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About this project
Renewable electricity generation by using residual biomass gasification in the Republic of Chad
Show list of needs
Material
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Minimum | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
|
Steel
Acquisition of the different metallic parts which are needed to build the main body of the gasifier
|
$ 1,702 | |
|
Diverse materials
Connections, tubes, screews, cables, filters, oils,...
|
$ 1,383 | |
|
Electronic control
The gasifier control it is done by an electronic system which needs to be developed and built by CITCEA-UPC
|
$ 1,702 | |
|
Manual elaboration and printing
Expenses associated to the writing and printing of the different manuals of use, maintenance and construction of the gasifier
|
$ 106 | |
|
Motor and generator
Acquisition of a second hand motor and generator, with the scope that they are as simple and cheap as possible. Once in Goundi, it is possible to obtain them easily.
|
$ 3,723 | |
|
Spare parts acquisition
Despite of they are not needed for the first build, it would be very positive to have spare parts to avoid any inconvenience
|
$ 3,723 |
Task
|
Minimum | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
|
Chadian technicians formation
Once there, it will be needed to prepare properly the Chadian technicians in order to make them able to operate, maintain and build the new gasifiers in Goundi. The minimum number of technicians is 2.
|
$ 1,596 | |
|
Chadian technicians formation
The more Chadian technicians we train, the more technical and knowledge development they will achieve, and more people will be able to take advantage of the project. We calculate that every technician training costs around 750€
|
$ 798 | |
| Total | $ 10,212 | $ 14,734 |
Necessary
Supplemental
General information
The aim of this project is to build a gasification system which uses agricultural residual biomass to generate electricity in Goundi, a village from The Republic of Chad.
Two years ago, the "Centre de Transferència Tecnològica CITCEA-UPC de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech" and the NGO Misión y Desarrollo para Goundi collaborate in order to support the development in Goundi. The scope of this collaboration is the electricity generation to feed the hospital, built 20 years ago, to avoid the diesel dependency and its related economic waste. To promote local economy and avoid this money transfer to the petroleum companies, a project has been devised to generate electricity trough the gasification of the corn cobs, the agricultural residual biomass they produce over there.
The first phase of the project is being achieved, as far as we have already bought a gasifier to a small open source company in California, USA, called All Power Labs. By the moment, we are testing its performance in Cabrils, Catalunya, to get sure it works properly and to be able to send with absolute confidence that it is going to work there too. Manuals and formation courses for the Goundi people will be written. Once all the trials have been done in Cabrils, the gasifier will be sent to Goundi as a pilot test to show its multiple applications: feed the water pump, the hospital, small workshops… and to do the formation courses about its control.
The second phase of the project will be to build our own gasifier, with the aim to produce it with simple materials which are easy to obtain, even in Goundi. It is important to do this in order to write a building manual, therefore, the Goundi inhabitants will be able to build their own gasifiers without needing external support, searching for a big level of self-sufficiency and independence from the petroleum, but also from the NGO.
Description of the project. Main features, strengths and differentials.
The main objective of the project is to build a brand new gasifier, with materials which are easy to find in Goundi and a more adapted technology to the needs and conditions of The Republic of Chad, in order to be able to self-reproduce the gasifiers over there without the constant NGO support.
The gasification is a way to use the inner energy of the biomass. It is much easier to control than combustion, giving us the chance to generate electricity trough a simple car engine and a coupled electrical generator. The process followed is to warm the biomass to a temperature in which it is decomposed, generating synthesis gas, which is a mixture between hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The produced gas is burnt inside the engine and its movement actuates on the generator, which finally produces the desired electricity.
An agricultural formation system has also been created in order that Goundi people can obtain more food by cultivating the same land extension. By this way, to the technological and economic development we add the increase of food production, a very important factor in a region where starving is always present. The corn produced in the conceded lands to the NGO by the Goundi government is going to be fully given to the Physically Disabled Association of Goundi, whose members are the workers who are preparing the terrain and the silos for the corn and the corn cobs.
Why this is important
Every year, the NGO “Misión y Desarrollo para Goundi” has to obtain tens of thousands of euros of financing in order to be able to feed with diesel the hospital. The hospital has around 200 beds and some operating rooms. Some doctors are volunteers that come from Spain, but there are others that are from Goundi, and they studied and learned how to do it trough the NGO. Obtaining this financing is very difficult, and every year it becomes harder because of the global economic situation. This is the main reason why the project was developed, to avoid all this money to go out from Goundi instead of staying there.
The project has three different developing aspects:
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Technological: To develop a new technology and adapt it to the real needs of Goundi.
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Economic: Changing the money flux that nowadays goes from the NGO to the petroleum companies by a flux that goes from the NGO to Goundi, making a better environment for everybody there and making easier the social development.
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Social: We could have chosen the solar energy as a support for the electricity consumption of the hospital, but we thought that it was better to choose a technology which implies the local people much more than cleaning the solar panels once a week. The associated food production increase, the corn cobs picking, the operation and maintenance of the gasifier, the new buildings… are factors that implicate the population and make that the project is not only an NGO support, but it is collaboration. Moreover, preference is going to be given to the members of the Physically Disabled Association of Goundi, which was created by the NGO some years ago, in all the jobs created by the system, in order to help a part of the population which is socially excluded.
Goals of the crowdfunding campaign
Short term:
- Needed material acquisition to build a brand new gasifier.
- Formation of the Chadian technicians for the future gasifier building.
- Elaboration of manuals describing the building of the open source gasifiers.
Long term:
- Petroleum independency
- The electrical generation for the hospital 100% renewable origin.
- Multiplying effect of the crowdfounded money, as it will develop a bigger saving in the future.
The project team is formed by people from the NGO, who contribute with the experience and the knowledge about Goundi because of their 20 years of going there to help the hospital as volunteers. The other part of the team comes from the "Centre de Transferència Tecnològica CITCEA-UPC de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech", who contribute with the technological part of the project and the knowledge to use and develop new devices.
The project is going to be developed in Barcelona, the theoretical and technology development part, Cabrils, the building of the new gasifier, and also Goundi, which is the final objective of everything.
The previous experience is the one derivate from the project itself, the study of the viability of gasification in The Republic of Chad, the acquirement of the gasifier and its set up to work. The experience also comes from similar technological projects developed by the "Centre de Transferència Tecnològica CITCEA-UPC de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech". This project has obtained some grants, such as the one from the "Centre de Cooperació per al Desenvolupament de la UPC", which, in the last two years, has given 7500€ in order to promote and develope this project trough granted students.
Social commitment
Free software
Shared materials
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Gasifier building manual
Design plans and construction manual of a simplified and small scale gasifier for its easy reproduction in Chad or in Catalunya.CC - Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike
Creative Commons License with attribution, that does not allow commercial use, and only allows sharing under identical licensing conditions
Sustainable Development Goals
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Zero Hunger
The food and agriculture sector offers key solutions for development, and is central for hunger and poverty eradication.
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Decent Work and Economic Growth
Sustainable economic growth will require societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs.
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Sustainable Cities and Communities
There needs to be a future in which cities provide opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more.