated half-life ~ life of universe!). The amount of energy that can be theoretically liberated through the use of all this thorium is equivalent to the energy supply from all of the present day uranium ores, containing 0.1% uranium and above. It needs a considerable amount of research to utilise the thorium in a breeder type reactor for conversion into U233 which is fissionable like U235. Since thorium is plentiful and is not radio-active like uranium in its natural state, any programme for continued atomic power production should plan to use it. The Atomic Energy commission has a programme of development in three stages, the first stage using breeder reactors consuming U235 and U238, producing both Pu239 and electrical power. Figure 1.9 shows the Atomic Energy Establishmenets of India, published by the Atomic Energy Agency. There is a total of six nuclear power stations in India. These are Kaiga, (Karnataka, 660 MW), Kakarapar (Gujarat, 440 MW), Kalpakkam (Tamilnadu, 440 MW), Narora (Uttar Pradesh, 440 MW), Rawatbhata (Rajasthan, 740 MW) and at Tarapur (Maharashtra 1420 mW), constituting a total installed capacity of 4120 MW. There has been considerable progress and construction is under way to increase the capacity at Kaiga by 220 MW, that at Rawatbhata by 440 MW, and at Kalpakkam by 500 MW. In addition, a new station is being

30

Fig. 1.9. Atomic energy related stations in India[17]. constructed at Kudankulam (Tamilnadu, 2000 MW). Tables 1.7 and 1.8 show the existing nuclear power stations, (the associated establishments operated by NPCIL, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India) and the proposed new stations]. The second stage is expected to use Uranium-Pu239 as the reactor core material with thorium as blanket around the core, to breed U233 and produce electrical power. A prototype reactor of this type irradiating a Thorium blanket is being constructed at the Kalpakkam (300 500??? MWE) power station. When this project is completed, the final phase of power production by using U 233 as the fuel to breed more U233 from the second stage blanketed with Th232, at the same time producing electrical power will be attempted. This part may take about 7-9 years to complete. When the prototype is run successfully, India will have taken a major step in the use of nuclear energy with Th232 as the raw-material to produce U233 as the nuclear fuel for power production. This will then provide a fuel which produces overall, a more environmentally friendly procedure unlike the reactors using uranium. This will also ensure that India has enough raw material to take care of all power needs for a long time to come.

31 Table 1.7. Indias Nuclear Power Stations Power Station Kaiga Kakrapur Kalpakkam Narora Rawatbhata Tarapur Kudankulam State Karnataka Gujarat Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan Maharashtra Tamilnadu Type PHWR PHWR PHWR PHWR PHWR BWR(PHWR) VVER.1000 Total Capacity, (MW) Under (present) 660 440 440 440 740 1400 4120 Construction (MW) 220 500 440 2200 3160

Table 1.8. Indias proposed Installations of Nuclear Power

Planned Future projects Power Station MW Kakrapar Rawatbhata Kudankulam Jaitapur Kaiga Gujarat PHWR Rajasthan PHWR Tamil Nadu VVER.1200 Jaitapur EPR Karnataka Various Total 1,280 1,280 2,400 6,400 9,240 20,600 MW State Type Capacity,

For India, the advantages of the use of Thorium for power production are the following: Apart from its relatively higher availability than Uranium, Thorium is not naturally radioactive and is therefore not a dangerous material to handle. It is however, a fertile material and changes to U233, a radioactive and fissile material that can be used to produce power. Proof-of-concept experiments using Thorium in a light-water reactor

(Molten Salt Reactor, Oak Ridge National Laboratory), were successful as early as 1960. It should therefore be possible to generate U233 from Thorium on a larger scale. Because of the better absorption cross-section of Th232 (7.3-7.4 barns) than that of U238 (2.7 barns) for thermal neutrons, Thorium as a fuel should therefore produce nearly three times as many U 233 nucleii, as the number of Pu239 nucleii produced by U238 under similar conditions. A reactor based on the Thorium fuel-U233 pair produces much less radio-active waste than that based on U238 fuel. The nuclear properties of thorium isotopes, such as thermal neutron absorption cross section and resonance integral are better than those of uranium isotopes The resultant uranium products contain both 232 and 233 isotopes. The presence of uranium 232 generally prevents the use of this material as weaponry. However, thorium also has some inherent disadvantages over traditional nuclear fuels, including:

32

Thorium does not naturally include any fissile isotopes, and has to be supplemented to achieve criticality If the uranium 233 is recycled as in a closed cycle, remote handling is required because of the significant radiation caused by the decay of uranium 232 It would be difficult to convert many existing uranium-fuel power plants to a straight thorium fuel cycle

