Khanji Harijan

Renewable Energy for Managing Energy Crisis in Pakistan

Only 55% of the Pakistan’s population has access to electricity and per capita supply is about 520 kWh. At present, the people are facing severe load shedding/blackout problems due to shortage of about 3 GW power supply. Gas and oil have 65% share in conventional electricity generation. Indigenous reserves of oil and gas are limited and the country heavily depends on imported oil. The oil import bill is a serious strain on the country’s economy. Though there is huge coal potential in the country but has not been utilized due to various reasons. This shows that Pakistan must develop renewables to manage the energy crises. This paper analyses the prospects of renewables for managing the energy crises in the country. The study concludes that there is substantial potential of renewables in the country for managing the present energy crises as well as meeting the future energy needs.

Progress in the production of biomass-to-liquid biofuels to decarbonize the transport sector – prospects and challenges

Annually the transport sector consumes a quarter of global primary energy and is responsible for related greenhouse gas emissions. Presently, petroleum derived liquid fuels are the overwhelming source of energy for the transport sector. Liquid biofuels are a viable substitution for petroleum-derived fuels in the transport sector and an important option to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, especially CO2 emissions. Substituting petroleum-derived fuels with liquid biofuel is also anticipated to reduce the dependency of the transport sector on fossil fuels. Different options are available for the production liquid biofuels. However, the production of liquid biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass has certain advantages. These advantages include the high abundance, availability, low procurement cost and current under-utilization of lignocellulosic biomass. However, the potential for successful deployment of technologies to produce liquid biofuel from lignocellulosic biomass and their cost reductions are surrounded by large uncertainties. High cost of production of liquid fuels from lignocellulosic biomass and their commercial immaturity are major obstacles for the widespread application of liquid biofuels in transportation. Other obstacles include the lack of infrastructure and lack of political as well as public support. This article reviews the obstacles behind the limited production of biomass to liquid (BTL) fuels and their diffusion in the transport sector. The potential approaches to make the production of lignocellulosic-based liquid biofuels economically attractive are also discussed. An approach that focuses on integrating individual operations and processes and adequately modelling these processes evaluated on the bases of the entire pathway can help in realizing the large scale commercial production of liquid biofuels through cleaner production.

Strategies for the consolidation of biologically mediated events in the conversion of pre-treated lignocellulose into ethanol

Notwithstanding the plentiful published work on the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic materials this comprehensive review relates how the basic research of a commercially viable industrial production strategy is still lacking. The objective of this review is to compile information on the different strategies and to consolidate the biologically mediated events involved in the conversion of pre-treated lignocellulose to ethanol and associated expenses so that some generalized information can be developed that could help policy makers and other stakeholders in designing a policy framework to promote second generation biofuels. The review also discusses the potential of process integration, its cost competitiveness and role in establishing commercial facilities for the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass.

A Comparative Study of Recycling of Used Engine Oil Using Extraction by Composite Solvent, Single Solvent, and Acid Treatment Methods

Engine oils are made from crude oil and its derivatives by mixing of certain other chemicals (additives) for improving their certain properties. Lubricating oil is used to lubricate moving parts of engine, reducing friction, protecting against wear, and removing contaminants from the engine, act as a cleaning agent, and act as an anticorrosion and cooling agent. This research effort focuses on comparative study of re-refined engine oils by extraction of composite solvent, single solvent, and acid treatment methods. Composite solvent was made up of butanol-propane and butanone; propane was used as single solvent. Different properties of refined oil and waste oil were analyzed, such as cloud and pour point, flash point, specific gravity, ash content, viscosity, moisture ratio and acid value. On the basis of experimental work, it was found that the iron contamination decreased from 50 ppm to 13 ppm for composite solvent; for propane solvent it decreased up to 30 ppm and 15 ppm for acid treatment. Results from the flash point, pour point, viscosity, specific gravity, and ash percentage were improved at different degrees, but the best results were seen by using the composite solvent with having drawback of expensiveness.

