The most efficient solar heater

By admin | Published: 17/05/2012

The use of solar power for heating, cooking, evaporates or oven drying has been tried earlier with a limited degree of success. The conventional systems perform satisfactorily in the earlier stages but tend to develop snags on prolonged usage, and often such systems are rendered unsatisfactorily operative.

Roy Research and Technology has developed a solar apparatus that overcomes the difficulties experienced by present solar heaters and provides a novel apparatus, which is simple in design and operating principles. The solar apparatus comprises a chamber containing three different units. The upper unit being an empty chamber meant for absorbing the sun’s rays. The inside surface of the upper chamber is a selective black surface for high absorption of infra-red rays and the walls properly insulated with bitumen foam developed by Roy Research and Technology.

The top of the unit is fitted with a glass sheet with another sheet of transparent material (plastic or glass) is fitted at the bottom which is capable of transmitting infra-red rays and there is space to be capable of transmitting the absorbed heat rays to desired media, usually liquid or powdery or gaseous. Suitable inlets and outlets are provided for liquid before and after heating and the entire chamber with the three units is suitably encased in a durable, shock resistant material which carries successive layers of insulating material.

The apparatus designed and developed by us are free from the hazards or clogging of the pipes, delayed heat exchange and lack of retention of temperature. In the apparatus of our invention a temperature rise up to about 80 C is achieved within an hour’s time, and water so heated has been found to be substantially free from pathogenic bacteria due possible to the bimetallic action. The solar thermal system of our invention is also equipped with an electrically operated automatic, auxiliary heating system which is put into action on prolonged absence of sunlight, as in cloudy and monsoon weather.

The novel solar thermal system is capable of being use as a source of hot water or hot air for domestic use and in factories. This may also be adopted to be used for drying vegetables, crops and particularly in withering tea leaves.

Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Solar Heating | Leave a comment

Waterproof your building’s roof

By admin | Published: 14/05/2012

Co-Bond waterproofs concrete and brick surfaces with a 1 to 1.5 inch Co-Bond enhanced non-porous mortar layer. Co-Bond strengthens, damp proofs, and waterproofs the mortar mix.

Co-Bond conforms to Indian Standard 2645 – 1975 in the water permeability test.

This mortar layer is a mixture of cement, sand, zero-size stone chips, and Co-Bond in the ratio of 200 ml Co-Bond to 50 kg cement.

The calculated thickness of a conventional casting without Co-Bond is 4 inch. Co-Bond reduces the conventional mortar layer to 1 to 1.5 inch and the mortar layer’s performance is excellent.

The ratio of the mortar mix remains the same but adding Co-Bond will reduce the thickness of (i) waterproofing (ii) new roof (iii) ceiling plaster and (iv) cement for brick lining.

This thickness reduction ultimately reduces cement mix and mortar mix requirement, and economizes the total operation. Because of the Co-Bond aided mortar mix’s tackiness, laying is done faster, saving time and labour.

Posted in Concrete Additive and Plasticizer | Leave a comment

Biomass fertilizer to Biomass ethanol: Renewable inputs for renewable energy

By admin | Published: 15/06/2011

Biomass Fertilizer Plantee’s natural effect on plant cellulose yields higher and better quality biomass sugar value for the production of more ethanol from the same quantity of biomass.

If the biomass used to produce ethanol is cultivated with hydrocarbon-based fertilizers, it defeats the purpose of producing renewable energy. The inputs used to grow the biomass should be renewable so that the whole process is sustainable. Using non-renewable inputs to produce renewable products will cause the same environmental and ethical problems that we have been enduring with conventional agriculture and energy.

Biomass Fertilizer Plantee keeps to the spirit of the principle of the conservation of energy because it transfers renewable hydrocarbons and nitrogen from Biomass raw materials to produce fine high sugar value Biomass feedstock to produce ethanol.

Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Ethanol from cellulose, Renewable Technology | Tagged , | Comments closed

Oil Well Cementing

By admin | Published: 15/02/2011

In oil wells drilling – oil well drills penetrate the soil to reach the source of geo-thermal energy, water-migration, evaporative and other foreign matters, it is a standard practice to use cement to hold the well casing in position and selectively block or plug a portion of the strata through which the well extends to prevent the escape of undesirable fluid into the well bore or the loss of drilling muds.

The cement supports the casing, seals off the annulus, isolates the porous zones from each other and protects the casing from corrosive fluids. Co-Bond (Well) enhances all these properties of the cement.

The cements utilized in drilling operation are formulated so as to be sufficiently resistant to high temperature and pressure encountered in the wells.

The American Petroleum Institute has promulgated the specification for testing cement to ensure that it meets certain minimum requirements with respect to strength, permeability, setting time etc. These cements are called Oil Well Cement.

To resist the temperature and pressure, normally encountered in the wells, the Oil Well Cements have been developed to provide maximum physical properties under maximum pressure conditions encountered in the relatively deep wells.

