Identifier

etd-04032016-160153

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Renewable Natural Resources

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Biomass gasification is generally regarded as a promising technology for various advanced application in energy production. Biomass is the only carbon-based sustainable option among the renewable energy sources. This study is focused on fostering biomass gasification for electricity generation sector in India. The study addresses four broad aspects of biomass gasification for electricity generation - feedstock properties and gasification technology, policy and regulatory framework governing the sector, financial evaluation of electricity generation from biomass gasification, and feedstock supply. The study is divided in four chapters, each of which addresses one aspect of electricity generation through biomass gasification. Based on literature, first chapter presents a brief review of various properties of biomass feedstocks that are critical for gasification. It reviews the thermochemical conversion processes and the major issues related with biomass gasification with reference to some promising gasifier technology systems. Based on literature, second chapter examines the importance of national and sub-national policies supporting the development of bioenergy industry (including gasification for electricity generation) in various countries. The policies and instruments deployed globally are compared with those deployed in India. Third chapter posits a framework for conducting financial evaluation of a gasification power project. A case study of pine needle gasification power project in a remote rural area of Northern India is considered. In absence of historical data related with similar projects, a probability distribution for the Net Present Value (NPV) for the project is generated with the help of Monte Carlo Simulation. The simulation for NPV uses estimates of input variables from the data gathered from an existing pine needle based gasifier operating in the study area. Continuing with the case study, fourth chapter studies the villagers’ perspective on supplying pine needles to the gasification project. . A survey was administered to estimate villagers’ willingness to collect pine needles from the forests and supply it at a price to the gasification project. The willingness is modeled on demographic, livelihood, and latent factors, that are used in a Multinomial Logistic Regression Model to estimate the probability of households’ willingness to collect and supply pine needles to the project.

Date

2016

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Student has submitted appropriate documentation to restrict access to LSU for 365 days after which the document will be released for worldwide access.

Committee Chair

Vlosky, Richard

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.2415

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