Asia-Pacific Environmental Innovation Strategies (APEIS)

Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options (RISPO)

Good Practices Inventory

Use of Rice Husks as Fuel in Process Steam Boilers
Summary of the Practice

Keywords: Process industry, local environment, thermal applications, health hazards, technology
upgrades, process steam, co-generation, power generation, rice husks, fluidized bed combustion,
particulate biomass
Strategy: Promotion of biomass energy
Environmental area: Waste management
Critical instruments: Technologies, Economic instruments
Country: India
Location: States of Punjab and Haryana in the northern parts of India
Participants: Local-level process industry, designers and fabricators of boilers
Duration: Ongoing
Funding: Internal
Background
After bagasse, rice husks are probably the largest mill-generated source of biomass available for energy
use. As large quantities of rice husks are normally available at the rice mills there are no additional
efforts or costs involved in the collection of this biomass for use as an energy source. Due to the
availability of large quantities at any given location, rice husks can be put to use for comparatively larger
energy applications, like generation of steam for process heating applications. In the northern parts of
India, like in the states of Haryana and Punjab, due to the practice of dry milling of paddy rice, there is
practically no captive consumption of husks within the rice mills. Thus, large quantities of rice husks are
available for use as fuel.
Traditionally, part of the rice husk is used as an admixture in poultry feed and the balance is normally a
disposal problem, in the absence of any market for the husk. Taking advantage of the lower cost of rice
husks, small process industries located near the rice mills started using it as a fuel in their boilers to
generate steam. Some of the units started pelletisation of rice husks for use as a substitute for firewood
and coal at the household and small industry level, but pelletisation of rice husks, as practiced during
those days, had its own set of problems and could not progress further.
Such small-sector process industries use fixed, great fire-tube boilers with low capacity, which are
manually fired, using coal as the fuel. Such combustion practices and boiler designs are primitive in
nature and have built-in problems of partial fuel combustion and low efficiency. As husks were available
virtually for free, the boiler efficiency and the degree of combustion were the issues receiving the least
attention. Partial and uneven combustion of husks in the furnaces of the boilers also would lead to smoke
emissions. The disposal of partially burned husks and ash also created environmental hazards. The
development of compact, fluidized bed process steam boilers by the boiler manufacturers led to more
efficient and environment-friendly utilization of this widely available bio-fuel resource. As a result, such
process steam boilers are now widely used by even the comparatively larger process industries.
Objectives
The driving factor behind the efforts to develop technology and equipment for effective utilization of rice
husks as fuel in the process steam boilers was the need to meet energy needs in a more cost-effective way.
Development and commercialization of fluidized bed process steam boilers using rice husks and other
such biomass as fuel led to widespread use of rice husks as fuel by the process industry in the rice
cultivation areas of the country for their process steam requirements. This, on the one hand, led to the

