1. Centre for Sustainable Technologies
Technological Contributions to Rural Development-The CST (astra) experience
Centre for Sustainable Technologies
IISc

2. Though importance of S & T for rural India was appreciated as early in 1930s by Mahatma Gandhi, S & T in Advanced Academic Institutions turned their attention to this area only 1970s.
Most well-known effort is from IISc with its programme: Application of Science and Technology to Rural Areas known as ASTRA.
Guiding Principles of ASTRA
Technological development is driven by societal demands
First step in technology development for rural masses is needs identification through direct contact and translating needs to technological solutions
Technological solutions bound by constraints of user-acceptability and sustainability
Amulya Reddy: CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 87, NO. 7, 10 OCTOBER 2004

3. BROAD AREAS of Technological Interventions
Bioenergy Technologies
Biomass gasification, biomethanation, improved wood burning devices (cook stoves, driers, kilns, etc.)
Technology generation and transfer/dissemination
Alternative building technologies
Technology generation, training and transfer/dissemination
Defluoridation of Water & Sanitation Program
Hazardous waste management
.Forestry, sustainable biomass production and climate change

4. Bio-Energy Activities
Early 1980’s - accepted a challenge to look into the energy needs of agricultural sector through the route of bioenergy conversion by mainly focusing on:
Improved stoves for meeting the cooking energy needs
Biogas through bio-methanation route for meeting cooking and any small power needs
Biomass gasification to provide electricity or mechanical power to various rural needs.
What it means to the Country
Based on a analysis, total agro production of 415 million tons which totals to about 440 million tons of bio-residues in India.
Accounting for current usage pattern there is surplus of 130 million tons of agro residues that can realize a power of potential of MW.
Further there are waste lands for bio resource development to address both transportation and stationary applications
Distributed power generation is the concepts using
Captive generation, Micro grids, Hybrid systems

5. Bio-Energy Activities Biomass combustion – Fixed stoves
ASTRA ole – a three pan stove based on standard engineering principles
Increasing the area of heat transfer using, Multi pans, dipping the pan entirely, fins
A chimney to remove the flue and create the draft
Applications
DOMESTIC COOKING (ASTRA OLE); LARGE - SCALE COOKING BATH WATER HEATING ; ARECA PROCESSING, JAGGERY MAKING;AYURVEDIC MEDICINE, SILK REELING,DYEING OF YARNS; STEAM DISTILLATION ,STEAM CURING OF LIME-STABILISED MUD BLOCKS,DRYING; TOBACCO CURING;CRAMATION
These stoves were disseminated through subsidy programs – over 1.5 million!

6. Fuel-efficient ASTRA Stoves
Bio-Energy Activities Biomass combustion – Fixed stoves
Fuel-efficient ASTRA Stoves
Motivation for development for technology
Conservation of fuel wood and biomass to save deforestation; less time to be spent by women and children to collect firewood, thus children can be encouraged to attend school
Smokeless ness: thus avoiding ill effects of exposure to smoke environment.
S & T component
Application of principles of combustion & heat transfer
Technology Dissemination
Through involvement of govt.agencies, NGO’s, institutions. Entrepreneurs
Bottlenecks
Lack / not sufficient trained man power
Poor Market net-work
Needs more awareness

7. Technologies / Designs
Wood Burning Devices
Technologies / Designs
Technology Transfer
Impacts
Efficient smokeless cook stoves
Cook stoves: 1.55 million HH
Bath stoves: 3300
Institutional stoves: 4000
Fuelwood conservation: 0.5 t/yr
Improved quality of life for 1.5 million women
Entrepreneurship and employment
Investment: Rs.300 million
Agro-products driers: spices, fruits, vegetables
Driers: 1000
Enhanced economic value of Agro-products
Investment: Rs.27 mil

