Evaluation of Techno-economic and Environmentally Sustainable Renewable Energy Potential of Rice Processing Plant /

Abstract

Increasing energy demand, fuel costs, emissions, and global warming of industrial sectors are the key drivers driving green and cleaner energy production. Owing to limited resources, electricity extracted from fossil fuels is not a viable energy source, due to which a sustainable and cost-effective energy production system must be strengthened. Two scenarios, (a) biomass fuel feedstock, and (b) solar PV system, are studied to evaluate techno-economic and environmentally feasible solutions for a rice processing plant. The biomass situation is further sub-divided into three scenarios (100% rice, 100% wood, 50-50% rice and wood) as fuel feedstock, resulting in 19% fuel cost reduction and 98.1% GHG emissions reduction by proposing 100% rice fuel feedstock to be a viable option in biomass fuel feedstock. The second scenario focuses on a 1MW solar PV installation that is divided into company-owned and 75% bank-financed systems, generating 1,544 MWh and 2,034 MWh of electricity exported to the grid for fixed and two-axis systems, respectively, with GHG emission reduction potential of 632 tCO2 with a payback period of 2.7 years for fixed axis and 832 tCO2 for two-axis solar PV systems with a payback period of 3.2 years. The best option for industrial facilities is biomass-based rice husk fuel feedstock, which is locally accessible and has a total GHG emission reduction potential of 84% of the whole process, making it the best conceivable scenario for policymakers to incorporate.