State-run PNG distributing companies have been allowing technically unsafe, retrofitted gas burners to use on domestic cooking application of the gas to its nearly 40 lakh consumers. CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum has now designed and developed an exclusive gas burner specifically for PNG supply heads, which is 20% more efficient than retrofitted burners, saving the country to the tune of Rs. 800 crores annually.
Dehradun (ISJ) – Dehradun-based Indian Institute of Petroleum, India’s only laboratory carrying out advanced research in petroleum sector, under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has come out with the country’s first gas burner, specially designed for compressed natural gas.
Piped Natural Gas (PNG) is being used in 400 cities in the country as kitchen fuel and is gaining rapid acceptance under the City Gas Distribution initiative. However, the gas distribution companies of PNG – Gas Authority of India Limited and its joint venture with state-run oil marketing companies, Indraprastha Gas Limited have been allowing technically unsafe, retrofitted LPG burners to use in the domestic cooking application of PNG.
“Thermal efficiency of the domestic LPG stove reduces by 25-30% when retrofitted for and fired with PNG,” Dr Anjan Ray, Director of Indian Institute of Petroleum told Indian Science Journal. “Moreover, using the same burner to burn different fuels poses safety risks due to possibilities of incomplete fuel combustion, flame lift off or flame flashback.”
There are about 40 lakh domestic PNG users in India, who are currently using such retrofitted LPG stoves. IIP has developed a dedicated PNG domestic cooking burner with the financial support of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), which is 20% more efficient than retrofitted LPG burner. The burner has been designed for power capacity options covering the entire range of domestic cooking burners available in Indian market. The key design modifications and dimensional changes allow it to be readily fitted with conventional stove body. It’s energy conservation potential and safe operation have been confirmed through a series of laboratory tests and field trials conducted at six different locations over a period of six months across Delhi-NCR region, said Dr. Ray.
Dr Amar Kumar Jain, Head, Research, Planning and Business Development, IIP said, the annual savings by shifting to the new burner could be to the tune of Rs. 800 crores on a conservative estimate at the present user-base and this could go up further as the distribution network expands. He said the PNG distribution companies have come forward to adopt this burner at the earliest, as the existing burners are technically unsafe and not conforming to mandatory standard certification in India.
IIP demonstrated the technology to gas burner manufacturers and offered its technology transfer – a first in the history of any research organisation. The research body has signed agreements with 26 manufacturers on the launch date itself. IIP also undertakes to provide assistance in testing and evaluation of the product and on related technical issues as and when required by the manufacturers. The technology is offered at a nominal fee and a royalty per sold piece of stove for a period of 20 years. The agreement also allows IIP to ensure the manufacturers adhere to the quality standard through periodical evaluation of their products.
