Biogas Plant Technology by BIOTECH, India

Getting rid of waste, both food and human, is essential to hygiene. But waste is also a cost-effective and sustainable source of fuel. The evidence? Well, since 2004 BIOTECH has improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Kerala, Southern India and saved several thousand tonnes per year of CO2 simply by getting rid of waste.
Their success is all down to their biogas digester. Designed to be easily installed, it comes in different sizes to process not only home waste but also market and municipal waste. Digestion produces biogas which in turn reduces reliance on more expensive and harder to access LPG.
BIOTECH has calculated that the average family can pay back the cost of the digester in three years. They also facilitate the government subsidies which may cover part of the installation costs. By 2009 they had installed 16,000 plants in total.
BIOTECH is a burgeoning organisation. It has tripled in size since 2006 and now employs over 140 people with a wider network of installers. It continues to refine and expand the digester model and to spread the word across the country. Unsurprisingly demand is growing. After all, here is a product that works.

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Mrs Gayashree with her BIOTECH biogas plant and umbrella to protect it from falling coconuts.

Biogas plant supplied by BIOTECH at Panavila Muslim Working Women's Hostel, Trivandrum.

Mr Sanjeev, Saji Das and a BIOTECH biogas plant at Saraswathy Vidyalaya school, Trivan

Contact:
A Saji Das
Managing Director


biotechindia@eth.net
www.biotech-india.org

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UNEP sets up a new biogas plant in Pakistan

The dawn reported that a plant set up in Sanghar in Sindh by the United Nations Environment Program is generating 50 cubic meters of biogas, sufficient to energize 20 households, in addition to producing 200 kilogram of liquefied and 150 kilogram of solid fertilizer a day by using 400 kilogram of agricultural waste.

The UNEP announced that its Japan based International Environmental Technology Centre had taken up the project to convert agricultural waste into clean, sustainable energy. The project was completed at a cost of PKR 2 million.

A survey carried out by the IETC and the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology found that 2.5 million tonnes of waste, comprising wheat and canola straw, cotton stalks, cotton gin waste, sugarcane tops, bagasse, rice straw and husks, and banana plant, was produced in Sanghar district.

A subsequent calculation found that the energy potential of the available waste was equivalent to 1.07 million tonnes of firewood or 910 million units of electricity. The converted waste could meet the energy demands of roughly 400,000 households.

It was learnt that while 20% of sugarcane tops was being fed to animals, the rest was being burnt in the fields along with the entire banana plant waste and 70% to 80% of rice straw. The Sanghar Sugar Mills agreed to provide the land and funds to build the plant.

(Sourced from www.dawn.com)

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More awareness campaigns to be organised

The city corporation will soon kick off the second phase of awareness campaigns on source-level waste management. The decision was taken by the health standing committee in the wake of poor response of city folk towards decentralized waste management.

As part of the campaign, the corporation will invite experts and engineers representing various NGOs to conduct demonstrations of how biogas plants work. Conventions will be organized in public places in all the hundred wards in the corporation. The members of health and sanitation committee of each ward will hold meetings with the residents and propagate the values of source-level waste treatment. Besides councilors will hold special meetings to moot decentralized waste management in their respective wards.

All the councillors have been directed to collect the filled application forms from each household to install either a biogas plant or vermi compost unit on the premises.

Health standing committee chairperson S Pushpalatha said that the collection process will be completed by December 31. "We will present five models of effective waste management as prescribed by the Shuchithwa mission before every household. The representatives of various residents associations will be incorporated in our mission. Our primary aim is to intensify source level waste management in fifty city wards," she said

Earlier the city corporation had organized mass conventions and seminars at VJT Hall, Gandhi Park and Kanakakunnu palace to promote the idea. "This time we will ensure more public participation. We will hold preliminary meetings with all the residents and all their doubts regarding the scheme will be cleared," said welfare standing committee chairman Palayam Rajan.

As part of the campaign, the residents association will be directed to identify vacant plots in their own regions. "Once the plots are identified, the corporation will help them set up biogas plants and ring compost units in that area. If the scheme materializes, waste collection from those residential areas can be reduced to a considerable extent," explained Pushpalatha.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/More-awareness-campaigns-to-be-organised/articleshow/11274678.cms

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Biogas plant pdf search results

1. Knowledge Consultant on Domestic Biogas (ASIA)

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   4 days ago - Are you interested in joining an organisation with a long term commitment to fighting poverty? Would you like to work in a challenging environment and develop ...
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   Progressive biogas production

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   5 days ago - Engineered to work. Progressive biogas production. Equipment and systems for pumping, macerating and biomass feeding. FOR MORE EFFICIENCY AND ...
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   Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Potential and Mitigation Costs of Biogas ...

