IIT Guwahati develops low-cost INDCR

GUWAHATI: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati Researchers have developed a novel low-cost Improved Natural Draft Charcoal Retort (INDCR) to address the technological and capital investment challenges of Indian charcoal makers, stated a press release.

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited's New Initiative Wing for Waste to Energy Projects organised an open competition on 'Green Charcoal Hackathon 2020', where IIT Guwahati innovators presented the INDCR as participants. Upon further evaluation and mentorship by the NTPC officials, the developed reactor has been given an opportunity to be demonstrated at the Township of NTPC's Ramagundam Thermal Power Station, located in Telangana, to produce 5 tonnes of charcoal per day from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW).

Charcoal is widely used as a fuel for domestic and industrial heating applications. While most of the developed countries are producing industrial charcoal through the retort system, it was not available for Indian charcoal producers because of technological barriers and the need for higher capital investment.

Dr Arunkumar Chandrasekaran and Dr Senthilmurugan Subbiah, Professors in the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati, who were the lead innovators of the INDCR system, have filed an Indian patent for the design of this innovative reactor. The reactor's technical detail and its performance have been published in the reputed peer-reviewed journal 'Energy & Fuels Journal, American Chemical Society'.

Highlighting the unique aspects of the developed reactor, Dr Subbiah said, "The innovative reactor is proven to produce high-quality charcoal from a wide range of feedstock, and it is designed to use its own feedstock as heating fuel. This reactor is portable to agricultural fields, and it is proven to convert all the agricultural waste to charcoal without the noxious gas emissions."

The developed charcoal retort reactor was installed and tested at Paramakudi in Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu, with the fabrication help of Optima Heat Technologies, Paramakudi.

The pilot-scale mobile charcoal production unit is 125 kg of input loading capacity with the two-phase mode of operation. The demonstration of the whole research consumed two years with more than 60 field trials having been carried out to ensure consistent yield and quality of charcoal.

Speaking about the technology transfer agreement between IIT Guwahati and Sanron Fuel Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, and Samkitec Resources, Hyderabad, Dr Subbiah said, "This technology transfer will enable further research and development in IIT Guwahati to design a higher capacity reactor system to produce an industrial-grade charcoal irrespective of any input loading feedstock with a higher mass and energy yield and lower emissions."

Researchers from IIT Guwahati have chosen various biomasses such as Prosopis juliflora, Casuarina equisetifolia, Bambusoideae, biomass briquettes, wood pellets and Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) briquettes from MSW as the input feedstock for charcoal-making process.

The definition of good quality charcoal depends on its end-user. Hence, the retort reactor has been developed to be capable of producing charcoal in higher mass yield (34%-42%), versatile quality of fixed carbon (76%-88%), higher energy content (6400-7200 kcal/kg), minimal noxious emission (2.65 kg of CO2/kg of charcoal) and lesser carbonization time (4 hours).

Further, the reactor has the ability to control the process at any point in time during operation. It is user-friendly in terms of loading biomass/feedstock and unloading charcoal. Upon attainment of 270°C and upward, the volatile gases produced in the wood chamber, which are mainly low molecular weight organic volatile compounds are redirected back into the combustion chamber for complete burnout and liberated as complete combustion products.

The retort system operates in an environmentally friendly way with very low emissions of Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide, Hydrocarbons, and particulate matter. Further, the charcoal produced from the retort reactor was used as a fuel in barbeque & blast furnace heating applications and as a sorbent in pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.

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