Scientific and technological aspects of fixed bed biomass gasification

In recent years new emphasis has been placed on problems of the environmental aspects of waste disposal, especially investigating alternatives to landfill, sea dumping and incineration. There is also a strong emphasis on clean, economic and efficient processes for electric power generation. These two topics may at first appear unrelated. Nevertheless, the technological advances are now such that a solution to both can be combined in a novel approach to power generation based on waste-derived fuels, including refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and sludge power (SP) by utilising a slagging gasifier and advance fuel technology (AFT). The most appropriate gasification technique for such waste utilisation is the British Gas/Lurgi (BGL) high pressure, fixed bed slagging gasifier where operation on a range of feedstocks has been well-documented. This gasifier is particularly amenable to briquette fuel feeding and, operating in an integrated gasification combined cycle mode (IGCC), is particularly advantageous. Here, the author details how this technology has been applied to Britain's first AFT-IGCC Power Station which is now under development at Fife Energy Ltd., in Scotland, the former British Gas Westfield Development Centre.

A Spatial Planning Support System for Managing Bangalore's Urban Sprawl

Urban sprawl is the outgrowth along the periphery of cities and along highways. Although an accurate definition of urban sprawl may be debated, a consensus is that urban sprawl is characterized by an unplanned and uneven pattern of growth, driven by multitude of processes and leading to inefficient resource utilization. Urbanization in India has never been as rapid as it is in recent times. As one of the fastest growing economies in the world, India faces stiff challenges in managing the urban sprawl, while ensuring effective delivery of basic services in urban areas. The urban areas contribute significantly to the national economy (more than 50% of GDP), while facing critical challenges in accessing basic services and necessary infrastructure, both social and economic. The overall rise in the population of the urban poor or the increase in travel times due to congestion along road networks are indicators of the effectiveness of planning and governance in assessing and catering for this demand. Agencies of governance at all levels: local bodies, state government and federal government, are facing the brunt of this rapid urban growth. It is imperative for planning and governance to facilitate, augment and service the requisite infrastructure over time systematically. Provision of infrastructure and assurance of the delivery of basic services cannot happen overnight and hence planning has to facilitate forecasting and service provision with appropriate financial mechanisms.