8. Bio-Energy Activities Biological Conversion
The activity began with use of cow dung as the feed material to meet the energy needs.
Research at IISc has led to use other ligno-celluosic material as feed
One reactor for wide biomass composition
Low input energy, low biomass processing
Wide VFA fluxes, slow methanogenesis,
Feed stratification and floating,
Create multiphase flow amidst changing form
Ferment biomass even when afloat,
Corrosion proof civil structure, gas-proofing
Major Achievements
Leafy biomass and crop wastes up to 1.5 t/d-Over 15 systems
Coffee waste water-75 operational units
Municipal Solid Waste- 8 units built in 3 towns

9. Bio-Energy Activities Biological Conversion

10. Technologies / Designs
BIOMETHANATION
Technologies / Designs
Technology transfer
Impact/ Investment
Community biogas for rural electrification
Optimized designs
Village electrification – 17 villages
Home lighting and water supply
Reliable electricity in 17 villages
No. of HH electrified
Inv. Rs.10 mil
Bioreactors for Coffee effluent
Multi-feed high rate bioreactor process
No. of sites – 17
Capacity – kg COD/d, 92% removal
Gas production for multiple end uses
Effluent treatment 504, 000 litres per day
Inv. Rs. 5 mil
Municipal solid waste treatment
No. of plants – 1
Capacity – 90m3
Gas for multiple end uses &
Waste treatment
1 town 50,000 population
Biomass plants for cooking
Solid phase and plug flow processes.
On going –
25 villages
Gas for cooking for all HH
No. of HH = 2000
Inv. Rs. 10 million

11. Thermo chemical conversion of biomass
Process that converts solid fuel to gaseous fuel
Used in an internal combustion engine for power generation to substitute fossil fuel
Diesel engine – for dual fuel application
Gas engine – for single fuel
Used in heat application
Low temperature – drying, etc
High temperature – furnaces, kilns, etc
Combination of the above - heat and power
Bio-Energy Activities

12. Bio-Energy Activities, Thermo-chemical Conversion
Scientific challenges addressed
To ensure that tar and particulates are minimized, system elements are robust, multi-fuel capability to avoid ash fusion and yet have good quality gas
Producer gas engines for power generation
Typical applications
Electricity generation , Village electrification, Captive power generation, Grid linked power generation
Thermal application, Low temperature (drying, etc., ), High temperature (furnaces, kilns, etc., )
At IISc (Open top down draft technology - distinctly different from other designs)
Technology package for agro residue as the fuel
Power range 5 – 1000 kWe
Both power and high quality thermal applications
Over 500,000 hours of operational experience
Gas cleaning system for turbo-charged engines
High pressure gasification for micro-turbine
About 6 MW electrical and 40 MW thermal
Saving in excess of lts of oil per day

13. Technologies / Designs
BIOMASS GASIFICATION
Technologies / Designs
Technology transfer
Impacts / investments
Biomass gasifiers for power generation
Capacity:
20 kW to 1000 kWe
Village electrification – 4
On-going village electrification - 25
Industry captive power and grid connected – 20
- Installed capacity
Village Elec. 145 kWe
100% HH electrification
2500 HH to be electrified
- Captive and grid Power kW
- Inv. Rs. 120 mil
Thermal Gasifiers
Upto 5 MWth
Industrial application – 8
1 MW – 500 to 1 MWe rating
Improved processing

15. Green and Sustainable Buildings
1. Motivation for development for technology
Excessive contribution of the building sector towards GHG emissions
Indiscriminate adoption of energy-intensive materials and practices
Climatically unsuited designs – reliance on active (energy intensive) mechanisms to maintain thermal comfort
Inadequately harnessed and building-integrated solar energy
2. S & T component
Scientifically validated guidelines for design and evaluation of thermal performance of buildings in tropical and sub-tropical regions
Extensive study into passive mechanisms of providing thermal comfort
Building physics in Building/Façade integrated Photovoltaics’
3. Technology Dissemination
Prototype demonstration
Training and/or advanced diploma in ‘Sustainable Buildings’
Publication of guidelines/monographs
4. Bottlenecks
Inertia to accept change towards green building concepts
Inadequate guidelines on design and material use
Heavy dependence on energy intensive building materials and techniques

