Visit To MGIRED --- Beyond the classroom exposure to "Sustainable Development"

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In my previous post, I wrote about the solar cookers, around which most of my fascination was centered. In another exhibition hall,and around the campus, there were some more interesting things on display... And I'm going to write about them in this post...


Solar LED Lanterns: The solar panels placed on the window harness the sun's energy and store it. When the lanterns are switched on, the stored energy powers the LEDs.




Electric Bicycles and Tricycle: These were designed for use by people residing in rural areas, where heavy loads are carried on bicycles, which are to be riden on kaccha roads.
It is envisaged that the vehicles can be charged electrically at home or at a charging station.
Approx. cost of making the bike is around Rs. 12.9 k... cant remember exact figure. This is something that needs to be looked into...



A Merry-Go-Round that actually generates energy:


When you spin it, the kinetic energy powers a music system. If you spin it fast enough, music plays.


This manually operated desheller was developed by University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS). It is also known as expeller. It is used to extract oil from seeds.
The oil so extracted then undergoes several chemical processes and unit operations to yield the final product - BIODIESEL- which can be blended with diesel. B20 (20% biodiesel) can be used in engines of most present day vehicles.

This is the gasifier that is used to run the heating and lighting equipment in the campus (of course, in the event of power failure)...
Biomass (wood from trimmed foliage cut into pices 2 inch long and 1 inch wide) is fed into this steel structure from the top. It undergoes incineration and the gas generated is streamed (in those pipes) to turn turbines and run inverters.

The gas, containing carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide, is eventually passed into a water reservoir. The water needs to be disposed of and replaced for every 5-6 days of using the gasifier.

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