Green energy: A new area of investment in Bangladesh

With an increasing demand of digitalization of human activities, needs for energy, software and hardware are increasing geometrical proportion. So, main ingredient of this system is obviously easy excess to energy, silicon and silicon as a semiconductor material. Excess to energy is the pivotal to development.

While, silicon materials have a wide range of applications in textiles, construction, sealants and adhesives, paper and film, paints and coatings, household products, health care, etc.

in different sectors. With the environmental awareness, renewable source of Energy and pure Silicon is supposed to be the most important component of consideration. Natural, Biological, Renewable sources and their waste materials will defiantly a important source of energy and pure Silicon. Bangladesh is a country of biodiversity having distinct six seasons.

It is an agrarian country with huge Byproducts and Agro-wastes having a good source of easily available befoul and organic silicon. Here, short information as regard various sources of energy and Si available in Bangladesh are given for consideration of interested potential entrepreneurs who think inclusive development with green technology by investing in research, development, and production in this sector with some economic and technical indicators.

Sources of Energy and Silicon

Availability of energy is the most important resource on which development of a country mostly dependent. Bangladesh is rapidly developing country with a growing energy demand. But a limited access to modern primary energy sources. Non-renewable energy like Gas, Oils, Coals, coke, charcoal etc. are limited. Solar, wind, hydraulic and nuclear sources are costlier and modern technology based.

Similarly, rocks, sand, clays and soils are major sources of silicon. Again, silicon naturally found as silicon dioxide (silicon with oxygen) and silicates (silicon with oxygen and other elements) in water, atmosphere, plants, and even in certain animals. Most commonly, silicon is extracted from sand and has environmental damaging manufacturing methods.

Renewable sources of energy

Some information as regard natural, biological and renewable sources of energy and silicon, silicate and silicon as semiconductor such as Bio/biowastes, Agro/agrowastes along with other wastes having limited or no risk of environmental degradation and sustainable to climate change are given bellow.

Biomaterials

As a Green source of energy and silica, Rich husk and straw along with other bioproducts can be identified as most potential resources for economic and environmental sustainable production. In the world, more than 700 million tons paddy rice produced annually, which is approximately equivalent to 470 million tons of milled rice.

Where Central Asia accounts for roughly 90% of this production. China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and USA produced paddy rice as 206.51, 157.2, 44.97, 70.85, 26.42, 52.23 and 10.03 million metric tons, respectively in 2014.

Bangladesh has over one hundred thousand Rice Mills include large, medium and small rice mills. They process paddy, using mostly parboiling practice.

In a global context, annual rice husk production is 137 million tons whereas, in Bangladesh, about 9.0 million tonnes of rice husk are produced reported in 2011. Out of 37.08 million tons of total biomass produced from agro-residues, rice husk contributes about 26% by mass.  Another study indicated world energy situation in respect to husk as raw material.

The husk has an energy content of about 14 GJ/tonne. So that the Energy potential worldwide would be some1.5 billion GJ/year, which at US $5/GJ would have an annual value of US $7.5 billion. This amount of energy is equivalent to over 1 billion barrels of oil per year.

Chemical content of rice husk includes mainly Cellulose, Hemicelluloses, Lignin, Water and Mineral ash. Rice husk contains about 13.87% mineral ashes where mineral ash contains 93.19% SiO2. Silica from rice husk is highly lightweight and its external surface area is very high with good absorbent and insulating properties.

 In Bangladesh, at present about 67-70% of rice husk is consumed for steam producing in rice mills and other uses include cooking, Poultry bed, Road construction (Burnt for bitumen melting), Low cost mud-house construction (Reinforce material), Feeding food (Cattle, poultry and fish), Edible Oil is also produced from rice husk.

Other Bio-Sources

Bangladesh with wide biodiversity and huge forest, water plant, harvest and their residues are good source of green energy and silica. In short, these are bamboo leaf, sugar cane leaf, pineapple leaf, wheat leaf, maize leaf, turmeric leaf, jute and jute waste, water hyacinth and wide range of various indigenous weeds, leaves, harvest etc.