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   5 days ago - AgBioForum, 14(3): 133-141. ©2011 AgBioForum. Introduction. The worldwide energy consumption has risen inexora- bly since the beginning of ...

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Delhi's public transport to run on biogas

After CNG, the national capital is all set to run its public transport fleet on biogas

Photo: Agnimirh Basu
Ambitious as it may sound, but Delhi plans to run its buses on biogas. In collaboration with the Swedish government, the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy plans to set up a biogas plant inside Kesopur Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) complex in West Delhi. The plant will receive raw gas emitted by the STP and upgrade it so that it can be used to propel vehicles.
The project, once completed, will earn the capital city the distinction of having the country’s first public transport fleet that runs on two types of clean fuel: biogas and compressed natural gas (CNG). Delhi already boasts running the world’s largest fleet of vehicles on CNG. Around 450,000 vehicles—this includes some 16,000 buses—in Delhi run on CNG, according to Indraprastha Gas Ltd, a Delhi government undertaking, which is the sole supplier of CNG in the capital.
The genesis of the STP-biogas project lies in a bilateral agreement signed between Stockholm and Delhi in 2009 to share expertise and experiences to support sustainable energy systems in India, with special focus on biogas. Sweden is considered pioneer in biogas technology for heating, power generation and fuelling vehicles. More than 40 per cent of the biogas generated in the country is used to run vehicles.
The aim of STP-biogas project is to create value from sludge, says Ludvig Lindstrom, international coordinator for the Swedish Energy Agency, a government body that promotes eco-friendly energy systems.
During the primary treatment process of industrial and domestic effluents in an STP, after the semi-solid materials settle, the sludge enters into a digester. There it is fermented anaerobically. The process releases raw gas, which is usually discarded by flaring it up. But it contains 50 to 70 per cent methane, 30 to 50 per cent CO₂ and traces of sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen. This is where the Swedish technology comes in. The biogas upgradation plant traps the energy-rich gases and puts them into use.

The plant primarily consists of a loop where water and a chemical liquid, traded by the name of CApure, is circulated, says Lars-Evert Karlsson, sales manager with Purac puregas, a Swedish company that provides the technology. Before the raw gas enters into the loop, activated carbon present at the inlet absorbs sulphur present in it. Within the loop, CO₂ binds with CApure, which then carries it to outside the plant. For releasing CO₂, CApure needs to be heated. This stripped off CO₂ can be used for industrial purposes like freezing and cooling, he says.
The resulting 99 per cent methane is then compressed to be used as fuel.
Another efficient feature of the technology is heat recovery. The upgradation plant has a heat exchanger, which absorbs the extra heat and pumps it back to the STP digester for heating sludge, says Karlsson. Since heat acts as a catalyst and speeds up the anaerobic reaction, the STP consumes 50 per cent less electricity.
The compressed biogas is almost similar to CNG, the main constituent of which is methane. Thus it can be directly injected into CNG cylinders for vehicular use or fed into CNG-fuelled power grid. It can be mixed with CNG and used.
Is the technology tested enough? Mikael Kullman, counsellor of climate change and energy at Swedish Embassy, New Delhi, says similar installations are operational in Sweden, Norway and Germany. There the technology helps the countries reduce their carbon emissions. The solution also creates a model for cost savings in the municipal economy, Kullman says. If all goes according to the plan, the plant should be operational by the first quarter of 2013.
The STP is expected to generate enough biogas to fuel 120 buses a day (Photo: Sabyasachi)
The Keshopur STP was selected for the project because it is located close to a CNG-filling station and a CNG-fuelled power grid, says V S Thind, chief engineer at the Delhi Jal Board. With 10 per cent stake holding in the project, the city water authority would provide raw gas and land for setting up the biogas plant.
The STP, functioning partially at present, can treat 72 million litres of wastewater per day. Delhi Jal Board is currently renovating it to make it fully functional as part of the Yamuna Action Plan. At full capacity, the STP will emit enough raw gas for the biogas plant to generate around 25,000 cubic metres of compressed biogas per day. This is enough to fuel 120 buses.
Indraprastha Gas Ltd and K G Renewable Energy Private Limited will market the gas. They are also involved in implementation of the project.
The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is yet to work out the pricing mechanism. Though biogas has long been used in the country, it is largely confined to rural areas. It has never been priced as people produce biogas in their backyard and use it for cooking or electrification. “We are working on these problem,” says Anil K Dhussa, director at the ministry.
It is also not clear how biogas will compete with other fuels like CNG and diesel which are highly subsidised.
Lindstrom suggests that biogas should be priced less than other fuels to promote it even if it requires the government to subsidise it. “India imports a large amount of liquefied natural gas (LNG), converts it into gas and then subsidises it.” Last year India imported 8.83 million tonnes of LNG, worth Rs 9,344 crore. For biogas, India just needs to tap its huge piles of waste.

