How much husk would an economiser save in a Bargarh rice mill boiler?

About a tenth of your husk. TERI's rule of thumb: every 6 degrees of feedwater preheat saves 1% of fuel, and preheating to 90 degrees with better condensate return saves about 10%. For a 2 tph Bargarh mill burning 1,610 t of husk a year, that is about 160 t.

Why the boiler is the place to start

Most Bargarh mills run three-pass husk boilers of about 4 tph at 10 kg/cm2, with no economiser beyond a locally made feedwater preheater and no instruments except a pressure gauge. Steam goes to hot water for soaking, direct steaming and the paddy dryer, so every percent of boiler loss shows up as husk you could have sold.

Across the cluster

• About 86 small and medium mills could fit waste heat recovery on their boilers.
• Together they would save about 16,900 t of husk a year (5,070 toe), worth about Rs 20.3 million at the husk selling price.
• Solar water heaters for soaking water would save about 20,000 t more.
• Only 3 mills above 10 tph have cogeneration; the other 6 large mills could add about 6 MW.

What it does for your carbon number

Little, honestly. Husk CO2 is biogenic, so burning less husk barely moves the fossil figure a buyer sees; your grid kWh does that. The economiser's case is money: husk freed for sale, and steam you can measure. If you want the fossil line to fall too, pair it with efficient motors, plastic elevator buckets and pump upgrades.

Evidence a lender will want

1. Husk burnt per tonne of paddy for a few months before, from your stock register.
2. The economiser quote and its rated outlet temperature.
3. Feedwater temperature and husk per tonne for the same months after.

Husk saved at 10% (estimate)

• Husk value in the cluster: Rs 290 million / 2,41,445 t = about Rs 1,200 a tonne
• 2 tph mill: 1,610 t x 10% = 161 t, about Rs 1.9 lakh a year
• 4 tph mill: 3,219 t x 10% = 322 t, about Rs 3.9 lakh a year
• 10 tph mill: 8,048 t x 10% = 805 t, about Rs 9.7 lakh a year

Husk use per mill, the 10% saving and husk value from TERI's Bargarh profile (2014-15 prices). Today's husk price will differ; use yours.

What Senseible does here

Senseible's green loan readiness check shows what evidence a lender will look for, and your electricity bills read into monthly records give the before-and-after line for the motor and pump side of the upgrade.

• Green loan readiness check
• Bargarh mills: husk, power and CO2
• Rice mill energy benchmark

Sources: TERI, Cluster profile: Bargarh rice mills (2014-15 data), GHG Protocol Corporate Standard

Last reviewed 2026-10-31.