Tripura Tea & Brick Kiln Industries Turn to Bio-Fuel to Reduce Production Expenditure

Mrinal Banik:

The Tripura tea and brick kiln industries have started using “Biomass Briquettes” instead of coal in order to reduce the mounting expenditure in production units. The development came in the wake of higher demand of coal in the industrial sector and less supply.

The eco-friendly bio-fuel comes as a respite for the tea industry as many units have been running out of power sources. Moreover, due to the lockdown, coal import has been stopped completely, thereby leaving no other option for the tea and brick kiln units of the state.

Sumedha Das, a Tripura based agri-entrepreneur took this opportunity and started the first biomass briquette unit in Tripura’s Kumarghat industrial area. Reportedly, the tea and brick kiln industries of Tripura have been reeling under serious coal crisis in the recent times. The ban on Meghalaya rat hole mining and coal extraction also turned out to be a big blow for the Tripura-based industries. Although, the state started importing coal from Bangladesh, the higher prices and low quality coal puts a question mark on catering to the demand.

Sources in the Industries and Commerce department of Tripura said that since

Bangladesh does not have its own coal mines, it imports coal from Myanmar. Meanwhile, the huge demand in the markets has created a requirement of an alternative energy source in order to ensure an uninterrupted energy flow in the crucial industrial sectors of the state.

According to Sumedha Das, “Biomass briquettes, mostly made of green waste and other organic materials, are commonly used for electricity generation, heat, and cooking fuel.

These compressed compounds contain various organic materials, including rice husk, bagasse, ground nut shells, municipal solid waste, agricultural waste and in specifically in Tripura Biomass Briquettes are made from saw dust and rice husk some uses bamboo dust also”.

Das, who is an agriculture graduate also said that this fuel had a very little impact on the environment. “The green energy concept is not new. In developing economies, these energy sources are being used largely to achieve the goal of sustainable development. We have started in Tripura to bring some respite to the key industrial sectors of the state”, Das told this reporter.

However, in Tripura, currently there are three industrial units of briquettes in three industrial spots - Kumarghat, Agartala and Dharmanagar.

According to tea cultivators, 30 percent of the total tea units are now dependent on this fuel. Tea units in haflongchera , sova, ramdurlabhpur, Naredrapur and mahespur are using this fuel since long. Harishnagar and Leelagarh started very recently. And, Ludhua tea garden in Sabroom has also shown interest to use this bio-fuel.

Reportedly, in Tripura, the industrial sector requires 10 million kg of coal every year but it has failed to access it. On the other hand, the briquettes are now being largely promoted by some of the industries in Tripura. Tripura currently produces 350 to 400 metric tons of briquette which is expected to reach 700 metric tons in the next financial year.

Gobinda Barman, Director of Wild and Exotica Company, that has come forward with a joint venture with Sumedha Das said, “We are trying to capture at least 25% of the coal shares. Biomass briquettes are eco-friendly products and if we maintain the ration of saw dust and rice husk properly, we can give a better calorific value of this product .We need to promote such products, which may be a substitute for coal in future.”

(Edited by Anumita Das)

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