CleanTech.Org

Bamboo is a tropical plant species that grow at tremendous speeds. Incidentally the utilization of available species for Engineered products and Bio based materials would be an appropriate CLEANTECH manufacturing. Here is a new interesting Development of Bamboo Mat based Composite for Boat construction:


Bambo Mat system being Woven around a Template for Dinghy


Fully Shaped Bamboo Mat Woven Dinghy Design


The bamboo Mat Woven Dinghy being hybridized with Glass-Composite Skin


The Fully Hybridized "SKIN-COMPOSITE" Bamboo-Mat System Dinghy


Checking Buoyancy and Balance


The Finished "Ready-for-SEAWORTHY" Trial Bamboo-Mat Molded Dinghy


The Bamboo-Mat Hybrid Molded Dinghy Taking a First SEA RIDE

The material system was seen to be excellent for MONOCOQUE body Constructions ... and it is being planned to design and fabricate Automobile Body as well as Lightweight Aircraft.

Please visit the following sites for more details:

1. http://agrobiogenicscleantechpvtltd.com/new-technology/

2. http://agrobiogenicscleantechpvtltd.com/lightweight-aircraft/

3. http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/70223/Optimized-Engineering-Materials-Through-Cleantech

4. http://agrobiogenicscleantechpvtltd.com/technology/

Certain Technical Details on material property comparisons are available here:

http://zerowastezerocarbon.wordpress.com/2011/08/07/environmentally-neutral-engineering-composites-for-boats-and-aircrafts/

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It is noted that each ton of Biomass (based on vegetation systems + non-toxic animal organic matter) could generate about 100 Kg of Bio-petrochemicals. Please see illustrations below:

The estimated non-forest and non-oceanic Biomass (Renewable) resources in the world are about 500 billion T. These are annually renewable “green weight” that include about 77% moisture. Nearly 75% of these biomass are generated in the Tropics. Thus, the Tropics account for a total of not less than 375 billion Tons (“green weight”) of non-forest (non-oceanic) biomass generation. If we were to convert just 33% of all of these Tropical biomass into Bio-petrochemicals, the total Bio-petrochemicals produced in the Tropics alone would be a whopping 3 billion T. This is about 70% of the entire world productions/ consumptions, at present! Of the total 4.2 billion T petrochemicals used up in the world the United States alone consumes nearly 24% (= 1 billion T). A country like India would be able to produce not less than 250 million tons of bio-petrochemicals (when India now consumes about 45 million T of fossil based petrochemicals, which is about 18% of the Bio-petrochemicals potentials!)

What do we infer from the analyses above? Essentially, we arrive at the fact that Biomass based Bio-petrochemicals are the answer to the world's petrochemicals needs.