Despite the challenges that thorium fuel cycle plants can provide, many feel that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Current Thorium Power Projects India's Kakrapar-1 reactor uses thorium instead of depleted uranium to improve the operation of the plant at startup and achieve power flattening. India is also in the process of constructing a prototype heavy water reactor using thorium as a fuel. The country expects to have the prototype plant online in 2011 and five more plants are in the design pipeline. While India is spearheading the thorium fuel switch, other countries such as the United States, Russia, and Norway, are considering the benefits of power plants that use thorium fuel instead of uranium fuel. Thorium offers an alternative to conventional uranium cycle plants, but research and development is still needed to create a safe, viable power plant, fuel generation process, and waste management program.
Power from nuclear power stations can be quite economical if the plant is operated at a high load-factor. In the period 1965-71, the operating cost for power obtained from nuclear power stations varied between 4.7-10.8 paise/kWh as against 4.0-9.3 paise/kWh from thermal power stations and 2.6-4.3 paise/kWh from storage hydro-power stations. Though these costs are no longer valid at the present time, the relative costs of power still relate to one another in a smilar manner and can be used for comparison of costs. The cost of coal-generated power has been rising considerably with time, and nuclear power is expected to become as inexpensive as thermal power shortly, especially as technological developments are occurring rapidly. 1.7 Other Sources of Energy In addition to the major energy sources listed earlier, other sources of interest are being studied and developed for practical use. Among them are Wind power, power from Vegetation and vegetable fuels, Biogas and Geothermal energy. Wind Power: Wind power is actually an indirect evidence of solar energy which causes large wind flows. Regular winds, trades and anti-trades, blow from the high pressure belt near the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn towards the low pressure belts at the equator and near the poles. Some wind power was also used in wind mills for grinding grain into flour. However, the energy used this way has been generally negligible since its source is neither constant nor reliable.

33

The worlds installed capacity of wind mills was 56,800 MW in 2005. The top five countries were Germany (18,100 MW), Spain (9825 MW), USA (8960 MW), India(4230 MW) and Denmark (3200 MW). Presently, the worlds installed capacity is 121,188 MW, the top five countries contributing to this total being, USA (33,170 MW), Germany (25,000 MW), China (22,500 MW), Spain (18,119 MW) and India (11,587 MW) [18]. The total renewable energy production in India is 13,250 MW with Tamilnadu contributing nearly a third of it (4375 MW), from wind-mills located near Kanyakumari, the southern tip of India. In 2008, the installed capacity of wind power was 9587.14 MW, including Tamilnadu (4135 MW), Maharashtra (1840 MW), Karnataka (1180 MW), Rajasthan (670 MW), Gujarat (1430 MW), Andhra Pradesh (120 MW), Madhya Pradesh (190 MW), Kerala (23 MW), West Bengal (1.10 MW), and other states (3.20 MW), amounting to a total of 8700 MW. The Central and State governments have supported the establishment of wind-mills for power production and the Government of India has established several research stations to optimize the design of windmills blades so that the efficiency of power generation can be maximized. In spite of all this effort, the efficiency of generation seems to be low, around 22%. It is estimated that 6,000 MW of additional wind power capacity will be installed in India by 2012 [19]. Wind power accounts for 6% of India's total installed power capacity, though it contributes only 1.6% of the country's power. It is unclear as to why the power produced is so low even though the installed capacity is much more than is being used. Vegetable Fuels: The use of vegetable fuels is the most promising method to convert solar energy to work. These fuels are renewable and can be maintained in storage for long periods of time. Also, the concentration of stored energy in vegetable matter is far greater than in wind, water, animal, etc. Hence, vegetable fuels afford a compact means of energy transportation. For ages, wood has been in use as a domestic fuel for heating purposes and is still widely used in India for the same purpose. Wood was used as fuel at the Visweswariah alloy-steel plant in Bhadravati, KA, where the more common industrial fuels were not readily available. It is worthwhile to note that photosynthesis is the only known process by which the stable compounds carbon dioxide and water are absorbed and converted into sugar and oxygen with sun-light providing the energy necessary for the reaction. Further, the theretical maximum efficiency of conversion from solar energy to chemical energy is about 25-35%. The efficiency of conversion in leaves varies depending on the type of plant: usual plants 0.1-0.2%, crop plants 1.2% and sugar cane 8%[20]. Hence, if we discover a method of duplicating photosynthesis in a laboratory, it will be of immense significance to mankind. Biogas: Biogas is a renewable fuel (gas) produced by the biological decomposition of organic matter due to anaerobic bacteria, shielded from oxygen of green leaf and other waste from vegetable decay, crops and even from municipal waste. Wood waste too emits a type of

