MTP 695 Report on

BIOFUEL PRODUCTION FROM HORTICULTURAL PROCESSING WASTE

Submitted in the partial fulfilment of the requirements

Of the degree of

Master of Technology in Technology and Development

By Vishal Singh

(Roll No. 123350007)

Guide

Prof. Amit Arora

Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA)

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Powai, Mumbai 400076

December, 2013

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Certificate

This is to certify that the seminar report titled Biofuel production from horticultural processing waste prepared by Vishal Singh bearing registration number 123350007 is approved for submission at Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA), IIT Bombay, Powai.

(December 2013)

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(Chairperson)

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Prof. Yogendra Shastri

(External Examiner)

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Prof. Bakul Rao

(Internal Examiner)

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Prof. Amit Arora

(Guide)

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Declaration

I declare that this written submission represents my ideas in my own words and where others' ideas or words have been included, I have adequately cited and referenced the original sources. I also declare that I have adhered to all principles of academic honesty and integrity and have not misrepresented or fabricated or falsified any idea/data/fact/source in my submission. I understand that any violation of the above will be cause for disciplinary action by the Institute and can also evoke penal action from the sources which have thus not been properly cited or from whom proper permission has not been taken when needed.

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(Vishal Singh)

Roll No. 123350007iii

Acknowledgement

I sincerely thank my guide and advisor Prof. Amit Arora for helping me during the entire research process. I also extend my heartfelt thanks to other faculty members from CTARA for their continuous guidance and support.

My special thanks to Nasik Vintners and Sula vineyards Nasik; Jain Irrigation, Jalgaon; Alchemy Processes Pvt. Ltd. Aurangabad; Hart Foods, Sion; Yojak Kokan Meva, Ratnagiri; Vaibhav Products, Ratnagiri; Ruchi Products, Ratnagiri and various others who were the real sources for qualitative information.

I am deeply grateful to Karishma Bhuyan, Pavitra Sharma, Abhiram Sahasrabuddhe, Udit Sharma and all my colleagues for helping me when needed. I also thank my family and friends for their warmth and support which motivated me to work hard.

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Abstract

Agriculture finds an important place in the Indian economy. Horticultural products such as fruits and vegetables are increasingly favoured by farmers due to shorter growth cycles, multiple cropping and a ready market. This has led to a tremendous growth in the area and production under horticultural products in the last few years. Indias horticulture production recorded an increase of 30% in the last five years. In the year 2010-11 (MOSPI), Indias contribution was about 75 million metric tons (MMT) of fruits (9% of world production) and 110 million metric tons of vegetables (11% of world production) (FAO). However, the percentage of the total produce getting processed is reported at a meagre 2.2%. Considering the unorganised sector involved in the FPIs, this number may be anywhere between 5-7%. With progressive policies and increased governmental support, this percentage is set to increase quite rapidly in the near future.

Energy is a primary industrial and household need and petroleum products are getting costlier by the day. Sustainable energy products are the talk of the hour and the quest for green energy sources is getting aggressive. The use of horticultural processing waste is not unheard of for the production of biofuels. A lot of ongoing research supports the fact that biofuels can successfully be made out of waste. A large percentage of the total fruits weight is discarded as waste after processing. This waste is a rich source of various biological components which can be successfully utilised to produce value added products.

Low ash containing biomass provides a unique opportunity to produce a solid fuel (direct combustion), liquid biofuel (ethanol) or gaseous biofuel (gasification or bio-methanation). This study makes an attempt to compare the options for converting the horticultural processing waste into biofuels so as to ascertain their appropriateness vis--vis the existing disposal options.

