This presentation describes work undertaken at TERI in the field of renewable energy based power cum cold storage solutions for rural areas, as presented at Power Industry India 2012, New Delhi. Copyrights - TERI. Please attribute credit to TERI.

1. Solar Biomass Hybrid System For Cold Storage &
Power Generation
Anand Upadhyay, Research Associate
The Energy and Resources Institute

2. 1. Background
2. Project
3. System details
4. Future plans
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3. Background
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4. The Good
• India is the 2nd largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the
world.
• Horticulture provides 6.5% of the countries GDP, 13% of
employment and accounts for more than 9% of Indian exports
with only 9% crop acreage.
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5. The Bad
Harvested fruits and vegetables, worth
Rs.60,000 crores (USD 12 billion)
are lost due to lack of post harvest handling and storage
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6. and The Ugly…
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7. • Short fall of 10 million tones storage capacity
• Energy costs account for about 30% of operating
costs.
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9. Small sized cold storages should be built…
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10. …should be built near agriculture field itself
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11. In short…
Small sized cold storages should be built near
agriculture field itself
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12. BUT… Poor power supply
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13. Most of the Indian landscape is
blessed with
perennial solar energy
+
biomass in villages
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14. In 2006, TERI started working on a concept
whereby indigenously available biomass and
solar resources could be used to operate small,
decentralized cold storage right at the village
level
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15. Interactions…
Consultations with
• National Horticulture Board
• District Horticulture Offices
• Central Food Technological
Research Institute
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16. … Elaborate exercise to understand the field
requirements.
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17. The System
• A 15 kW Vapor Absorption Machine (VAM) coupled with
a 50 kWe Biomass Gasifier system and a field of solar
collectors.
• Locally available biomass is used in the Biomass Gasifier
to produce synthesis gas, which will then be used to run
an engine to produce electricity.
• Additionally the heat energy from the sun and gasifier is
being utilized by the VAM to produce cooling effect in the
cold storage.
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18. The System
Solar Dishes
Cold Storage
Ammonia VAM
Biomass Gasifier Gas Engine
Electrical Power

19. The System
Solar dishes
Cold storage
Gasifier
system
VAM
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20. To provide
• 50 kW clean grid quality power
• Cold storage facility for about 20 tonnes of
fruits or vegetables.
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21. TRNSYS simulation results
Initial cooling load profile after product
has been loaded in cold chamber
TRNSYS
model
Cooling load over next 30 days after
product has been brought to storage
temperature
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22. Project Site
N
Located in SEC campus,
Gurgaon, near solar
parabolic trough collector
field
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The Beginning… 22

23. Setting up of system
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24. Before & After
AFTER
BEFORE
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25. Technological USPs
• First of a kind in World
• Ammonia based VAM – GAX cycle – built for sub
State of the ART zero temperature
Renewable • Biomass – TERI’s Advanced Gasification System
Energy • Solar –Fixed focus concentrating dish
Grid • Electricity generated from gasifier & gas engine
Independent
System • Integration of Biomass gasifier, Solar dishes and
Integration Ammonia VAM with Cold storage

26. Specifications
Cold Storage capacity : 20 MT
Cooling Capacity : 15 kW
Cold storage Temperature : 0 to 5°C
Gas Engine capacity : 50 kWe
Biomass consumption : 60 kg/hr

27. Specific details on solar energy
• 30% thermal energy met using Scheffler
dishes
• 4 dishes of 16 m2 each (from Thermax)
• Detailed hourly simulation done using TRNSYS
• Hybridization with biomass energy
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28. System at site
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29. Contd…
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30. Complete system
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31. Size flexibility
Power Energy
Cold Storage Size Source
Generation Requirement
Fruits Cooling
Duty Biomass
Grid quality Vegetables (15 to 50
power for kW)
domestic,
Self
community, Flowers* Solar
Sufficient
and
productive Dairy &
loads Capacity
Milk*
(20 to 100
Fish & MT) Hybrid
Meat*
* Under development

32. Derivative schemes
Energy side
Technology Application
variations
Absorption Horticultural
technology for
Biomass positive temperatures
Non horticultural
Absorption
technology for sub
zero temperatures
Food processing
Solar Vapor compression
technology for all
temperatures Deep Freezing

33. Mix ‘n’ match
Scheme • Biomass coupled with absorption
Technology
A
Scheme • Solar & Biomass Hybrid Coupled
with Absorption Technology
B
Scheme • Biomass coupled with vapor
compression Technology
C

34. Adsorption technologies
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35. What all has been difficult
• Simulating the system for sizing and predicting
performance
• Stakeholders !!! (in plenty)
• System integration
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36. Way forward
Current pilot system
• Long term monitoring and tests to optimize
future systems
• System cost reduction
• Field replications
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37. Sincere thanks to owners of the photographs (which have been used in this
presentation) who have shared their wonderful work on internet, and
without which the audience would have been sleeping. Thank you so much !
Thank You!!!
anand.upadhyay@teri.res.in
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