34
Control Valve Heating or Cooking Gas Cow Dung (Gobar), etc., and Water Ground Level Biogas Collector Ground Level

Sludge

Fermenting mixture

Fig. 1.10. Schematic of an Indian Gobar (Biogas) plant. of biogas consisting of methane, hydrogen and carbon-monoxide. The components of biogas, no matter what the source, are generally combustible and can be used for heating, cooking as well as lighting in villages which do not have electrical power, as in many parts of India [21, 22]. (In UK, compressed biogas is used also as a motor-fuel in place of petrol). The biogas plant performs an anaerobic fermenting process using animal waste (cow-dung or gobar, horse-dung, etc.) and is often referred to as a Gobar plant in In India. It consists of two main components, the fermenter (or digester), and the Floating-gas-holder (collector), often a tall cylindrical or square vessel floating over a slurry of well-mixed waste gobar (cow-dung), leaves, grass, etc., and water. The slurry on which the vessel floats, Fig. 1.10, is maintained essentially out of contact with air since it is under a slight internal pressure due to the liberation of gas which is led out of the collector through a valve which regulates the outflow of gas for the purpose it is needed (heating, cooking, lighting, etc.). [23, 24]. The total estimated biomass production in India was about 546422.6 ktonnes per year of which about 139,151 ktonnes per year can be utilized for power production in a conventional steam plant. The power that can be produced from biogas is estimated to be about 17,982 MW [25]. Indias development index in biomass is ranked third in the world after US and Germany. There exist 1.8 million biogas plants spread over all of India. The Government of India and most of the state governments support research and development related to biogas plants, but it has had little impact on the use of energy in spite of the large number in existence and the encouragement that the government provides for it. Part of the reason is the limited availability of feedstock and another, failures due to the corrosive nature of cowdung and overall unreliability of the plant. Geothermal Energy: A rather cheap source of power which is being used more and more in many countries is geothermal energy. Geothermal energy manifests itself in the form of natural hot springs where extremely hot water sometimes shoots up from the ground along with steam, also at high temperatures. Though the reason for the existence of natural hot springs and steam is not very well understood, it is thought that volcanic activity

35 below the earth's surface heats water that is present there. If the temperature rises sufficiently, the water pressure may rise as well and the hot water finds its way to the earth's surface through fissures to flash into steam when it reaches atmospheric pressure. It has been found that hot water systems occur also in areas where there is no natural volcanic activity. In some instances where there is no natural fissure or outlet for the hot water to stream out of the earth, it may be possible to obtain steam or water at high pressure by drilling into the rock. The steam produced may then be fed directly into turbines to produce power. Such hot springs occur in India near the Himalayas, certain parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat and in parts of Bihar. The Oil and Natural Gas Commission of India is reported to have detected hot water and steam at depths around 1500-2000 m during the exploration of oil in Gujarat and Cambay areas. There are about 400 hot springs discharging water at high temperatures to enable direct use in running ssteam turbines to produce power in various parts of India. The total potential estimated in India for geothermal power is about 10,600 MW, over five times the present combined power produced from the sources wind, solar and biomass [27]. According to old estimates of experts from United Nations (1965), it would be possible to put up 30 MW plants operating at 90% load factor at a much lower investment cost than those of coal-fired or nuclear power plants. Their estimated capital costs for various types of power plants are as seen fom Table 1.9. Table 1.9. Cost/kWh Capital cost Cost of power per kwh, paise/Rs. Coal 5.8510 5.325 (U.N. 1965) Nuclear 10.7510 5.330 (U.N. 1965) Geothermal 4.6010 1.972 (U.N. 1965) Hydroelectric Rs. 1-2 (Estimate) Coal/Natural Gas Rs. 2-3[27] Nuclear Power Rs. 2.25-3.1[27] Wind Power Rs. 3.5-4[27] Solar Photovoltaic Rs. 15 [27] ____________________________________________________________________ So far, not even does a plan exist to utilise this inexpensive potential either at the Central or at the state governments. It is not clear what the difficulty is, especially when all of the conventional sources involve large installation and maintenance costs, long planning periods and delays in project execution. 1.8 Summary It has been seen from the earlier discussions that the energy demands of the world are accelerating and increasing at a tremendous rate, while the available natural resources, especially those that have served the needs of mankind until now, are dwindling. It is essential therefore, that new and as yet untapped sources, are utilised from here on. The energy resources of India, primarily coal and hydro-power, are sufficient for the needs of the immediate future, though they are unlikely to last very long. Much of the Indian coal is of high ash content and is concentrated in the areas of Bengal and Bihar. All

36 the available coking coal which is of metallurgical use is confined to these areas. estimated that they will satisfy India's needs until the end of the century. It is