sustainable use of rice husks, which was once a disposal problem, and on the other hand, enabled the
process industries to meet their energy needs in a more cost-effective manner.
Description of the activity
For meeting heating needs and most of the heating applications, the predominant system used in process
industries is indirect heating, with a heat transfer media normally used. The media undergoes phase
change in the process of heating. The most commonly-used heat transfer medium is water, which is
converted to steam in the boilers using fossil fuels. Steam is then used for heating applications. Normally,
for moderate-sized heating requirements, oil-fired smoke-tube boilers with a pressure rating of up to 17.5
bar (1 bar equals to 100,000 Pascal)are used. The typical capacity of such boilers varies from 250 kilograms (kg)
of steam per hour to about 14 tonnes of steam per hour. The reasons for the predominant use of fuel oil in
the process steam boilers is the convenience of storage and use, combined with the compact, skidmounted nature of such boilers.
The rising cost of fuel oil compelled the industry to search for alternative fuels, and biomass in general
and rice husks in particular were considered a suitable candidate, given their low price some 15 years ago.
Initially taking advantage of the lower cost of rice husks, small process industries located near the rice
mills started using rice husks as a fuel in their boilers for generating steam. Such small-sector process
industries use manually-fired, fixed, great fire-tube boilers of low capacity. Such combustion practices
and boiler designs are primitive in nature and have built-in problems of partial fuel combustion and low
efficiency. As husks were available virtually for free, the boiler efficiency and the levels of combustion
were the issues receiving the least attention. Such boilers are normally designed to use coal as a fuel. The
use of husks instead of coal leads to increases in the pressure drop across the grate; first, due to the need
to have a higher thickness of bed (due to lower calorific value and low density), and second, due to the
shape and size of the husk. The increase in the pressure drop across the grate leads to a lack of
availability of air (such boilers using induced draught) for proper combustion of the biomass, leading to
incomplete, non-uniform combustion and generation of smoke.
Thermax Limited and other producers of process steam boilers, along with a number of engineering
companies in the country, developed process steam boilers suitable for rice husks and other such biomass
as fuel, leading to the development of compact, fluidized bed process steam boilers using rice husks or
other similar bio-fuels. Some of the characteristics of such fluidized bed boilers include
the ability to burn low-grade biomass fuels, due to the high thermal inertia and high
turbulence of the fluidized bed;
the high combustion efficiency, due to the turbulent mixing of the fluidized bed and the long
residence time of the fuel in the furnace.
The technical suitability of these rice husk process boilers has led to their wide acceptance by the
industry. In some instances existing oil-fired process steam boilers have been either converted or
replaced with rice husk-based process steam boilers.
Using the same concept of fluidized bed combustion of rice husks for generating process steam, facilities
are being created for the generation of power. Recently, a six megawatt power project was commissioned
at the Sirigutti industrial area in Bilaspur in the state of Chattisgarh, using rice husks as the biomass fuel.
Biomass-based power plants, using fluidized bed combustion technologies, have already been established
at a number of locations in the country, with the state of Andhra Pradesh in the lead.
Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited, the leading producer of power plant equipment in the country, has also
developed and successfully demonstrated comparatively larger capacity rice husk-based fire-tube
fluidized bed combustion boilers, which can either be used for process steam generation or for power
generation.
The main factor driving the shift towards husk-fired boilers from oil-fired boilers for process steam is the
comparatively lower cost of biomass-based fuels, but the capital cost of a husk-fired fluidized bed boilers
is much higher than that of an oil-fired boiler. This becomes the limiting factor when deciding on a huskfired process steam boiler. Apprehension regarding price stability and the availability of rice husks are

other factors hindering the decision to shift to rice husks as a fuel for process steam needs. The
development of technology, equipment, and its commercialization has reached such a level that a
decision regarding the choice of fuel for meeting process steam requirements is now done purely on
commercial considerations, without any apprehensions regarding technology for using rice husks as a
fuel.
Critical Instruments

Overview
The practice of biogas generation using rice husks as fuel has developed in the country under this
atmosphere of enabling policies largely comprised of revitalizing local economy by market creation for
rice husk and reduction of waste disposal.

Technology
The technology of Fluidized Bed Combustion was earlier available only to large steam users. It was
realized medium and small process steam users would find it just beneficial to have access to this
technology. The result is the Fluidized Bed Combustion Boilers that have developed to cater to the
economical and efficient technology needs saving crores of rupees every year. The Fluidised bed
combustion technology can be employed as a versatile efficient means of utilizing the vast resource of
rice for production of energy. A number of fluidized bed boilers and combustors using rice-husk as fuel
have been engineered for manufactured and installed applications like process steam for parboiling and
oil extraction and hot gas generation for fertilizer industry.
The combustion of rice husk in conventional method leads to very high burnt combustibles. This is
mainly because of the nature of the fuel, in which carbon is trapped in carbon free white in colour and
rich in silica. The white ash is also having a market value as a by product. The rice husk fired fluidised
bed boilers offer advantages like excellent combustion, quick start-up low pollution and simple operation
and maintenance. Compared to a boiler efficiency of 55-60% achievable with stepped grate furnace, the
fluidised bed combustion technology offered will give a high efficiency of the order of 75-80%, the other
advantages are quick start-up, low pollution, simple operation and maintenance.