Prospects of Renewable Energy for Meeting Growing Electricity Demand in Pakistan

Pakistan is an energy deficit country. About half of the countrys population has access to electricity and per capita supply is only 520 kWh. Majority of the countrys population resides in rural areas and most of them are yet without electricity. Conventional electricity generation includes 66.8% thermal, 30% hydel and 3.3% nuclear. It has been projected that electricity demand in Pakistan will increase in the range of 12 MTOE to 17 MTOE by the year 2018, at an average growth rate of about 5% to 7% and will require installed capacity of about 35 GW to 50 GW. Indigenous reserves of oil and gas are limited and the country heavily depends on imported oil. Thermal power generation on the other hand also pollutes the environment. This paper presents the availability of renewables such as hydel, solar, wind and biomass energy, and their prospects for meeting growing electricity demand in Pakistan and subsequent contribution in air pollution abatement. The study concludes that there is substantial potential of...

Energy, environment and sustainable development

Introduction * Modeling of energy and environment for sustainable development. * The importance of gender equality when planning for environmental sustainability. * Food security and sustainable development. * Sustainable power supply- short term and long term planning. * Tariff - its importance for sustainability of power sector. * Sustainable development indicators for energy. * The existence of energy managers in an industry - a need of the time in the energy starved environment. * South Asia and management of energy security. * Status and need of energy education in Pakistan. * Survival of textile sector through energy management & monitoring. * Indigenous knowledge: the way to sustainable development - community participation in environmental issues. * Forecasting electricity demand for agricultural and services sector of Pakistan. * A promising technology of pressure into power - a case study of pressure into power approach in gas transmission lines. * Development of sustainable ecomaterial for engineering applications. * Flood water management of Mithawan hill torrent in D.G. Khan of Pakistan. * Implementation of environmental policies for new road network of developing countries: case study of Pakistan. * Solar drying of fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants and fish: developments and potentials. * Utilizing solar thermal energy for textile processing units. * Wind power performance improvements using artificial neural network controller for dc/dc converter. * Ethanol production from thermotolerant kluyveromyces marxianus yeast growing at 65 c using sugar cane molasses in controlled bioreactor. * Municipal solid waste management: options for its treatment & energy recovery. * Socio-economic and socio-cultural change after light through solar home systems (SHS) at district Tharparkar. * Practical applications of solar energy at desert of Tharparkar. * Tidal power harnessing technologies for Pakistan. * Bio-hydrogen production by microalgae microcysis aeruginosa: using optical fiber as an internal light source. * Assessment of land-based pollution sources in the Mediterranean Sea along Gaza Coast-Palestine. * Fluidization in cold flow circulating fluidized bed system. * Environmental impacts of untreated effluents from sugar industry- A case study. * Environmental and social impact: analysis of KPT commercial office building, Karachi. * Air pollution control: a route to safer and healthier environment. * Investigation of environmental pollution caused by vehicles service stations in Taxila city. * Study of noise impacts on human health in textile based cottage industries. * Source mechanism and seismotectonic investigations of earthquake of October 28, 2008 in Ziarat. * Modeling of municipal solid waste management. * Improve bio-degradability by recovering humic substance in MSW landfill leachate. * Bottom ash analysis of MSW incineration on laboratory scale by XRF. * Hospital waste generation and management - a case study of hospitals in Karachi. * Role of scavengers in the collection of recyclable solid waste material in Hyderabad city, Pakistan. * Two stage bioreactor: sustainable landfill. * Hydrothermal process for restaurant garbage. * Biotechnological approach for the treatment of waste water. * Cause and effect of newly developed organic polymer for treatment of Indus river water. * Contamination of sewage water by effluents of industry into Fulali canal water, Hyderabad city. * Biological approach to solve the salinity problem in selected saline areas of Samundri, Faisalabad. * Catalytic effect of Bl and Bl + ca mixed catalyst on sulfur containing gases of Pakistan lignite chars. * New stationary phase material for GC separation of organic compounds. * Pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate as a reagent for GC analysis of metal ions. * Study of kinetic & thermodynamic parameters using thermotolerant kluyveromyces marxianus yeast for the production of ethanol in 23l fermentor under optimized conditions. * Industrial effluent treatment by photocatalytic degradation of sodium dodecylbenzensulfonate (DBS). * A sustainably promising technology for the production of quality Castor Oil & its future prospects. * Cold pad-batch dyeing: ecofriendly dye application on cotton. * Improved sustainability of cotton sulphur dyeing using pad-ox processes. * E-control dyeing process: an ecological and economical approach.