TABLE OF BIO-PETROCHEMICAL POTENTIALS OF NATIONS
@ 1/10th OF THE AVAILABLE RENEWABLE VEGETATION RESOURCES

Country	Climate Zone	Population	Area (sq km)	1/10th CVRR (T)	Bio-petrochemicals	Rank
China	Temperate	1, 341, 000, 000	9, 561, 000	2, 390, 250, 000	239, 025, 000 T	3
India	Tropical	1, 191, 050, 000	3, 287, 260	1, 972, 356, 000	197, 235, 600 T	5
US	Temperate	310, 851, 000	9, 372, 000	2, 343, 000, 000	234, 300, 000 T	4
Indonesia	Equatorial	237, 556, 360	1, 904, 000	1, 428, 000, 000	142, 800, 000 T	7
Brazil	Equatorial	190, 732, 700	8, 511, 000	6, 383, 250, 000	638, 325, 000 T	1
Pakistan	Semi-tropical	171, 229, 000	796, 000	238, 800, 000	23, 880, 000 T	14
Nigeria	Tropical	158, 259, 000	924, 000	554, 400, 000	55, 440, 000 T	9
Bangladesh	Tropical	149, 626, 000	148, 000	88, 800, 000	8, 880, 000 T	18
Russia	Semi-Torrid	141, 927, 297	17, 075, 000	2, 561, 250, 000	256, 125, 000 T	2
Japan	Temperate	127, 390, 000	378, 000	94, 500, 000	9450, 000 T	19
Mexico	Tropical	112, 322, 757	1, 972, 000	1, 183, 200, 000	118, 320, 000 T	8
Philippines	Tropical	94, 013, 200	299, 000	179, 400, 000	17, 940, 000 T	17
Vietnam	Tropical	85, 846, 997	329, 000	197, 400, 000	19, 740, 000 T	15
Germany	Temperate	81, 802, 000	357, 000	89, 250, 000	8, 925, 000 T	20
Ethiopia	Tropical (dry)	79, 455, 630	1, 221, 000	366, 300, 000	36, 630, 000 T	11
Egypt	Tropical (dry)	79, 415, 000	998, 000	299, 400, 000	29, 940, 000 T	13
Iran	Semi-tropical (dry)	74, 826, 000	1, 648, 000	412, 000, 000	41, 200, 000 T	10
Turkey	Semi-Tropical	72, 561, 312	779, 000	194, 750, 000	19, 475, 000 T	16
Congo/ Zaire	Equatorial	67, 827, 000	2, 345, 000	1, 758, 750, 000	175, 875, 000 T	6
Thailand	Tropical	67, 070, 000	513, 000	307, 800, 000	30, 780, 000 T	12

NOTE: Australia has a population of 22, 548, 000 (50^th on the above scale), and has a total land area (in Tropical region, with large desert tracts) of 7, 682, 000 sq km. The volumes of Cellulosic Vegetation Renewable Resources (CVRR) at 1/10^th level would be 1, 920, 500, 000 T. The corresponding Bio-petrochemicals potentials are 192, 050, 000 T. This would put Australia at 6^th Rank, after India (but above Congo). Canada has a total population of 34, 337, 000 (36^th on the above scale) and it has a land area of 9, 970, 000 sq km. It lies in Temperate/ Semi-Torrid region, and has a total Biomass (at 1/10^th level) of 1, 495, 500, 000 T. The corresponding Bio-petrochemicals potentials would be 149, 550, 000 T. This would put Canada above Indonesia.

What are the implications of the results seen in the Table here?

1. On the basis of Renewable Vegetation Resources, Brazil (an equatorial nation) has the largest energy potentials in the world, and Russia (though in the semi-torrid region) is second in view of the largest area covered (over 17 million sq km)

2. Of the twenty nations presented on the basis of largest population, thirteen are Tropical/ Semi-Tropical, and Three are Equatorial (forming eighty percent in these nations tabulated)

3. A presently considered under-developed nation such as Congo/ Zaire has the sixth largest energy potential in the world ahead of all Developed (Western) nations barring the US

4. Bangladesh, an extremely “poor” nation is ahead of all European nations, including Germany, UK and France

5. Ethiopia, which is considered to be disastrously poor and drought prone stands eleventh in the entire world, ahead of all developed European nations

6. The United States is fourth in ranking, followed by India

The question arises: If the above data were to be considered “facts” why is it that no developments are being carried on toward practically implementing those? The answer is complicated on various counts:

1. The entire world is working on the idea that the technologies and developments that catapulted the Western world are the most appropriate for all nations. In the process, we all tend to believe that all tropical nations, which have no resemblance in any aspect of Resources and climatic conditions with respect to the developed Western Temperate zone nations … should also adopt those technologies and methods

2. In spite of all Tropical nations having enough Renewable Resources, the aforementioned “copying” takes each such tropical nation away from following ones own development path, using ones own huge Renewable Resources (RR)

3. A totally unimaginative economics development paradigm is being uniformly followed by all tropical nations … that of wrongly considering that “Export” to the developed Western nations is important for their growth. And almost 100% of those exports are unconnected with their own available local RR. For example, Coffee, Tea, Rubber, Vanilla, Flowers, Sugar … and many more. All these are produced by resorting to intensive (chemicals driven) cultivation, relegating their own natural resources such as Coconuts, Jack Fruits, Local Bananas, Palm varieties, Local vegetables and all other such vegetation systems that grow without any intensive cultivation practices