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Table of Contents

Certificatei

Declarationii

Acknowledgementiii

Abstractiv

Table of Contentsv

List of Tablesvii

List of Figuresvii

Introduction1

1.1 Motivation4

1.2 Methodology4

1.2.1 Field visits5

1.2.2 Telephonic conversation5

1.2.3 Questionnaire6

1.3 Objectives6

Literature Review7

2.1 Characterization of waste7

2.1.1 Proximate compositions8

2.1.2 Estimation of waste generated9

2.1.3 Existing disposal options for horticultural processing waste11

2.2 Horticultural processing waste to biofuel11

2.2.1 Combustion11

2.2.2 Bio-methanation12

2.2.3 Gasification13

2.2.4 Ethanol production14

Results and discussion16

Conclusion and future work plan18

4.1 Future work18

4.1.1 Combustion18

4.1.2 Bio-methanation18

4.1.3 Gasification18

4.1.4 Ethanol production18

4.2 Conclusion18

References19

Annexure I: Field Visits21

Annexure II: Processing Waste Questionnaire23

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List of Tables

Table 1: The major policy initiatives to promote FPI3

Table 2: Logical framework for intervention into HPW to bioenergy projects4

Table 3: Proximate composition of horticultural processing waste8

Table 4: Reported average productivity and potential possibility9

Table 5: Area under various fruits in various districts of Maharashtra (Ha)9

Table 6: Number of newly registered FPI units in Maharashtra, 2004-201110

Table 7 Combustion details of horticultural wastes12

Table 8: Biogas yield from different horticultural waste13

Table 9 List of biomass gasifiers around the world14

Table 10: Industrial yield of ethanol from pure substrates15

Table 11: SWOT analysis for various options of biofuel production from HPW17

List of Figures

Figure 1: Horticulture in India, area and production1

Figure 2: Production of various horticultural products in India2

Figure 3: Total exports of various horticultural products from India2

Figure 4: Energy Ladder4

Figure 5: Share of energy sources with GDP per capita4

Figure 6: Various possible uses of horticultural processing waste11

1

Chapter 1

Introduction

India is primarily an agricultural country and excels in production of various food, fruits, fibres and other agricultural products. Indias current production is estimated to be about 75 million metric tons of fruits (9% of world production) and 110 million metric tons of vegetables (11% of world production) [1]. According to the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization; 2009, India is the worlds largest producer of fresh fruits, bananas, mango, mango-steens, guavas, tropical fruits, papayas, and various other agricultural products. Currently, the Indian food processing sector employs about 13 million people directly and about 35 million people indirectly. In 200405, food processing sector contributed about 14 per cent of manufacturing GDP with a share of INR 2,80,000 Cr (~4.5 Billion US$). Of this, the unorganized sector accounted for more than 70 per cent of production in terms of volume and 50 per cent in terms of value. (IL & FS 2011)

The bar graph below shows the trend of the horticultural industry in India. The left axis shows the area under production represented by the bars while the right axis shows the total production depicted by the line (data.gov.in 2013).

Figure 1: Horticulture in India, area and production

India is the world number one producer of bananas, mango, mangosteens, guavas, papayas, tropical fruits, and various other fresh fruits. The export volume is however not present due to lack of processing facilities and awareness amongst farmers. Lack of scientific handling and storage after harvesting causes huge amounts of post-harvest losses. The first chart below shows the trend of production of some of the largest horticultural products of the country. The second chart shows the total exports of the some largely exported products from India (faostat 2013).

Figure 2: Production of various horticultural products in India

Figure 3: Total exports of various horticultural products from India

It is evident from the above charts that in spite of having huge production of various horticultural products, India lags in the export sector. Very low number of processing facilities are present hence a very low quantity of the total produce could get processed and preserved and eventually The advent of latest technology and development of advanced fruit processing machinery has been captured by a few segments of mango producing regions and henceforth the processed quantity is on a rise. Banana, however has a very low percentage of processed output as compared to the total produce. The capital investment in setting up a processing facility is large and is one of the major inhibitor for new players in the sector. The peels and seeds of fruits are the major wastes produced at any existing food processing facility. Agricultural and food wastes are the largest section of overall waste generated in India. There is a lot of prior research available on feasibility and production of value added goods from waste. Food processing industries generate a large quantity of waste of very consistent chemical composition. This provides an opportunity of refining the FPI waste and obtaining various products.