16. Green Building Technologies
Technologies/ designs
Technology transfer
Impact/ Investment
-Stabilized mud blocks
-Lime-Pozzolana Cements
-Composite mortars
-Pre-cast and prefab roofs
-Ferro-cement roofs
-Masonry vaults and domes
-Filler slab roofs
-Earthquake resistant buildings
-Solar passive architecture
>12,000 buildings nationally
>4000 buildings in Gujarat after the Bhuj earthquake
Training technology carriers
Energy efficient & improved buildings
Homes for earth quake victims
Energy conservation
Environment conservation
Trained entrepreneurs, employment generation

17. Appropriate Sanitation
1. Motivation for development for technology
Inadequate understanding of a societal sanitation approach
Community acceptable designs
Designs or technologies to suit diverse conditions of habitations and environment
Sanitation designs/technologies in response to climate change and its consequent impacts
Construction adopting local skills and materials
2. S & T component
Systemic evaluation of a community’s sanitation approach
Guidelines for structuring and organizing social issues determining appropriate sanitation
Sanitation technologies adopting minimum water and effective neutralization of pathogens
Compact designs for dense congested habitations such as slums
3. Technology Dissemination
NGOs and SHGs
Training and awareness programmers (institutional and community level)
Enhance community participatory approach in identifying appropriate sanitation
Publication of guidelines/monographs
4. Bottlenecks
Diverse responses to acceptance/rejection of appropriate sanitation
Appropriate sanitation more a social issue than technological
Social acceptability – traditional beliefs
Provision of urban image in sanitation for rural areas

18. Areas endemic to fluorosis in India
Water Quality
Areas endemic to fluorosis in India
70  100 % affected
40  70 % affected
10  40 % affected
Endemic fluorosis is a public problem in India
Almost million people drink fluoride-contaminated groundwater.
The number affected by fluorosis is estimated at million.

19. Precipitation reaction:
MgO + H2O + F- → Mg(OH)2-yFy (1)

20. Technologies / Designs
Defluoridation & Rural Sanitation
Technologies / Designs
Technology Transfer
Impacts
Domestic Defluoridation Technology
15 liters domestic defluoridation units
100 liters defluoridation units
Health benefits for rural people drinking fluoride-contaminated water
Improved life quality
Rural sanitation program
Under progress
Improved sanitation & hygiene conditions

21. Climate Change and Forest Sector – Contributions to Science and Policy
Climate change is emerging as one of the most important scientific, technological and policy challenges, globally and nationally. Pioneering work has been done in the following areas of science and policy aspects of climate change and forests at CST:
Greenhouse gas inventory methodology for forest and land use sectors: Forest sector contributes to nearly 20% of the global CO2 emissions. Faculty of CST has contributed to the development of IPCC methodology for GHG Inventory for Land use, Land-use change and forest sector (IPCC, 2003) and for GHG Inventory for Agriculture, Forest, Grassland and other land categories (IPCC, 2006). The methods and guidelines developed are being used by all the countries for estimation of GHG Inventory. CST has also estimated the GHG Inventory for forest and land use sectors for India for submission to UN Climate Convention.
Carbon sequestration potential of forest sector: CST has estimated the mitigation potential of forest and land use sectors for India. The mitigation potential estimates made by CST have been used in preparing the National Climate Change Action Plan of Govt. of India. According to the estimates made, the forest carbon sink in India will continue to increase till CST has also contributed to the estimates of mitigation potential in the forest sector at the global level, for the IPCC 2007 assessment.

22. Climate Change and Forest Sector – Contributions to Science and Policy
Impact of Climate change on forest sector: CST has made an assessment of the likely impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems and biodiversity. Studies have shown that 68-77% of the currently forested area is likely to undergo change in vegetation type by 2085, adversely affecting the biodiversity and forest ecological functions. The studies further showed that the Net Primary Productivity of forest ecosystems is projected to increase by % due to CO2 fertilization, during the initial decades of the current century. The findings of the CST studies are used in preparing the National Greening Mission, under the National Climate Change Action Plan.

