• Efficiency improvement of biomass utilization in lime kilns
• Fuel switching with replacement of fuel oil usage with biomass in brassware manufacturing industry
• Quality improvement in agro produce processing with solar assisted biomass dryers
• Development of wood chippers for different volumes of biomass consumption

Efficiency improvement in biomass utilization in lime kilns

Production of lime is carried out in kilns and most of the lime kilns in industry are of primitive level designs and they run at low efficiencies. This industry, clustered in Matale and Kandy areas have been threatened with lack of firewood, which is used as the primary energy source for the industry. Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority carried out a project to improve the systems used in lime kilns so that it would address the problem of difficulty in fetching firewood through making better use of the firewood used.

The technology used here is gasifier technology and through making the process easy to control and thereby reducing losses, the system is improved. ECF carried out a pilot project in the Digana area and it came out with successful results.

Fuel switching in brassware manufacturing industry

In brassware manufacturing industry, a mixture of diesel and waste oil is normally used as the fuel and it involves a considerable amount energy cost for the industry. Under the ECF's programmes of supporting small & medium scale industries for efficient energy use, a pilot project was carried out in Pilimatalawa to replace the above oil mixture with gasified firewood and it could be observed that specific energy cost can be reduced in the particular industry through this fuel switching initiative.

Quality improvement in agro product processing

When post harvest processing of agro products is considered, especially drying of pepper, chillies and many perennial products it is normally done in open air where quality of the products can hardly be ensured. Exposure to outside is one reason behind that and also the requirement of gradual drying is also not fulfilled in this open-air solar heating.

Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority in collaboration with the University of Moratuwa developed a dryer using biomass and when the sunlight is available solar energy can also be used for the same dryer. Through this, solar energy can be productively used and meanwhile quality improvement of products can be done through gradual drying operation using biomass. The designs and pilot projects carried out for pepper showed good results where quality of the production could be maintained and improved.

Development of wood chippers

In efficiency improvement in the application of biomass, gradual feeding is a necessity and with long sticks of wood such gradual feeding cannot be obtained. Chipped wood is necessary in that respect and in order to facilitate availability of chipped wood for the industry, ECF developed wood chippers catering to different wood chip applications. As far as the application of firewood at different scales is considered, grid connected power plants, industrial thermal applications and domestic cooking are 3 major areas and ECF developed wood chippers suitable for these 3 applications.

Under the programme of technology development, ECF takes measures to introduce off-grid energy systems to the rural public who are away from the grid. Through pilot projects carried out in this respect, attention is also made to include some special feature to the projects so as to include some R & D component in the particular project. In the year 2005, ECF initiated 2 such projects, which are described below.

Off-grid biomass energy system

With the experience of the biomass dryer developed for the pepper industry under the UNDP project, it was thought to replicate that in the agro industry. A project was developed to use such a system as a cogeneration facility providing process heat for drying of pepper and also electrical power for rural households. A site was selected in the Godakawela area and it is expected to carry out the project implementation activities in the year 2006.

Off-grid hydro energy system

Establishment of small hydro-power plants for rural energy applications is done specially by the private sector organizations. Major drawback in micro hydro schemes is the absence of energy storage facility in these systems. ECF developed a system with an in-built energy storage system and a pilot project in this respect is expected to carry out in the Opanayaka area. The preliminary activities for this were carried out in the year 2005 and the project implementation will be completed in 2006.