The current percentage of total agricultural produce getting processed is reported at a meagre 2.2%. If the unorganised sector working in the food processing industries is accounted for, this number may be anywhere between 5-7% of the total production quantum. The percentage is very low as compared to established leaders in food processing such as China, USA and others. Lack of adequate handling and starage facilities also add to a huge amount of post-harvest losses. Food processing industry is one of the fastest growing and promising industries for the coming years. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MFPI) got established in July 1988 with a an aim to provide support to food processing sector in the country. The Government of India is very aggressively promoting processing and exports through various support measures and policies. National Mission on Food Processing has several schemes which can bring about huge improvement in the industry. Schemes for technology up gradation, setting up and modernization of food processing industries; scheme for supporting cold chain facilities, for human resource development; schemes for promotional activities and such other plans have vastly improved the existing scenario (gujagro 2013).

Table 1: The major policy initiatives to promote FPI

Food processing sector identified as industry with employment potential

Most processed food items exempted from licensing under the Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951 (except items reserved for SSI and alcoholic beverages)

NABARD created a refinancing window with corpus of INR 10 Billion

INR 1.5 Billion earmarked for (National Horticulture Mission) NHM for terminal markets

For easy credit availability, FPI included in the list of priority sector for bank lending in 1999

Automatic approval for foreign equity up to 100% available for processed food items (except items reserved for SSI and alcoholic beverages)

Excise duty on processed fruit and vegetables brought down from 16% to 0% in the Budget 2001-02

In the budget of 2004-05 income tax holiday and other concessions announced for certain categories of food processing industries

Under Income Tax Act, a deduction of 100% of profit for 5 years and 25% of profits for the next 5 years allowed in case of new FPI set up to process, preserve and package fruits and vegetables

Several such schemes have been floated already and many others are in the pipeline. However, there still remains so much yet to be achieved in the industry of food processing.

With an increase in the agricultural produce of land with application of technology, a number of food processing industries are set to come up. A lot of effort is being put forward in the area of food processing by the enterprises, the administration and the multi-nationals corporates. The quanta of waste generated is also set to increase given the size of the industry and the disordered manner in which the industries treat and dispose their wastes. This offers a unique opportunity for value addition through waste disposal techniques. The state of Maharashtra leads in the production of various fruit products and has a substantial area dedicated to vegetable production as well. The trend of growing fruit and vegetable crops has increased amongst farmers due to their utility as cash crops. The advent of large food processing industries has also supported this trend in a major way. This has led to a tremendous growth of area under cultivation as well as the number of industries involved in processing. Various other enterprises not involved in processing but involved in trading and exports of the finished products have also seen a huge growth in the state in the last few years.

1.1 Motivation

The motivation for the study ws authors stay in the village Dhaulvali, Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra. As observed by the author, in many villages in and around Kokan (Comprising of districts of Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg) small and medium FPIs are working in most productive seasons. Small processing plants (eg. Ruchi products, Ratnagiri) process about 20 tons of mango in two months for various product amounting to a total output of about 10 tons. Gokhale products, Ratnagiri, utilises various available local fruits and vegetables for a variety of products such as kokam juice, potato-gingerbeer, jamun pulp, etc. The unorganised nature and location of these industries make it difficult to dispose there waste in an organised fashion. Most of the times, the waste is allowed to dry for some time and once sufficiently dry, is burnt in open or in very inefficient boilers. This brings us one more problem of environmental hazard caused by organic waste.

While energy is a prime requirement for livelihood to sustain, the form of usage determines the developmental levels of society. The concept of energy ladder provides a clear view as to the movement of a locale towards cleaner and easily manageable sources with development and better prospects.