Partnerships
The development and dissemination of Fluidised bed Combustion technology for boiler using rice husk is
a complete private initiative. BHEL has developed & commercialized the technology for Atmospheric
Fluidized Bed Combustion (AFBC) boilers burn fuels like coal washery middlings and rejects, rice straw
etc, and has developed the design of fluidized bed boilers for utilizing rice-husk. Commercial full-scale
boilers supplied by BHEL are in operation since 1987.

Awareness/capacity building
Operation of Fluidised bed boiler needs training of operator. There are few government organisation like
National Research Development Corporation, which give specific training for operation of small capacity
ricehusk fired boiler.
Impacts
The use of rice husks for process steam generation has the following benefits. It
is a carbon-neutral and renewable source of energy, thereby reducing the emission of
greenhouse gases;

 results in a reduction in emissions of sulfur and other pollutants associated with the use of
fossil fuels, thereby improving local environmental conditions;
results in an improvement in the efficiency of the husk-fired boilers, leading to its
acceptability by the industry and other stakeholders as an acceptable practice;
develops the local economy by creating a market for rice husks, formerly a waste disposal
problem;
meets the thermal energy requirements of the process industry in a more cost-effective
manner; and
generates employment at the local level for collection and supply of rice husks.

Lessons Learned
For some of the applications where the use of rice husks or other similar bio-fuels may be economically
viable, given the comparative prices of the fossil fuel, viz. the biomass, its use may get hindered in the
absence of effective and efficient technologies for such applications. Development of technologies which
are biomass- and application-specific leads to the use of biomass as a source of energy.
Replacement of existing low-efficiency biomass for energy practices with better, more efficient
technologies reduces the requirement of fuel and keeps the use of biomass economically viableeven
with the increase in the price of biomass.
Some of the drawbacks associated with the use of biomass, such as capital intensity, non-uniform or
incomplete combustion, disposal of partially burnt biomass, etc., can be taken care of by focusing on the
development of suitable technology and applications, where the benefits of economy-of-scale can be
exploited. The equipment manufacturers are normally interested in developing the technology and bear
the cost of such development, due to the potential size of the market for the technologies and equipment.

Potential for Application

The use of rice husk-fired boilers for the generation of process steam has already been applied at a large
number of locations throughout the country. The decision regarding the choice of fuel for process steam
is made based on the availability of biomass and other techno-commercial considerations, like space
availability and cost benefits. In some instances industry has modified their present oil-fired process
steam boilers to husk-fired boilers.
In rice mills where the practice of boiling of paddy prior to milling is practiced, a part of rice husks
generated is used in-house. Due to the demand for both the process steam and electricity at the same
location, with the added advantage of in-house availability of the fuel, facilities for simultaneous
generation of power and steam can be constructed.
The development of fluidized bed rice husk boilers has also enabled the establishment of some power
plants using rice husks as the fuel. Further development of the technology and equipment designs, such
as gasifier systems for co-generation, will enable the use of rice husks or other similar biomass as fuel for
process steam and power generation in situations where there are still barriers to its use.
The strategy for developing suitable technologies and equipment for effective combustion and utilization
of biomass fuels can be applied for other available biomass-based energy sources, like that for rice straw,
mustard stalks, etc. Such an effort is likely to increase the sustainability of such biomass resources on a
larger scale.

Contact
For further information, please contact either the case reviewer or any of the following:
Thermax Limited
Thermax House
4, Bombay Pune Road
Shivajinagar, Pune 411 005
India
Tel: 91-212-322123, 312122
Fax: 91-212-323226, 310226
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.,
Lodhi Road, New Delhi -110 003.
India
Tel: 91-11-463-6411
Fax: 91-11-461-6345/1914
Zenith Corporate Services (P) Limited
10-5-6/B, My Home Plaza,
2nd Floor, Masab Tank,
HYDERABAD-500 028.A.P., India
Tel: 91-040-23376630/23376631/23325803
Fax: 91-040-23322517
E-mail: zenith@hd1.vsnl.net.in
Case reviewer: Dinesh Aggarwal, Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi - 110003, India.
E-mail: dinesha@teri.res.in
Information date: 12 March 2003