Swedish chemist Jons Jacob Berzelius isolated silicon in 1824 and impure form determined earlier. In 1854, its crystalline form produced by electrolysis. Silicon is the 2nd most abundant element in Earth's crust and is dark gray solid which crystalline structure as same as diamond. Pure silicon look like blue-grey metallic solid and considered as a metalloid.

Semiconductor properties

Major semiconductor materials are crystalline inorganic solids. Most widely used semiconductor material is silicon. Because of, in integrated circuits Si forms high quality silicon oxide that is used for insulation layers between different active elements of the IC, Si diode has higher forward voltage potential (0.7V), Si is widely encountered in nature, Si based devices can tolerate high power (more than 50W) and it has a high reverse breakdown voltage up to 100V, good temperature stability typically 140 0C to 180 0C, very high forward current in a range of tens of amperes and has effective and economical methods for extraction, purification and crystallization of silicon from its raw material.

Silicon nanotechnology

By reducing dimensions, Silicon nano-crystal is obtained and its optical, electrical, and thermal properties are already identified by different methods. This invention increases the progress of utilization of silicon products in high-tech industry. Silicon nano technology is applicable in microelectronics as well as photonics and Nanobiotechnology. For example, by silicon nanotechnology, implantable artificial kidney is made which contains microchip filters and living kidney cells.

Application area of Silica/Silicon

Everything from Household and Personal Care Products to Textiles, silicon products need for improvement of our life style. In aircraft and spacecraft assembly and maintenance, Silicone adhesives and sealants are used to seal and protect of many elements such as hydraulic switches, wing edges, leading gear, electrical devices, etc. Silicone sealants, adhesives, and coatings are also used in building and construction more likely.

 In modern technology, silicon is widely used in making microprocessors to semiconductors. Silicones are easy to sterilize and do not generate allergic reactions thus used in breast implants to spacecraft assembly for better health.

 It also provides tubing for dialysis, lubrication of syringe needles, pacemaker leads, etc.  Silicon based materials are non-stinging and non-irritating, thus it helps to improve the performance of laundry detergents, fabric softeners, cleaners and solvents, and personal care products such as cosmetics, skin moisturizers, lotions etc.

Silicon-based products improve the quality of textile products by making waterproof and soft. Silicones and silicon utilization also increased in paints and coatings, paper and filmmaking, restoration, rubber reinforcement, Solar panel making, Mining & mineral processing, Ceramics & binders, Cement production, etc.

Some review on cost of production

In the above table world, production picture clearly indicated the increasing trend of silicon base materials along with as a semiconductor. China, USA, Russia, France, South Africa, Brazil, and India are the major producing countries.


Cost/Production costing of silica products is dependent on raw materials, technology, involvement and management, etc. Thus, it is difficult to comment on conclusively investment cost and production cost specifically.

 From some observation, it indicates that the tentative investment cost for 5 TPD precipitated silica production is around 1.6 million USD and the production cost is roughly 0.6 USD/Kg where the selling cost is around 1 USD/Kg. But these all are simple assumption. But green technology and renewable source of raw material are getting comparative advantage over other process.

Comparative advantage

Natural, biological, and renewable sources of materials and their wastes are identified as the future source of technology and development strategy. As environmental polluting hazards such as the source of all greenhouse gases, carbon-footprint and water-footprint are the major elements of global climate change and ecological imbalance. Future focus on technologies involving Sink preferred rather than the Source in strategic planning and development.

Conclusion:

Bangladesh is a highly populated small agrarian country. But with wide biodiversity. Utilization of byproducts and biowastes can be a renewable source of our development strategy. It will help successful implementation of SDGs as remarkably successful in achieving the MDGs. So, investment in this sector will be highly needed both in public and private sector or jointly together.


Prof. Dr. A.B.M. Abdullah is a faculty at Primeasia University Bangladesh