Objectives:

1. To utilize the rural biomass waste in the manufacture of paper and paper products at the source of origin. 
2. To provide income generation avenues for the rural poors, especially SC/ST to improve rural economy.
3. To benefit the rural population from the technological advancement accomplished in the country for their betterment and raising their income vis-a-vis inculcating a sense of entrepreneurship among the weaker section of the society.
4. To create awareness among the rural masses to recognize & use the availability of raw material in the rural areas & conversion of the same into finished product for income generation and better price of their produce.
5. To demonstrate and train the rural manpower in  handling, maintenance and operation of small units for the manufacture of paper and paper products using biomass. 
6. To motivate and encourage the landless labour and other rural poors belonging to SC/ST to form co-operative bodies for setting-up small plants in rural areas for the manufacture of paper and its products using biomass waste.
7. To provide employment opportunities for the rural poors in their own villages by way of setting-up small units. 
8. To check the environmental degradation caused by the decay of biomass waste by recycling the same for improving the rural economy of the weaker section of the society.

The rural biomass waste rich in cellulosic contents such as rotten vegetables, bagasse, used cotton rags, tailor's cutting, jute ropes, used stationary and other field residues excluding the wheat straw is collected stored with varying quantity with water along with bleaching powder. The addition of salts of calcium along with stem of banana enhanced the pace of pulping recation with greater strength. Calcium silicate was found to be quite useful in ensuring early decay of the material without affecting the strength of the fibres.

In the assessment of effluent treatment, the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) which is being regarded as a major factor of efficient effluent treatment, was determined by adjusting the pH to neutrality by the use of O. 1N acid/alkali soln. and taken in six BOD bottles without bubbling. To this was added 1.0 ml of allylthiourea to check the notification and the dissolved oxygen was determined in 3 of the 6 bottles by the modified method of Winklers, where as the remaining three bottles were incubated in BOD incubator at 27 degree Celsius for three days and the dissolved oxygen were again measured after the incubation. The addition of various chemical substances were added in the process and then the BOD contents were brought down from 2600 to 300.
The briquetting technique for the disposal of effluent treatment was applied by first allowing the discharged effluent to become semifluid and then various binding material was mixed after chopping into small pieces. The dough was then put into small earthen cubes specially made for this purpose by the local artisan and allowed to dry up in open space under sunlight. After three days the cubes were taken out by breaking the earthen pot. The cubes were tested for fuel energy. This method was designed to test the efficiency of the material and assessing the fuel energy potential of the waste as an alternate to the developed briquetting machines available in the market at a cost of Rs. 20000 or so. 

RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS:

The consumption of water in the technological utilization of the biomass waste has been considerably reduced by enhancing the pace of pulping process with the aid of some catalytic agents in the form of salts of calcium and the problem of effluent treatment has been overcome by reducing the BOD. value ranging from 2000 to 3000 to a level of 300 only with the help of lime, calcium silicates and the further utilization of the process waste into non-conventional fuel by briquetting technique. Further, the use of banana stem has proved to be of immense use in enhancing the quality and strength of the fibre and thus may have tremendous potential to improve the quality of paper manufactured at small scale level.

WORK TO BE DONE UNDER THE PROJECT:

The innovative techniques developed in the area of safe disposal of effluents and reduction in the consumption of water have now to be incorporated in the pilot plant development for actual demonstration and dissemination of the appropriate technology to the identified target group belonging to the weaker section of the society. Since the suggestions to modify the approach of the project were received at the initial stage of the project implementation, the emphasis was laid down to incorporate the same and due to this the development of the pilot plant has to be installed in the middle in order to incorporate the results of the newly suggested ideas. The major inhibiting factor in the smooth field implementation of the project lies in the frequent water logging of the area making the project site totally inaccessible during the entire rainy season inadvertently and the diversion of feeder canal water advertently by some villagers who have not been able to make adequate irrigation facilities at their respective agricultural fields. This has perpetuated so long that a major setback has already been suffered to the civil construction by the collapse of a wall. It has to be reconstructed again before the fabricated pilot plant could be duly installed at the project site else the venue has to be changed. In the mean time, the task of creating awareness among the target group to popularize the project theme and the benefits to be accrued by the adoption of this technology have been explained to 36 batches of the beneficiaries each comprising of 20 persons and majority of them have shown interest to form co-operative bodies to secure financial assistance to set up such units. The other project details including the constraints shall be discussed in the meeting at Gauriganj. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS:

KVIC has approached ERL to decipher the exact project details along with the cost-benefit ratio for mass propagation in the rural areas. The same are being forwarded to them along with the latest innovations accomplished during the current year for their consideration. The use of briquetting technique as a profitable effluent disposal method may get more momentum besides the biomass waste utilization. NBARD is being approached to work out the commercial significance of this technique. DST may supplement the efforts of ERL at later stage.

SUMMARY: 

The inadequacy of technological applications for the utilization of rural biomass waste comprising discarded cotton rags, tailors cutting, rotten vegetables, bagasse, used stationary, jute ropes etc. are the root cause for the outbreak of epidemic and endemic ailments because of the perpetual decay leading to environmental degradation. This project is being implemented as a model in the successful economical utilization of these waste material as an economical proposition to the rural poors & landless labourers. 

During the current year the heavy requirement of water, energy and the problem of effluent treatment has been critically investigated in accordance with the suggestions given by the experts of the review committee of DST.  Sincere efforts were made in this direction and the results obtained so far are highly encouraging. The laboratory trials have revealed that use of some catalytic agents may enhance the pace of pulping reaction. The agglomerate fibrous strength which should be compatible to the required strength has been adjudged to be sufficiently adequate. This may lead to a considerable reduction in the water requirement. The bench findings are being confirmed over the pilot plant design.

The higher biological oxygen demand (BOD.) values as encountered in the effluents discharged from the paper and paper product processes ranging from 1400 to 3000 have been evaluated in the instant case as suggested by the committee. This problem has also been overcome by the use of some locally available economical substances by which the BOD level has been brought down to 300. Further efforts are being made to reduce it to 50. Another important aspect dealt in so far is the identification and screening of a  local natural dry grass which could be used as a binding material for briquetting technique for safe disposal of effluents inter alia may provide an additional fuel for cooking. The difficulty associated in the use of this material is that it does require some other binding agents too without which it does not work satisfactorily. Thus, the major achievements of the project during this year are the incorporation of the suggestions pertaining to effluent treatment, water requirement and use of briquetting technique for the safe disposal of effluents to make the project viable and sustainable from all angles.