The following statement of an erstwhile Economist, expressed about Fifty years ago, is a telling remark on these aspects:

“Advanced western technology … is by no means ideally suited to the typical under-developed country … Ideally, the under-developed countries would employ neither the western technology of a century ago (which is defective) nor the most modern western technology (which is adopted to a different economics context), but a THIRD technology which consists of an adaptation of modern methods to the special conditions of the under-developed world … but, such a technology does not exist …” Dr. Richard T. Gill: “ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – Past and Present” © 1963, Prentice Hall Inc. USA.

It is this THIRD Technology that we at AGRO-BIOGENICS (Clean-Tech) Private Limited (Please see: http://zerowastezerocarbon.wordpress.com/) are aiming to develop and commercialize so that the resultant developments could be spread across the entire Tropical nations, almost all of which are the most under developed nations in the world … Paradoxically, they have the greatest volumes of RR!

CLEAN-TECH DEFINED

We would not be off-track if we state that there is an energy centered “consumption” bias in almost all present day Definitions of the concept of CLEAN-TECH. And there is also a “tilt” in the thinking, based on Temperate Zone experiences alone. Further, not even one of these current definitions seems to strictly consider Clean-Tech in tune with Laws of physical Science … particularly the most important SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS. Without going into the details and explanation of this Scientific law, let us observe that the essence of this Law is that it is impossible for us to “revert back” to an “original state” in space-time-entropy system. For example: people grow old; iron rusts; rocks weather and crumble; water flows from a higher level to a lower level. Not one of these could be expected to work “reverse”. For example, an old man would never “travel” back in time and ultimately enter back into his mother's womb!

In spite of the Thermodynamics truth and the effects of Time-Entropy, we may note that humans could either accelerate or slightly decelerate the inevitable “heat death” of the universe. The last four hundred years, starting from the period of the “Great Voyages” and Explorations (from around 1600 AD), we had seen how every action leads to a cascading environmental and human disasters, apparently accelerating this dreaded end! Today, these are being defined as Carbon Footprint increases in the atmosphere. However, this writer wishes to opine that these have NO MEANING FOR THE NON-TEMPERATE Zone regions … the TROPICS, where the Renewable Resources growth is phenomenal. It is therefore opined that the Tropics, which is constituted by about 160 nations  (with over 4 billion population) and are totally different in every respect from the Temperate zone regions, should follow independent Development paradigm. We shall, thus, define CLEAN-TECH aimed at this new Philosophy.

The concept of CLEAN-TECH may, thus, be defined as:

Technology, Economics, Management and Business that look at the world not as being resource-starved but on the basis of the possibilities of utilizing available Renewable Resources such as Sunlight, Rainwater, Vegetation matter, Animal matter, Wind and Soil. The said utilization would be based on conservation, recycling and a new “Zero-Waste” paradigm

CONCEPTUALIZING CLEAN-TECH

We shall note that the greatest volume of terrestrial resources are the Renewable Resources (RR) in the form of Vegetation/ Plants/ Trees/ Shrubs. Although animal and other “living” organisms may not fall within these vegetation systems, we shall also include those resources within this RR ambit. It is estimated that the rate at which CO2 is “fixed” in plant life is about 45 Kg Cellulose per day, per each individual on earth. This does not include the vegetation matter in the sea/ oceans! Thus, the land based annual vegetation growth on earth could be of the order of 1,000 Billion tons (having average 27% solids; the balance being water) … approximately 150 T per annum per individual on earth (estimated population of 6.6 billion)

The illustration here briefly explains (in a nutshell) the Concept of AGRO-POLYMER INDUSTRY COMPLEX-SUSTAINABILTY ENGINEERED PROJECTS (APIX-SEP). It may be noted that every gram of ALL Available RR would be utilized and Recycled in a Self Regenerative Recycling (SRR) process, resulting in a CLOSED-LOOP ZERO-WASTE ZERO-CARBON BUSINESS-MODEL (ZW-ZC-BM). These resultant integrated and inter-related processes would have the following End products/ Value added productions:

1. Alternate (non-fossil based) Energy

2. Alternate (non-fossil based) Petrochemicals

3. Alternate Renewable Resources based Engineering materials

4. Non-Chemical, Non-Fossil Biofertilizer

5. Biowater

6. Locally driven Processed foods

In the ultimate analyses, we may note that there is the QUADRUPLE IMPACT of TECHNO-SOCIO-COMMERCIAL-ENVIRONMENTAL involvements:

• TECHNICAL: The conversion of RR materials would result in: Energy, Engineered materials, Bio-Petrochemicals, Bio-Fertilizer, Bio-water and Processed Foods

• SOCIAL: These APIX-SEP's would generate enough job-opportunities to local people in villages, reducing the gap between “rich” and “poor”

• BUSINESS: The different Projects would convert available RR into high value businesses, having value additions in the range of 20 to over 100 from the base RR values

• ENVIRONMENTAL: APIX-SEP would mitigate Global Warming and Poverty (GWP), without destroying the environment, through Zero hybridization and total recycling

COMMERCIALIZING CLEAN-TECH

In order that the REAL CLEAN-TECH systems are developed, commercialized and propagated throughout the world, a small group (AGRO-BIOGENICS) have come together, and are planning to set up an APIX_Pilot plant (to begin with in India). The long-term proposition is to set up various APIX Sustainability Engineered projects in almost every one of the 160 Tropical nations. The estimated Worldwide APIX-SEP potentials are of the order of not less than US $4 trillion

The illustration here is the gist of the First APIX_Pilot project

For more info:

Please visit: http://zerowastezerocarbon.wordpress.com/

and http://zerowastezerocarbon.wordpress.com/contact-us/

For immediate contact: hariharan.pv@agro-biogenics.com

The plants/ vegetation resources form the greatest volumes of Renewable Resources (RR) on earth, directly and naturally converting solar radiation into energy and materials. In fact the entire dynamics of living organisms depend on plants/ vegetation systems. Yet, we have not attempted to look at these 100% sustainable and GREEN resources as the FIRST answer to almost all our materials and energy needs.

Each Kg of Plant resources would have the following approximate (average) material systems:

1. Organic matter (cellulose, hemi-cellulose, lignin, pentosans etc) .... 23.5%

2. Inorganic matter (oxides and other metallic and non metallic materials) … 0.5%

3. Water ... 76%

Thus, a ton of plant resources would have the following material systems:

1. Organic matter ... 235 Kg

2. Inorganic matter ... 5 Kg

3. Water ................ 760 Kg

Were we to convert 50% (117.5 Kg) of the organic matter into anaerobically reacted Bio-Gas, and the balance 117.5 Kg of organic matter + 5 Kg of inorganic matter into engineered materials, the following end results are possible:

1. Methane gas ..... 32.5 Kg

2. CO2 .................. 56.5 Kg

3. H2S + Amines .... 0.85 Kg

4. Biofertilizer ......... 27.65 Kg

5. Engineered products (using additional 86.5 Kg “external ingredients”) ... 204 Kg

6. Recoverable Water .. 509 Kg

Approximate Commercial values of all of these GREEN Products (obtained through the most optimum CLEAN-TECH processes) would be $400. It may also be noted that, by converting the 32.5 Kg Methane Gas into Energy, the net availability of heat + electricity would be the equivalent of 382 KWH

The CO2 and the H2S/ Amines could be further converted into various other chemicals/ products, resulting in more GREEN products (the CO2 being converted into special “Carbon Sink Engineered Products" – CSEP). Some of these products would also use various industrial wastes as “additives” or reactants, resulting in more environmental benefits.

