Rice and Bamboo Power for Assam, India

Rice and Bamboo Power for Assam, India

In some circles it’s known as ‘industrial ecology’, where the ‘waste’ process of one industrial action is successfully employed by another. In Assam, India they are planning to build a 16 megawatt power plant that will be fuelled by rice husks from food production (pics), and bamboo dust waste from paper fibre mills. India is said to the world’s second largest producer of bamboo, after China, and these power plants are expected to be amongst of the first to utilise bamboo for fuel. The bamboo power stations are expected to be operational by year end. The gasification of rice hulls to produce power is noted as being in use in several countries, such as the US, China, Italy, Thailand, and elsewhere within India. Aside from generating electricity, the rice husks can also power irrigation water pumping. But using such technologies the state of Assam hopes to be self sufficient for energy within 10 years. Currently much of their electricity is imported from surrounding states with hydro schemes but such reservoirs are now prone drying up. Via ::M&C, ::The Statesman and ::Web India .