It is estimated that if all the thermal processes identified

in the study are substituted by solar energy, we can

replace around 0.08 Mtoe of fossil fuels with solar energy.
This estimation has been made considering only 25%
penetration level of implementation. This penetration
level have been considered after consultations with the
stakeholders and keeping in mind the constraints like
availability of free space in the premises of unit and
viability of replacing the usage of present fuel.
This reduction in fuel consumption reflects an overall
reduction of around 1.7% just for thermal applications and
any reduction on account of electricity generation will be
additional to this.

Payback / Economics (Typical Case Example)

Walk through energy audits were carried out in some of
the Food processing plants to access the technical and
financial feasibility of installing solar applications. We are
providing here the results of one such study:
Application: The plant visited under this study has boiler
to supply steam for the different processes within the
plant. The plant has the systems in place to recover a
part of the condensate and rest of the demand is being
met by supplying makeup water at normal temperature
o
of around 25-30 C.
Recommendation: Install solar water heater based on Flat
Plate Collectors technology to raise the temperature of
makeup water to boiler
Installed Capacity
Investment (Rs.)

=
=

9,000 LPD
1,260,000

Payback period

2-3 years

Savings (Furnace Oil)

16,200 Lt/annum

Findings
Some of the major findings from the field visits to units in
this sector are:
In food processing plants where steam is required it is
a viable option to install solar water systems for
makeup water heating for the boiler to replace the
portion of the existing fuel use.
To preheat makeup water an open loop solar system
is technically viable.
Boiler replacement can also be an option with the
application of parabolic trough collector with proper
thermal storage system. However, presently the cost
of such system is exorbitantly high; to the tune of Rs.
18-20 crores for replacing 1 TPH boiler. This makes
system commercial unviable.
Experiences of field visits shows that units in this
sector have sufficient shade free area for installing
solar applications.
The cost benefit analysis shows that installation of
solar water heating systems for the preheating of
boiler feed/ makeup water can give IRRs ranging from
39% to 51% with capital subsidy and 27% to 34%
without capital subsidy.
Field visits across the identified food processing units
revealed that, replacement potential of the existing
system vis--vis with the solar thermal system for
steam production through pre-heating of boiler feed
water is estimated to be 7-9%.
The sector lacks awareness about solar technologies
as well as the benefits associated with them.
Central and State Government need to take steps to
promote solar systems in paper industries by creating
awareness as well as by installation of demonstration
units.

Food Processing
A
Potential Sector for
Solar energy applications

Com Solar-GIZ
Note: Photograph shown in title page has been taken from the web
(www.standard.jetgroup.com)

Project Background
The project Commercialization of Solar Energy in Urban
and Industrial Areas ComSolar is a joint effort of the
Governments of India and Germany, represented by the
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), and the
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety BMU who engaged
Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit
(GIZ) with the implementation. The project aims to
commercialize solar applications by encouraging their use
in urban and industrial applications by undertaking pilot
projects and developing viable business models.
In the initial stage, 37 industrial sectors were chosen for
the study. A framework was developed to filter the most
promising 10 industrial sectors that have highest
potential for solar energy applications. The study
revealed that the Food Processing sector falls in these 10
most promising sectors.
A detailed study was undertaken in the Food sector
where a few industrial units were visited to find practical
applications which are technically feasible and financially
viable.

Sector Introduction
The food processing sector is highly fragmented industry
and it comprises of the sub-segments like - fruits and
vegetables, milk and milk products, beer and alcoholic
beverages, meat and poultry, marine products, grain
processing, packaged or convenience food and packaged
drinks. A large number of companies in this industry are
small in terms of their production and operations, and
mainly operate in the unorganized segment. Though the
organized sector seems comparatively small but it is
growing at faster pace. The installed capacity of fruits
and vegetables processing industry has doubled from
1.10 mn tonnes in January 1993 to 2.10 mn tonnes in
2006.

80

Meet &
Poultry

Grain mill
Products

Meat
Products
Chicken

wheat
products
Rice
Products

Beverages
Alchoholic
Soft Drinks
Juices

Packaged
Foods
Snacks
Biscutes
Cakes

40
20
0
Coal

Type of Processes
The Food processing is mainly divided into four categories,
each category having a separate process. The detailed process
can be seen below

Meat & Fish Processing

Slaughtering, Cutting, Boning and Comminuting-->Cold Storage
-->Cooking / Heat Treatment / Pasteurization-->Preservation
-->Sterilization, Chilling, Freezing, Drying and Fermentation -->
Canning / Packaging.

Grain Mill Process Flow

Cleaning / Fumigation-->Milling / Grinding-->Drying / Baking /
Cooking
-->Packing.

Beverages Process Flow

Malting-->Steeping, Germination and Kiln Drying-->Milling
Malted Grain
-->Mashing - Heating of Malted Grain along
with Water-->Brewing - Boiling and Cooling of Wort ->Pasteurization -->Fermentation-->Aging, Filtering and Bottling.

Miscellaneous food products Process Flow

Mixing flour, cream, sugar, fruit, water etc. --> Kneading and
Fermentation--> Molding and Surface Treatments-->Baking -->
Packaging

Energy Consumption Scenario

Food processing sector is one of the most energy consuming
sectors of Indian economy and has a total energy consumption
of around 4.70 Mtoe* per annum. The typical fuel mix of each
sub sector can be seen in the following bar graph:

Product Category
The number of products being made by this sector is
very large and it depends on the type of subsector.

60

*Energy consumption in the year 2007-08 as per ASI database.

Meat & Fish

Electricity
Grain products

Petroleum

Other Fuels

Other foods

Beverages

Solar Energy Applications

Technology Mapping

Processing in this industry involves use of electrical as

well as thermal energy. A lot of processes in this
industry require low range temperatures which are
easily achievable by the use of solar equipments. Solar
energy may also replace electricity, if sufficient free
space is available within the plant. The process wise
solar mapping is shown below:
Industrial
Application

Application
Media

Temp.
Recommended
Requirem Solar
ent C
Technology

Washing and
Hot Water
40-60
Cleaning
Cooking,
Extraction,
Mashing,
Process Heat 80 - 100
Brewing &
Baking
Pasteurization /
Process Heat 70
Blanching
Sterilization /
Bleaching /
Hydrogenation
Drying /
Dehydration

FPC

ETC

FPC

Process Heat 100-120

Solar
Concentrators

Boiler Feed
Water

60-70

FPC

Hot Air

70-80

ETC (Air Based)