These cements are conventionally Portland cement to which one or various additives are mixed to improve the mechanical strength and the thermal and chemical resistance of the set and hardened cement.

Although satisfactory for conventional well operation, this cement has been proven deficient particularly in case of ultra deep and geo-thermal wells, where temperature is in excess of 200° C. At this temperature – conventional cements quickly increase porosity and loose compressive strength, which may lead to a blow-out.

Such blowouts are very undesirable and extremely dangerous. They can prove very costly to repair. Accordingly, Oil Well Cements, particularly those used in geo-thermal wells and ultra deep wells sunk to a depth of 25000 ft or more, must have the ability to effectively maintain an adequate compressive strength, density, and porosity even under high temperature and pressure and in the presence of steam and hot brine.

Since the useful life of a typical well is measured in terms of 10-30 years, a good Oil Well Cement must operate under the afore mentioned severe conditions for a substantial period of time, preferably for the well’s life time.

Co-Bond (Well) – our multi-purpose super-plasticizer and admixture enhances the properties of the cement for oil well cementing.

Posted in Concrete Additive and Plasticizer, Concrete Plasticizer and Additive | Tagged | Comments closed

How Plantee helps reduce global warming

By Vijayalaxmi Hegde | Published: 17/01/2011

Plantee is a great source of natural nitrogen and nutrients for potatoes.

Plantee is a cellulose-based liquid organic fertilizer invented by Roy Research and Technology.  Plantee  is a complete organic manure and growth nutrient for all types of plants, vegetables, and crops. Plantee plays a very important role in helping to reduce global warming. This is how:

Plantee reduces, even totally avoids, the use of chemical fertilizer. It may surprise many but agriculture, today, is one of the major cases of global warming. The indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers has not only resulted in reduced agricultural productivity, but also in pollution of groundwater resources and marine euotrophication. The chemical fertilizer run-off from the fields increases the nutrient levels in lakes and rivers and results in a spurt in algal growth. This algae may take up all of the oxygen from the water and thus ruin other marine life. Also, leaching of the residual nitrate in groundwater has resulted in nitrate concentrations above the permissible level of 45 ppm in 11 states, covering 95 districts and two blocks of Delhi.

The manufacture of chemical fertilizer is an energy-intensive process, not to mention the pollution created by its effluents. By using Plantee organic fertilizer, we help reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the production of pesticides and fertilizers.

Apart from the liquid organic fertilizer, Roy Research and Technology has also innovated an organic pesticide that is safe for humans but effective against pests. Thus, our products not only serve the growth needs of plants, but are also effective in combating diseases like root rot , stem rot. In effect, a complete agricultural system independent of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is possible with the Plantee group of organic farming products.

One very important feature of Plantee is that it increases the crop yield. In doing so, it nullifies the argument frequently used against organic fertilizers that it is not possible to obtain optimum crop yield by using them.

Posted in Climate Change, Renewable Technology | Tagged , , | Comments closed

Until we can stop using coal, don’t label coal ash hazardous

By Vijayalaxmi Hegde | Published: 08/10/2010

The US Environmental Protection Agency wants to label coal combustion residuals (CCRs) or coal ash/fly ash as ‘special waste’ or hazardous. This is largely a reaction to the 1 billion gallon coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee, in December 2008.

The EPA had, in the years 1993 and in 2000, said that fossil fuel combustion wastes need not be put under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Yet, today it is re-considering the Bevill amendment which is currently the legal status on coal ash. It contends that coal ash is hazardous because it contains traces of heavy metals like arsenic, barium, mercury, lead, selenium, and cadmium. Hence, it says fly ash needs to be stored, transported, handled, and disposed according to very strict standards.

The other side of the argument is, of course, led by coal and construction industries. They say that if the federal regulations on fly ash come into effect, it will stigmatize not only the coal industry but also those who recycle coal ash, most significantly, into cement. Also, the EPA itself acknowledges the practical difficulty or near-impossibility of regulating something like over 100 million tons of CCRs per year.

But what is of relevance to us who have come up with a unique way of recycling coal ash is the seeming dichotomy of the EPA’s stand on the Bevill exemptions. For, it says on its blog that, “Under both approaches proposed by EPA, the agency would leave in place the Bevill exemption for beneficial uses of coal ash in which coal combustion residuals are recycled as components of products instead of placed in impoundments or landfills. Large quantities of coal ash are used today in concrete, cement, wallboard and other contained applications that should not involve any exposure by the public to unsafe contaminants. These uses would not be impacted by today’s proposal.”

If fly ash is designated hazardous, it will definitely impact all fly ash recycling initiatives as they may get entangled in a bureaucratic and legal mess. There may be hesitation to recycle it, with the result that even more fly ash may need to be disposed in landfills, which will be highly regulated anyway.  Finally, the American consumer will have to face the brunt of such a regulation in the form of high power bills.

