Energy Potentiality from Surplus Crop Residues of Cotton Stalk in Tribal Areas of Southern Rajasthan, India

Energy is considered as the basic need of development for the wealth of nation and societies. All around the world, the surplus agricultural biomass is being utilized as a fuel for power generation. Largely in India, the biomass utilized as a valued source of energy and contributing around 70% in the rural areas. In the present study, the assessment was done for cotton stalk as crop residue biomass in six districts of southern Rajasthan of India. The bio-energy potential study was done by using crop statistics, collection of secondary data from Government Authorities and followed by standard procedures to estimate heating value. In Rajasthan, the total area under cotton cultivation in six targetted districts was 167126 Ha. Correspondingly, the gross crop residues estimated was around 1.39 million metric tonnes during the year 2009-2010 to 2013-2014. The surplus crop residues of the cotton stalk were estimated around 34% (0.184 million metric tonnes) during the study period. Subsequently, the gross and surplus bio-energy potential was estimated around 2422 and 823 GJ respectively. The study revealed that a huge amount of agricultural residue of the cotton stalk was available in the region having a broader scope for bio-energy generation.