Figure 4: Energy LadderFigure 5: Share of energy sources with GDP per capita

1.2 Methodology

The table below objectively describes the intervention logic, verifiable indicators, sources of verification and assumptions and risks involved in a large scale HPW to energy project in the Indian context.

Table 2: Logical framework for intervention into HPW to bioenergy projects

Intervention logic

Indicators

Sources of verification

Assumption/Risks

Goal

To produce bio-fuel from horticulture processing waste

Optimum Energy capture

Testing, applications

Low conversion efficiency

Objectives

Waste Management

Reduction in waste disposal issues

Reduction in health issues

Municipal report

Health Report

Capital investment compared to other techniques for same produce

Bio-fuel production

Viability of production for applications

Lab test

Pilot testing

Low productivity compared to other feed stocks

Energy Capture

Combustion properties of produce

Comparison of empirical data with theoretical values

Cost of replacement of existing alternatives

Expected results

Successful production of bio-fuels

Replace ability of existing fuels

Industrial application of bio-fuels

Fuel versus food security

Sustainable waste disposal

Improvement in sanitation

Reduction in load on Municipal waste disposal activity

Municipality

Cost of disposal

Creation of a successful business model

Creation of employment

Business opportunities for small scale industries

Economic surveys, Feasibility models

Scepticism of people for new technology, Low Project Success confidence

Within such a logical framework, an intervention in the HPW field should be made. It is to be noted that the latest technology plays a very important role and several other parameters like policies, climatic conditions and atmospheric changes hold key importance in decision making.

The methodology for this study comprised of three sections which are field visits, telephonic conversations and questionnaires. These are explained below.

1.2.1 Field visits

A visit to the Nasik Vintners Private limited, Sula Vineyards Private Limited and surrounding grape farms were made by the author. Observations about grape processing, wine making and waste disposal were noted. Associated pictures are attached to Annexure

A visit to Jain Food Park, Jalgaon, Maharashtra was made by a research team to assess the waste generating processes and handling procedures during various processing operations. Various visits were made to food processing industries in Sion, fruit markets at CST. Fruit wholesalers near Masjid and local fruit sellers were also engaged in conversations.

1.2.2 Telephonic conversation

Extensive amount of data and qualitative information was collected by telephonic conversations with various enterprise owners and managers of food and vegetable processing industries. Small scale industries were focussed so as to get primary user information about waste generation and afterwards of it.

1.2.3 Questionnaire

A small set of questions were devised so as to engage the conversant in minimum time to get maximum details about waste quantum and post processing procedures in practise. The questionnaire can be found in the annexure.

1.3 Objectives

Based on literature review and analysis of obtained information from various sources, the following research questions were articulated which will guide us to the solution for handling wastes from horticultural processing industries and to find suitable conversion to utilise them as fuels. The research questions are:

What are the various types of fuels that can be made from horticultural processing wastes and what are the conversion processes?What is the energy recovery of each process?

Hence, the report has the following primary objectives:

Waste quantum estimation and discussion of existing methods of disposal.Possibilities of bio-fuel formation from horticultural processing wastes.Comparison of techniques.

Chapter 2

Literature Review

2.1 Characterization of waste

The characterization of horticultural processing industry waste will discuss the following points in detail:

The proximate composition of wasteThe quantum of generation The existing disposal options in practice

India ranks world number one in production of banana with about 29 million MT in 2010-11 alone (agriexchange 2013). India produces about 20% of the total production of banana over the world. However, the amount of banana being processed is a very small fraction of the total product available. The exports are also a miniscule part of the pie. A major reason for this is insect bites on the fruits which develop into black spots and render the fruit unsuitable for export to the markets of United States of America, Europe and Gulf countries which are the largest consumers of imported banana. The state of Maharashtra ranks third in banana production amongst all the states of India with a production of 3.6 million MT (agriexchange 2013). The ajor pockets of concentrated banana cultivation falls in the districts of Jalgaon, Dhule and Buldhana while sporadic cultivation is done all over the state. Major variety produced for table consumption is Dwarf Cavendish while various other varieties are also produced in smaller quantities. Usage of plastic crates and shock-proof handlers have decreased the post-harvest losses to a great extent. Major wastes generated by banana are peels and the pseudo-stem which bears the plantain and is disposed after that. The peel contains high amounts of carbohydrates.

