Financial Grants For Biomass Pellet Manufacturing Unit:
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) revised the financial grants for biomass pellet manufacturing units.
- Biomass pellets are a type of renewable fuel made from organic materials such as wood, agricultural residues, and energy crops.
- These are produced by compressing organic materials under high pressure.
- The compression process removes the moisture content and increases the energy density of the biomass.
- It is mandatory in India to use biomass or agricultural residue as combustion fuel along with coal in coal-fired thermal power plants.
- The biomass used for co-combustion in the power plants is processed and refined into pellets with a calorific value comparable to coal.
- These are two kinds
- Torrefied: It is processed at 250-350°C in the absence of oxygen, leading to the formation of torrefied biomass.
- Non-torrefied: In this biomass is shredded, grinded and sent to a pellet reactor, where it is compressed into pellet form with the help of binders such as sawdust, bagasse, molasses, starch and others.
Central Pollution Control Board:
- It is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- It was constituted under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
- It is entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
- It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