23. Forestry, Biomass Production, Climate Change
Developed and promoted mixed-spices forestry for biodiversity conservation & sustained yields
Developed Nursery practices manual for 100 tree species
Estimated Sustainable biomass production potential for energy for India
Climate change mitigation technologies, potential, costs and projects
Forestry
Bioenergy technologies
Renewable energy technologies
Bioenergy for Rural India and Climate Change Mitigation: A large project prepared by ASTRA,
Funded by UNDP-GEF
Implemented by Govt. of Karnataka
Climate change science and policy making

24. CST Technologies in Rural Development Programs

25. Drinking Water Rural Housing
Rural housing shortage figure in India at around 2.31 million (2002 estimate).
There are million unserviceable kutcha houses requiring up-gradation in the rural areas.
Drinking Water
Out of total of 15,07,349 rural habitations in the country, 74.39% (11,21,366 habitations) are fully covered, 55,067 villages (2,20,165 habitations) remain uncovered. Slippages= 2.8 lakh habitations due to:
Sources going dry or lowering of the ground water table, Sources becoming quality affected
2,16,968 habitations are affected due to a variety of water quality problems
excess fluoride, arsenic, salinity, iron, nitrate and multiple quality problems
Sanitation
In rural areas, only 21.9 percent of population has latrines within/attached to their houses.
Open defecation continue to remain predominant form of sanitation for majority of population in rural areas.

26. Current Government Initiatives
Ministry of Rural Development: (Govt of India)
Rural Housing : Indira Awaas Yojana
Rural Roads: Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
Accelerated Rural Water Suppy Program
Central Rural Sanitation Program:  (Total sanitation campaign): Nirmal Gram Puraskar    
Bharat Nirman: step taken towards strengthening the infrastructure in six areas viz. Housing, Roads, Electrification, communication(Telephone), Drinking Water and Irrigation, with the help of a plan to be implemented in four years, from to

27. Why has Technologies from CST/Academic Institutions not been significantly adopted in Rural Development Programs at National Level
Are the Technologies Sound- The answer is YES as they have gone through the rigorous process of Sustained R & D in laboratory, Peer Review In Journals/Conferences and Technical Committee meetings, Extensive Field trials and especially in case of building materials, Bio-Gas Technologies widely used by private/semi-government players
Are the Technologies Scalable- Yes: Wide use of SMB Technology (12,000 buildings),1.5 million rural households are using the ASTRA wood burning devices for cooking needs, adoption of biomass gasifiers for village electrification and industries is resulting in a daily savings of about 30 tons of fossil fuel, thirty-five biomethanation plants are converting bio-waste into useful biogas
Perhaps a dis-connect between S & T Fund Mangers, Academics and Policy Makers in Government
Inadequate Awareness of the Technology Packages from Academic Institutions

28. How can the outputs of research in Sustainable/Rural Development made relevant to Rural Development Programs
Academic Institutions, S & T Fund Managers, be an integral part, at the drawing board and implementation levels
Use ICT to create link between Academic Institutions, Government & Stakeholders
If all players are together, Rural Society will behave like a sponge to R & D outputs from academic Institutions

29. CST-NABARD Collaboration (Some Thoughts for Micro-Enterprise model): Steps Envisaged
Create extensive awareness of technologies developed by CST in rural areas through discussions, exhibits, demonstrations at grama panchayat level.
Provide technical training for skill development in CST technologies to motivated groups at CST field station, Ungra village. The participants shall also be trained in need assessment and identification, construction, operation & maintenance, problem solving, market development etc.
Select candidates (resource persons) shall be supported to establish their business centres at panchayat/villae level with necessary technical support and hand holding in business development, market building, etc
Monitoring these resource persons to deliver best performance and meet people’s needs and in the process make their enterprise economically sustainable.

30. CST Technologies that could be disseminated:
Fuel-efficient wood burning stoves for domestic and other applications
Agro-processing Driers
Stabilized Mud Block (SMB) and allied building products
Biomass-based Bio-gas plants
Defluoridation water filters for treating fluoride contaminated drinking water.
Biomass Gasifiers for thermal applications and electricity generation
Appropriate and improved sanitation approach and technologies.

31. Thank you