Mango (Mangifera indica) is the most important fruit of India and is known as King of fruits. India is world number one in the production of mangoes and controls about 40.48% of all world production. The total production of mango in India was about 15.19 Million MT for the year 2011 while the total area harvested was 2297 thousand hectares. Maharashtra comes second only to Tamil Nadu in the production of mango. The major concentrated pockets of mango production in the state of Maharashtra are the following districts. Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Raigarh, Satara Sangli. Koihapur, Latur. Nasik. Beed, Akola, Jalna. Ahmednagar. Buidhana. Osmanabad. The major exports of fresh mango and mango pulp takes place from Mumbai, which is also the capital city of the state. Mango is typically grown in the western half of the state while the processing industries are situated densely in the Kokan belt. There are a huge number of mango processing plants that have come up due to rising demand of mango based drinks all around the year. Many small and medium enterprises with total production as low as 10 MT per annum are into the business of processing mango and canning of pulp. While the pulp constitutes 45-65% [2] of the total fruit weight, the rest mass including peels, pulp waste and stones (kernels) are discarded and disposed of at most places. A large amount of such waste is generated every year which is causing disposal and management problems for the processing enterprises as well as environmental concerns for the areas where it is being disposed. The major species grown in Maharashtra for processing and exports are Alphonso, Kesar and Pairi. Mankur, Sindhu, Bainganpalli etc. are some other preferred table varieties. There are also various hybrids developed by various institutes which are being tried for cultivation [3]. The processing of mango produces a lot of wastes. The by-products/wastes available after processing of mango includes cull fruits (fresh fruits unsuitable for human consumption), mango stones (containing kernels with 616 percent mango oil on DM basis), mango peels and pulp wastes. Peels constitute about 15-20% of the total fresh weight. Stones constitute about 10-20% of the total weight. Pulp wastes constitute 10-15 % of the fresh weight. The total pulp content packed after processing is about 45-65% of the total processed quantity [4]. Various techniques have been adopted to get rid of the waste. Peels are disposed of summarily by processing facility owners and is dumped for landfill. At some places in Maharashtra, typical mango processing industries are composting the peel waste in open pits. Composting of peels is, however not easy due to high cellulose content. The stones are let away to be burnt in the boilers. Pulp wastes and washings are utilized in existing biogas plants or just drained off. Many a times, the industries even have to pay to remove the waste accumulated at their processing sites. Not much of value addition is achieved through existing measures of disposal. The mango peels constitute about 15-20% for the varieties being processed in Maharashtra (Alfonso and Totapuri).

Similarly, there is a huge amount of waste generated in processing of other fruits such as grapes, citrus and lemon. The quantum availability of banana and mango processing wastes is larger due to a larger production and also more number of enterprises involved in trade and processing. Presently most of this waste lands up either in a landfill or an open pit with almost negligible value addition.

2.1.1 Proximate compositions

Here the proximate composition of various horticultural processing wastes are discussed. Processing wastes usually contain the peels, seeds (stones) and wastewater. In a few cases there might be pulp waste as in mango peeling and citrus juicing. Maharashtra is a state rich in diversity of horticultural products being farmed and a large section of agricultural land is dedicated to horticultural farming. In this discussion the compositions of only some products like mango, grape, banana, citrus fruits namely lemon and orange will be discussed.

Table 3: Proximate composition of horticultural processing waste

Compound

Moisture

Carbohydrate

Crude fibre

Protein

Fat

Ash

Fresh mango peel

65-75

18-24

1-3

1-3