Another process route would be to convert the entire organic matter into Biogas, and convert part of the Methane gas generated into Bio-Petrochemicals. At this level the various intermediate/end products would be (on the basis of converting each ton of vegetation systems):

1. Energy based on methane gas conversions ... 382 KWH

2. Bio-Petrochemicals (considering about 15% additive ingredients)... 135 Kg

3. Industrial CO2 ... 113 Kg

4. H2S + Amines …1.7 Kg

5. Biofertilizer ....... 55.13 Kg

6. Recoverable Bio-water .... 509 Kg

Now, were we to extrapolate and convert such resources available in any tropical country (such as Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines etc), the following could be noted for One country – Kenya:-

ESTIMATED RESOURCES CONVERSION POTENTIALS IN KENYA:

• Total Area of the nation .... 583, 000 sq km

• Approximate estimated non-forest vegetation (@ 25 T/ annum per ha) … 437, 250, 000 T

• Total Bio-Energy based Power potential (Heat + Electricity) ... 19, 330 MW

• Bio-Petrochemicals .... 59, 028, 750 T

• Industrial CO2 ..... 49, 409, 250 T

• H2S + Amines .... 743, 325 T

• Biofertilizer ... 24, 105, 592 T

• Recoverable water .... 222, 560, 250 Cu m

[NOTE: Average per annum per ha vegetation growth in Kenya would be greater than 25 T]

[Vegetation in Kiritiri Village in Kenya, where the annual rainfall is only 800 mm]

What are the consequences of such Clean-Tech sustainable Resources based developments for a country like Kenya?

1. The Total estimated Resources based “value-additions” are …........ $99, 182, 663, 600

2. Kenya which now produces less than 1200 MW of power is short in power to an extent of 3000 MW. The country, which is economically poor (but resources rich) is attempting to go in for Nuclear Power, in the name of “Clean technology” and Sustainability! Does Kenya have any materials ... whether the “Thorium/ Plutonium” or even the Construction materials needed for Nuclear Power plants? (forget about technology)

3. Utilizing merely 25% of the available Plants/ vegetation based (non-forest) Renewable Resources (RR), the Power potential of Kenya would be a whopping 4825 MW (in excess of 3700 MW over and above the current power generation!). This is the FULL NEED of Kenya's Power requirements

4. The entire 40 million Kenyan population (about 8 million families) would have Full time jobs, with average family incomes @ $12, 400. This is over and above any current Economic activities that are advocated by the Government

5. If Kenya develops and converts the available vegetation resources into energy and materials, a country which is relegated to be a “drought” region “poor nation” would spring up into a highly developed nation, competing with any of the “Developed” nations in Europe

There are many more unseen cascading impacts, such as Village developments; increased Sustainably driven Economic developments; Reversal of migration; total stoppage of ethnic and other related “local troubles” due to improvement in Living conditions; improved health due to improved purchasing power … and many more

Every Tropical Nation would be able to develop and showcase such unprecedented economic uplift through Locally available RR.

These would pave the way for REAL Sustainable CLEAN-TECH developments

It is opined that the “desperation for energy and materials” in the Developed world [almost 100% of those nations are in temperate zone, and are of European origin] is wrong inference. This “shortage” theory is borne out of a limited view of the world – that of viewing all human activities within the kaleidoscope of materials and resources based on temperate zone regions of the world. However, if we were to look at the world materials resources [mainly the Renewable Resources(RR) in the form of vegetation, plants and animals] in entirety, we should be able to have the satisfaction that the RR in the Tropics would be able to support almost the entire world population of nearly 7 billion, as well as the same capable of supporting much more populations!

Let us consider just one example of a RR specie – THE COCONUT Tree and its resources, in just one nation - INDIA.It would be observed that the entire coastal regions are the places where coconut grows in plenty. The estimated area would be approximately 210,000 sq km. It is further estimated that India would have not less than 1,500,000,000 coconut trees. An average coconut tree has a productive life of not less than 60 years. Thus, if we were to consider that each tree could be “felled” every sixty years, the number of coconut trees RR in India would be 25,000,000 trees. On the basis of “dry weight” of these basic Tree resources alone @ 500 Kg per tree, India's RR in the form of coconut trees would be a whopping 12,500,000 Tons! Here we have not considered the annually available RR in the form of Coconuts and other vegetation materials that each coconut tree offers. If these annual resources were also to be considered in entirety, the Total RR materials based on Coconut trees all over India would be 75,000,000 T + 12,500,000 T