Potential of On-shore Wind Power in the Coastal Areas of Balochistan, Pakistan

Balochistan province has about 800 km long coastline whose continental shelf extends to a distance of 15–40 km. Pakistan Meteorological Department has recorded wind speed for two years at 22 on-shore locations at 10 m and 30 m heights and estimated at 50 m height using power law. The wind duration availability in terms of numbers of hours the wind remained in a particular bin was also calculated by constructing the wind rose diagrams. The mean value of two years has been estimated and used in this study for the construction of wind duration curves for 20 selected locations. Using wind duration curves and Nordex N43/600 wind turbine as reference turbine, theoretical wind power potential at these locations has been estimated. The geographical potential has been estimated considering population density and excluding low wind areas. Finally, the technical potential has been estimated. The theoretical potential at most of the sites is in the range of 1000–1400 full load hours per year. The suitable area for wind turbine installation has been estimated as 7,700 km2. The annual technical potential of centralized grid connected wind power in the coastal area of Balochistan has been estimated as 42.5 TWh, which is about half of the current gross electricity generation in Pakistan.

Status and Need of Energy Education: The Case of Pakistan

Energy is the basis of a modern standard of living. Conventional energy education has generally failed to provide basic understanding about issues relevant to energy supply, its use, and energy–environment interaction. Renewable energy offers the opportunity to displace fossil fuels and it is likely to have a major role in our future energy supply. The sudden surge of growth which has occurred in renewable energy industry in recent years has caught the educators unprepared. A serious shortage of skilled professionals is already apparent. There are signs that energy studies is rapidly emerging as a new discipline. Many universities around the globe have started offering courses in renewable/sustainable energy. Pakistan suffers from a lack of appropriately qualified energy professionals as visible from its very low productive use of energy per capita and rapidly degrading environment. In 2005, Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology became the first institution in the country to offer a full-fledged bachelors degree course in energy studies. Other universities are following suit now. The article gives an overview of the current status of energy education around the globe and in Pakistan. Further, it gives recommendations on how to promote energy education in Pakistan.

Assessment of Wind Home System's Potential in Coastal Areas of Pakistan

About 50 and 90 percent of the total population of rural coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan provinces respectively have no access to electricity and meet lighting requirements through kerosene and LPG. The population density in rural coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan provinces is about 100–150 and 10–50 persons per km2 respectively. Extension of existing centralized grid system to rural areas with very low population density and small‐scattered loads is economically and technically unfeasible. In this situation, decentralized renewable electricity especially wind power appears to be one of the viable option. This paper presents the assessment of potential of wind home systems (WHS) for rural electrification in coastal areas of Pakistan using the wind speed data recorded by Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD) and power curve of a reference wind turbine. Pakistan has 1050 km long coastline, of which, 250 km is falling in Sindh and 800 km in Balochistan. A 150 Wp wind turbine could generate about...

Practical Application of Solar Energy at Desert of Tharparkar, Pakistan

Tharparkar is a backward district of Sindh, Pakistan. Most of the rural population of this district suffers from poverty and is deprived of very basic necessities of life such as drinking water and electricity. Demographic pattern was the main hurdle for rural electrification as the villages are scattered far apart in a random manner and a grid supplied electrical distribution was not technically feasible. Solar energy is one of the alternatives for rural electrification and other applications at desert of Tharparkar. This chapter presents the practical applications of solar energy at desert of Tharparkar, Pakistan. Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) has successfully electrified 50 villages of Tharparkar district through about 168 kW of DC power. A solar refrigerator has also been installed at BHU of village Khensir taluka Chacharo to store vaccines for snake bites and other lifesaving drugs. Remarkable socioeconomic and sociocultural change has been visualized in the dark areas which has been brightened through solar energy.