Since the production of oil in India is only a small fraction of the total demand (the most optimistic estimates placing it at only 25% of the anticipated demand in the near future), India will have to import extremely large quantities of oil. The major reason for the increase in demand for oil is transportation, both due to trucks and the dieselisation of railways. Further, the pattern of demands for refined petroleum products coming out of the refineries is not uniform: there is the likelihood that excessive gasoline, fuel oil and naphtha products are produced, the demand for diesel oil becoming so large as to outrun the output of the oil refineries in India. It may therefore be necessary to utilise the excess gasoline in small power plants (pumping sets etc.) so that the requirement of diesel oil is reduced. The cost of electricity generated from coal is sufficiently low in areas not far from the coal mines. If coal is to be transported a large distance to the interior of the country, the cost of electricity produced from it may become so high that nuclear power becomes competitive in those areas. The cost of power production decreases slightly with increasing plant size, though hydraulic power is still the cheapest in areas where storage reservoirs may be constructed. Nuclear energy is likely to become more and more important as the problems associated with the design of breeder reactors using Thorium as the fertile material are solved. References and Reading Material [1] India Energy Data Statics and Analysis, - Oil, Gas, Electric, Coal, US Government, www.eia.doe.gov, 2009. [2] DiIlio, C.D. and E.P. Nye, Thermal Engineering, International Text-Book Co., Scr anton, PA, 1963. [3] Hutcheson, J.A., Engineering for the Future, Engg. Education, Engrg., Vol. 50, No. 8, 1960. pp. 602-607. [4] Johnson, F.S., The Solar Constant, J. Metereology, Vol. 11, 1954. pp. 431-439. [5] Information from Wikipedia, EIA (US Gov)[1] and a few other sources. [6] ZAREM, A. M. et al. Introduction to Utilization of Solar Energy, N. Y., McGraw-Hill, 1963. [7] Rose, A., A Global View of Solar Energy in Rational Units, Phys. Stat. Sol., Vol. 56, 1979. [8] Solar Solves It, The Times of India, Saturday, 24 Oct. 2009. [9] Coal Sources: A Geophysical Survey, Commerce, Annual Issue, 1970. [10] Report of the Committee on Energy Survey of India, 1965. p. 75 and p. 125. [11] Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India. [12] VISHNOI, D. N, Oil from CoalA Necessity, Metals and Minerals Rev., July 1960. [13] Demand for Energy in India, National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi, Nov. 1966, p. 58 and p. 124. [14] Oil & Nat. Gas Jour., Jan. 2009. [15] Uranium Quest Ends? Times of India, Saturday, 3 Oct. 2009. p. 11. [16] www.dae.gov.in/publ/indmap.htm [17] Wind Power, Wikipedia the Free Encyclopaedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power#Wind_power_usage

37 [18] India to add 6000 MW wind power by 2012 but below tartget, Business Standard, 5 Aug. 2009. [19] Govindjee & Rajni Govindjee, What is Photosynthesis? Dept. Plant Biology, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801-3707, USA. [20] Nagamani, B., & K. Ramasamy, Biogas Production Technology: An Indian Perspective, Fermentation Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641 003, India. [21] Abe, H., Summary of Biomass Power Generation in India, 21 Jul 2005. abejin@plants.uwa.edu.au [22] Singh R.B., Biogas Plant, Gobar Gas Research Station, Ajitmal, Etawah (U.P.), India [23] Singh R.B., Some Experiments with Bio-gas Plant, Gobar Gas Research Station, Ajitmal, Etawah (U.P.), India [24] National Biomass Resource Atlas, IISc., Bangalore. http://lab.cgpl.iisc.ernet.in Also: http://lab.cgpl.iisc.ernet.in/CropReport/Default.aspx [25] Chandrasekharan, B., Geothermal Energy Resources of India, Geothermal Power Asia, 2000, IBC Conf., Manila, Philippines, Feb. 2000. [26] Cost of Solar Power in India - Over Rs 15 per KWh, Energy Alternatives India, Ecacofonix, Sunday, 12 July 2009 [27] SHARMA, N. L., AND K. S. V. RAM, India's Economic Minerals, Dhanbad Publications, Dhanbad. [28] SHARMA, N. L., AND K. S. V. RAM, Introduction to Geology of Coal and IndianCoalfields, Dhanbad Publications, Dhanbad. [29] The Wealth of India, C.S.I.R., Industrial Products, New Delhi. [30] Central Electricity Authority, Goivernment of India [31] BROWN, J. C, 1955. Questions 1.1. Why is the study of energy sources important? 1.2. What is the solar constant? Think of an experiment to determine it. 1.3. Design a small solar water heater which will heat about 50 L of water per day for household use. 1.4. What are the various types of coal? What are the differences in properties among them? What are the reasons for preferring bituminous and anthracite coals? 1.5. Make a review of the literature and write a report on the available coal reserves of India, their locations, grades, etc. 1.6. Make a review of literature to gather information and write a report on the hydraulic power sources of India. Why is hydraulic power usually less expensive than power from thermal sources? 1.7. Review available literature and write a report on the petroleum and natural gas reserves of India. 1.8. Review available literature to write a report on the available nuclear fuels of India. =============
AND

A. K. DEY, India's Mineral Wealth, Oxford & IBH Publishing Company,