The need to move to clean energy is not being debated here, but when we have thousands of tons of coal ash on hand and more of it is being produced as I type this, it is impractical to wish it away. Instead, the EPA should encourage innovative and energy-efficient ways of fly ash utilization.

Important links: Coal Combustion Residuals – EPA Proposed Rule

Coal combustion products are not hazardous

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Coal Ash is a recyclable resource

By admin | Published: 12/09/2010

Deposits of fossil fuel like coal have served as an undisputed source of energy particularly in India and the USA. Large deposits of coal provide for an endless store of raw materials needed to produce electrical energy – the most essential driver of modern life.

When electricity is generated burning coal in a thermal power plant – a substantial quantity of waste matter called fly-ash is produced. Fly-ash is a solid waste that can disperse through wind and water. This poses a problem because it affects the plant and animal life near the disposal grounds and can be a nuisance to human life because of its tendency to fly.

People have used fly-ash effectively to make bricks and cement, and also in landfills. But Roy Research and Technology’s research in studying fly-ash particles more closely has resulted in various inventions to use fly-ash and other solid particles like china clay to make artificial timber.

The artificial timber is bio-degradable, strong and rigid with better mechanical and insulation properties, has wood like grain and colour, and is light weight.

Posted in Artificial Timber, Climate Change, Coal Ash Utilisation | Tagged , , , | Comments closed

Wood to ash to wood

By Vijayalaxmi Hegde | Published: 31/08/2010

The artificial timber invention by Roy Research and Technology (RRT) is what every recycling enthusiast could only dream of until now. From source to use to waste to back to source, RRT’s artificial timber traces the complete journey.

One of the chief raw materials for the artificial wood is fly ash, which comes from burnt coal, which again is a fossil fuel. Coal comes from fossilized trees. So, wood to fossil fuel and back to wood again!

Disposal problems of fly ash

We are a world predominantly powered by thermal power plants, as are so many across the world. So, wherever there are coal-fired power plants, there is the problem of safe disposal of fly ash. Fly ash is largely a headache to governments, as much more is produced each day than they can possibly ever dispose in a cost-effective and ecologically safe manner.

But with the artificial timber innovation of RRT, fly ash suddenly becomes a raw material, instead of waste. Thus, we create a resource out of nothing, which in turns prevents further depletion of precious forests.

Fly ash utilization has been till now predominantly focused on land fills, but this is not viable. Firstly, our planet does not have enough space to accommodate all the fly ash in landfills. Secondly, it is always better to use the products of coal combustion rather than just dispose it, simply because there’s so much of it. And, when we can do this in an environmentally compatible and economically feasible way, you have a unique proposition for conservation of the earth’s resources.

With our technology, we make fly ash into a resource that’s quickly becoming scarce: wood. Our artificial timber has all the qualities of wood that make it such an excellent material for furniture, in-door flooring, and can behave better than wood, too: it’s non-inflammable, resistant to termites, rot, and has enough strength to be used in construction as shatter wood. Please explore our site further to know the attributes of our artificial timber.

The simplicity of the artificial wood-making process

Recycling is seldom done enthusiastically and this is only partly because we don’t care to do much for the environment. The other important reasons are the lack of incentives and the cost attached to recycling itself. Also, frequently, recycling itself consumes significant amounts of power and labour.

Not so, with RRT’s artificial wood.

Because, first, it is made through a process that requires minimal power and labour. Also, the process does not create pollution or release heat or any kind of greenhouse gases.

Secondly, it requires minimum labour or investment in capital. Thus, the long-term and running costs of the artificial timber plant are minimal.

Thirdly, and, most importantly, there is a highly lucrative and ready market for the product of such recycling.

So, there is a market incentive here to recycle apart from the huge ecological benefit of conserving rainforests. And, thus, with RRT’s artificial wood, we present to the world a unique way of using fly ash from which you not only achieve environmental goals and earn carbon credits but also create economic value from waste.

(If you wish to contact us, please mail us at: info AT royresearch DOT com)

Posted in Artificial Timber, Climate Change, Coal Ash Utilisation, Renewable Technology | Tagged , , , , | Comments closed

Renewable Technology Organization

By admin | Published: 28/08/2010

Roy Research and Technology (RRT) is a renewable technology organization established in Kolkata, India, in 1984.  The institute has done significant and highly varied work in organic polymers and their innovative applications.

The thread that runs through all the technologies developed by RRT is that they are simple to use, consume very little energy and labour while being produced, and work with locally available resources.

This site to showcase our various inventions such as Ethanol from cellulose, artificial timber, Biotherm (thermal energy from Bio-mass),Plantee (ligno-cellulosic organic fertilizer), and Co-Bond (organic plasticizer for cement and clay.)

Posted in Renewable Technology | Tagged | Comments closed