15000 MW power generation >>>
Inaugurating the National Workshop on Promotion of Co-generation/Captive Power Plants in Pulp and Paper Mills, organized by his Ministry here today, Shri Muttemwar said that the waste generated by rapid industrialization can be utilized for generating power through waste-to-energy conversion technologies. This can address the challenge of waste disposal and Green House Gas (GHG) emission besides making the industry self-dependent for power. Shri Muttemwar explained the imperative to encourage greater use of renewable energy and to reduce dependence on fossil fuels in the backdrop of crude oil prices crossing $75/barrel and coal prices doubling in international market in recent years.
The Minister emphasized the importance of such projects in the paper and pulp sector, which is one of the energy intensive and highly polluting sector. He underlined the fact that compared to average fuel consumption per unit output by various industries in India, this sector consumes twice the amount of fuels. He added that paper industry is eminently suited for power co-generation as 75-85% of energy is required for process heat and 15-25% as electrical power. Further, large quantity of wastewater generated in pulp and paper industry can be used for generating biogas through biomethanation of the effluents, which in turn can be utilized for production of thermal energy electricity.
Shri Muttemwar also informed that his Ministry is implementing various programmes/schemes for installation of co-generation projects based on biomass and energy recovery from industrial waste. Financial assistance is extended to encourage setting up of such projects, which in addition to providing energy & helping in creative disposal of waste, also helps to cut down transmission and distribution losses.
On this occasion, Shri Muttemwar released the National Master Plan (NMP) for Development of Waste-to-Energy prepared by the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources under the UNDP/GEF assisted project on High Rate Biomethanation Processes. He said that the NMP provides a framework for waste-to-energy programme for the country by covering all the waste streams from urban and industrial sector. The primary objective of NMP is to catalyze additional decentralized power generation capacity through projects for energy recovery from urban and industrial wastes in a cost-effective manner by deployment of technologies that are suitable to the Indian conditions. The NMP is expected to serve as a Road Map for planning and implementation of projects in the urban and industrial sectors, in a phased manner over the next decade.
The Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources has organized the one-day workshop in association with Cogeneration Association of India and Indian Agro & Recycled Paper Mills Association to discuss various issues including Policy & Financing, Technology Configurations & Case Studies and Action Plan for promotion of Cogen/Captive Power Plants at Pulp & Paper Mills. The Workshop was attended by representatives of industry from all over the country along with State Nodal Agencies.
Motivated SAIL >>>>
Addressing the company’s directors here, he said SAIL’s growth plan needs to be completed within three years instead of five as scheduled earlier. He called upon them to take all steps to make the organization strong enough not only to withstand all impediments but develop into a leading international enterprise as well. Shri Paswan asked the SAIL management to opt only for the best proven technology and never compromise while implementing the modernization and expansion plans. He directed them to speed up the expansion of its distribution network covering each district in the country to make quality steel available to the consumers.
The SAIL Board accorded approval for three new projects at an estimated cost of Rs. 350 crore. The projects cleared include the re-building of the Coke Oven Battery (COB) No.6 at the Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) at a cost of Rs. 176 crore. This project will help the BSP meet its coke requirement for enhanced hot metal capacity envisaged in its modernization and expansion plan on a sustained basis. It would be the 6th COB of SAIL to be taken up for revamping and retrofitting with the state-of-the-art pollution control measures under this growth plan.
Another project approved at the SAIL Board Meeting was installation of a computerized project system at the Steel Melting Shop (SMS)-II of the Bokaro Steel Plant at a cost of Rs. 31 crore. The on-line process system is the latest of its kind and will be integrated with the existing system for improvement in the quality of steel produced by SMS-II and for upgrading its efficiency.
As on date, projects involving a total investment of around Rs. 17,300 crore are under various stages of implementation by SAIL. Among the major projects is the Rs. 1,553 crore expansion plan for the Salem Steel Plant.
