In India about 46% of total energy consumption is estimated to be met from various biomass resources, i.e. agricultural residues, animal dung, forest waste, firewood, etc. India produces a huge quantity of agricultural residues and a major part of it is consumed in traditional uses (such as fodder for cattle, domestic fuel for cooking, construction material for rural housing, industrial fuel for boilers, etc). The direct burning of agricultural residues in domestic as well as industrial applications is very inefficient. Moreover, transportation, storage and handling problems are also...