Energy Farming—A Green Solution for Indian Cement Industry

Abstract

Cement sector in India is playing an important role in overall development and infrastructure. Coal is the main fuel for the manufacture of cement in India, given the high cost and inadequate availability of oil and gas. Another fuel required to operate the cement plant is diesel. It is required for drilling machine (in mines for blasting), for earth moving machines and in clinker production process for diesel generator to generate emergency power, kiln initial light up, various material handling vehicles, etc. Lot of research is being done to reduce coal consumption in cement plant by replacing the coal through alternative fuels like shredded tyre chips, plastic waste, refused derived fuel (RDF) from MSW, agrowaste, etc. Research for reducing the energy consumption is also in advance stage where Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has made the scheme for Mandatory Energy Audit of cement plants. Cement industry still has not focused on saving of diesel consumption as the consumption of diesel is less as compared to main fuel (Coal). However, it is well relevant to specify here the rise in diesel cost in India in last five years is alarming for the cement industry. This paper highlights the saving in diesel cost by introducing energy farming (EF) concept in place of green belt area which is statuary requirement for obtaining environmental clearance for cement plant and mines area.