Flood Relief proposal of Rs. 3200 Crore
The Relief Minister, Dr. Kirori Lal Meena informed this at a press briefing here on Wednesday. He said that Rs. 1.34 crores had been demanded for ex-gratia payment to families of deceased persons, Rs.124.27 crores for repair and restoration assistance for damaged houses, Rs.333.99 crores for immediate restoration of roads, Rs. 53.30 crores for restoration of drinking water supply, Rs.37.11 crores for restoration of water resources, Rs.28.77 crores for restoration of damaged tanks of PRIs, Rs. 520.65 crores for input subsidy to affected farmers, Rs.106.56 crores for medical and health care and Rs.212.24 crores for veterinary health care for livestock & replacement subsidy of dead animals.
Dr. Meena informed that Rs. 74.65 crores had been asked for restoration of power supply network, Rs.400 crores for miscellaneous things including damage to the mining and relocation of submerged villages, Rs.1230.08 crores for wage employment to affected families, Rs.10 crores for air dropping of essential services and hiring helicopters, Rs. 2 crores for evacuation of people affected, Rs. 10 crores for temporary accommodation, food and clothing and Rs. 50 crores for draining of flood water in affected areas.
The Relief Minister said that Rs. five crores had been demanded as cost for search and rescue and Rs. one crore as cost of clearance of debris.
The Secretary Relief Shri R.K. Meena informed that the State Government had spent Rs. 536.42 crores on relief operations so far. He said that state had an opening balance of Rs. 51.52 crores in the calamity relief fund in the year 2004-05. He said that the state received 163.66 crores from the Centre and after including the state share of Rs.54.55 crores the total Rs.218.21 crores were with the State Government. Thus over Rs.318 crores more had been spent in relief operation so far, he added.
Ozone Layer Recovering !!!
A team led by Eun-Su Yang of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, analyzed 25 years of independent ozone observations at different altitudes in Earth’s stratosphere, which lies between six and 31 miles above the surface. The observations were gathered from balloons, ground-based instruments, NASA and NOAA satellites.
The stratosphere is Earth’s second lowest atmospheric layer. It contains approximately 90 percent of all atmospheric ozone. The researchers concluded the Earth’s protective ozone layer outside of the polar regions stopped thinning around 1997. Ozone in these areas declined steadily from 1979 to 1997.
The abundance of human-produced ozone-destroying gases such as chlorofluorocarbons peaked at about the same time (1993 in the lowest layer of the atmosphere, 1997 in the stratosphere). Such substances were phased out after the 1987 international Montreal Protocol was enacted.
To measure ozone at different altitudes in the stratosphere, the team combined data from balloons and independent ground-based observing networks with monthly averaged satellite data. The satellite data came from five independent NASA and NOAA instruments.
Measurements were compared with computer predictions of ozone recovery that considered actual measured variations in human-produced ozone-destroying chemicals. The calculations took into account other factors that can affect ozone levels, such as sunspot cycle behavior, seasonal changes and stratospheric wind patterns.
“These results confirm the Montreal Protocol and its amendments have succeeded in stopping the loss of ozone in the stratosphere,” Yang said. “At the current recovery rate, the atmospheric modeling community’s best estimates predict the global ozone layer could be restored to 1980 levels — the time that scientists first noticed the harmful effects human activities were having on atmospheric ozone — some time in the middle of this century.”
The researchers concluded approximately one half the observed ozone change was in the region of the stratosphere above 11 miles and the rest in the lower stratosphere from six to 11 miles. The researchers attribute the ozone improvement above 11 miles almost entirely to the Montreal Protocol.
“Scientists expected the Montreal Protocol to be working in the middle and upper stratosphere and it is,” said co-author Mike Newchurch of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. “The real surprise of our research was the degree of ozone recovery we found at lower altitudes, below the middle stratosphere. There, ozone is improving faster than we expected, and appears to be due to changes in atmospheric wind patterns, the causes of which are not yet well understood. Until the cause of the recent ozone increase in the lowermost stratosphere is better understood, making high-accuracy predictions of how the entire ozone layer will behave in the future will remain an elusive goal. Continued careful observation and modeling are required to understand how the ozone recovery process will evolve.”
“Our study is unique because it measures changes in the ozone layer at all heights in the atmosphere, then compares the data with models as well as observations from other instruments that measure variations in the total amount of ozone in the atmosphere,” said Ross Salawitch, a senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Results are published in the latest Journal of Geophysical Research.