Let us look at the possibilities:

1. We shall look at a scheme whereby 50% of the 75 million T annually recurring tree resources such as coconuts and other materials are converted into energy. When converted such that both Electricity and Heat are available through CHP methods, the estimated Power would be: 22,800 MW [The balance 50%, being 37.5 million T, are available for other consumer needs!]. NOTE: India's power, as on date, is short by about 30,000 MW. It is noted that conversion of 50% of the Coconut annual RR alone would solve almost all this deficit problem

2. The 12.5 million T “felled trees” resources could be converted into Composites based Wood-substitutes. If the composites constitute about 65% of these tree materials, the total volume of Wood substitute products are of the order of 19 million T [which would replace about 40 million cu m of regular wood – saving not less than 2 million ha of Timber annually] … NOTE: India now consumes about 90 million cu m of wood; about a third of these are imported. Thus, the conversion of Coconut tree resources would need no import at all, and we could be a net exporter!

Coconut tree and its resources form just One of the resource species in a country like India. A few of the other such RR species are: Areca palm, Palmyra palm, Jackfruit tree, Banana tree, Mango trees, Tamarind trees, Shrub trees, and many others (over 500 species); other plant/ vegetation based RR materials are grasses, water hyacinths, and various unused and unclassified weeds (over 5,000 species). It is to be recognized that all of these “original” species would grow without any fertilizers or any special tending!

We estimate that India would have, by way of various unused non-forest Plant/ Tree species alone, RR to an extent of 3,000,000,000 T. Such volumes of vegetation based RR materials have not been thought of as useful RR at all, although common sense should make us look at these as the cheapest and the most optimum resources.

Technically, we may conclude that all of these Resources are " solar energy" based resources and 100% Renewable (Sustainable)

There are 160 tropical nations, in which 135 nations are within the real tropics and the rest are on the tropics fringes. All these regions are as much resource rich as India is [a few may have greater volumes per ha than India (Indonesia, Philippines, Venezuela and Myanmar are examples of such higher resource nations)]. It is strange that almost all of these 160 tropical nations are extremely poor, and starve for Power, water and most other human needs! Stranger still is the fact that almost all of these regions are endowed with huge sunlight, rain/ water and both vegetation and animal species.

Are we really interested in Sustainable development? If the answer is YES! Our attempts should be to look at the huge Tropical Renewable Resources ... (see: http://zerowastezerocarbon.wordpress.com/ and also http://agrobiogenicscleantech.wordpress.com/ ) 

The present day euphoria and emphasis on merely Energy and Carbon footprint, without viewing these two aspects in entirety, would take us to more disasters than contemplated! The world total population of 6.6 billion includes about 4 billion people who are unable to earn more than an average percapita of $150 per annum (at least two billion in these do not earn even $100 per annum per capita). All our attempts are directed toward the "other" 2.6 billion, who form the "real" consumers for all the energy, gadgets, cars, travel and everything else that average humanbeings need.

The question is: How do we develop holistically and sustainably, instead of attempting to look at only one "consumer group"? Further, any attempts to consider the "other group" as merely a market for the "clean-tech" products are fraught with further dangers. This is the very thing that seems to happen at this moment, when we talk of empowering the "other" group. For example, when we support such projects like "Led Lights" for the poor villagers in India/ Kenya etc, we do this without understanding that the targeted villagers would have better meaning if they are also supported with "full time" and sutainable Jobs. These would offer livelihood benefits (more than what the gadgets would offer!). Most projects do not attempt to look at Sustainable development holistically.

This writer and a few associates have teamed up together and are working out a project that would be truly Sustainable and totally inclusive. The said project details may be noted here: http://zerowastezerocarbon.wordpress.com/

We shall be happy to associate with like-mided people all over the world for developing such projects that look at Global Warming and Poverty (GWP) as corollaries. We have estimated a worldwide business of over $4 trillion on GWP business