IISc’s Cuba connection: A biomass gasifier will be shipped to Cocodrilo for generating power

IISc’s Cuba connection: A biomass gasifier will be shipped to Cocodrilo for generating power
Divya Gandhi, The Hindu,Online Edition, Karnataka. July 4, 2007
IIsc Gasifier

BANGALORE: The fishing hamlet of Cocodrilo, situated in a corner of Isla de la Juventud, (the Cuban island made famous in RL Stevenson’s Treasure Island, and now a tourist paradise), has one problem. Like villages in the rest of the island, Cocodrilo depends exclusively on expensive diesel-powered engines to generate electricity.

Now, however, the community appears to have found a solution through technology import from the other end of the globe. A biomass gasifier, developed at the Indian Institute of Science, and shipped to the island will help the village generate its own electricity.

The veritable “power station” as S. Dasappa of the institute’s Centre for Sustainable Technologies calls the biogasifier, to be shipped to the island next month, will power the engines with producer gas generated from a resource that exist in abundance in the island — vegetation.

“The gasifier can be fed with just about any form of biomass — agricultural residue, ‘lops and tops’ from the forests and even sawdust,” says Dr. Dasappa. The system took him and H.S. Mukunda, Advisor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, a good part of their career to develop.

Dr. Dasappa explains how the gasifier is energy efficient: “Once the biomas is fed in to the reactor, it is converted into gaseous fuel. The fuel is cooled and cleaned with water, and filtered of ash by a filtering system to make it suitable for the engine. The water is not wasted, it is treated and reused. The exhaust from the engine goes right back into the system to dry the biomass, completing the cycle.”

“The existing engines in the village, which would have otherwise used 300 ml of diesel to produce a unit of electricity, will now, with the aid of producer gas, need only 60 ml of diesel. And with the cost of fuel cut by 75 per cent, the community can now dream of electricity round the clock” Prof. Mukunda said.

The little village of Cocodrilo of 50 households, will “showcase” this technology package, which will be replicated in the rest of the island to provide 3.5 megawatts of electricity, which is a fourth of the island’s requirements, he added. A particular factor makes fuel self-sufficiency all the more crucial in Isla de la Juventud. Located in a region of intense hurricane activity, the island cannot afford to depend on diesel that is shipped from miles away.

Having helped generate electricity in nearly 50 villages and industries in India, the technology has in the recent years received much international attention. Cuba is only the most recent country to acquire the gasifier, which has been bought by agencies in Japan and Brazil. The hardware which costs $ 1,00,000 will be acquired by the Cuban Government with grants from United Nations Industry Development Organisation.

See article: The Hindu