Source : Down To Earth

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1.5 lakh biogas plants in rural areas by ’16

The country is expected to see a surge of biogas plants in next five years as initiatives have been taken to set up 150,000 such plants in rural households by 2016, promoters of renewable energy said on Sunday.

“We have set a target to establish a million units of biogas plants in 15 countries of Asia, where Bangladesh would set up 150,000 plants in rural areas by 2016,” Dr Govind Raj Pokharel, senior advisor for renewable energy of the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), told journalists at a press conference in the city.

Dr Govind Raj said south Asia has a big prospect to popularise biogas, a gas generated from organic substances through decomposition under aerobic conditions, and ensure a better living standard of the rural households. He said the biogas plants could be set up at any households who generate 30kg of cow dung or poultry excreta everyday.

Sources with the Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), which has made an arrangement with German KFW and Dutch SNV to set up more biogas plants across the country, said Bangladesh has now an estimated 50,000 biogas plants, much of which had gone dysfunctional at the beginning. But the plants that have been set up later have shown an efficiency of 85 percent.

In initial survey of IDCOL show that biogas plants could be set up among two million rural households and meet their long demand for clean energy for domestic uses-cooking and lighting. But aspects like lack of proper motivation, appropriate technology, rising cost for plants as well as availability of cow-dung and poultry excreta have been barring the sector to flourish at mass scale.

IDCOL’s Director SM Formanul Islam said the biogas plants could be a great solution for those rural households, who want to cook food by clean energy sources and reduce indoor pollutions. He said a biogas plant now costs over Tk 35,000, but the costs could be recovered in three years. —BSS

Source:http://www.daily-sun.com/details_ds-1.5-lakh-biogas-plants-in-rural-areas-by-%E2%80%9916_426_1_10_1_3.html

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SASTRA commissions 80 KW biogas plant

The HIndu GREEN INITIATIVE: P.R. Muralidharan, Deputy General Manager, TEDA, commissioning the bio-gas unit at SASTRA University in Thanjavur on Friday.

As part of its initiatives to optimise utility of renewable energy, SASTRA University on Friday commissioned an 80 KW biogas plant on its campus.

The plant of 600 m3 capacity inaugurated by P. R. Muralidharan, Deputy General Manager, Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA), utilises human and animal waste to produce power, and would cater to the energy requirements of the hostels.

Mr. Muralidharan lauded the efforts of SASTRA in promoting research and development in photo-voltaics, wind energy and biomass conversion.

Commissioning of the park marked the start of a two-day symposium on New and Renewable Energy (SYNERGY 2011).

Tamil Nadu ranks first in the country in harnessing renewable energy sources, Mr. Muralidharan said.

Alternative energy sources

Muralidharan stressed on the need to identify, develop and nurture alternate energy sources, stating that nearly 65% of India's energy requirement was dependent on thermal power and that only 11% of our energy demand was met by renewable energy sources.

Out of India's renewable energy installations, 42% were based in Tamil Nadu. Fast dwindling fossil fuel reserves coupled with the high transmission & distribution losses involved in thermal power plants have necessitated the development of multiple networks of renewable energy installations.

He urged researchers to focus on improving the efficiency and reducing the cost of renewable energy.

K. Uma Maheswari, Associate Dean, and P. Meera, also spoke.

Current scenario

The symposium serves as a forum for experts and budding young researchers from academia and industry to discuss the current energy scenario of the country and explore the feasibility of various renewable energy options with respect to socio-economic considerations. 

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/article2723390.ece

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What's Up With Biofuels?

gobar gas plant

What are biofuels? Biomass refers to matter such as dry leaves, farm products, animal waste and sometimes timber. Biomass can be used as a renewable source of energy - biofuels. Though biofuels are not as efficient as coal and petroleum, they are natural, less polluting and easy to find. For example, half a kilogram of dry leaves can produce as much energy as 300g of coal. Unlike coal, leaves grow and fall every year, so we are not likely to run out of them soon.

In Indian villages, almost one-third of all the energy used comes from biofuel. The single most important biofuel in rural India is gobar gas (gas from cow dung). Energy from this biofuel is used for cooking, power, and transport. Biomass is biodegradable, which means that if you leave it on the ground, it disintegrates by itself. Biofuels provide cheap fuel for the rural people of India, but unfortunately are not used much in the cities. If cities used biofuels, they might have had less pollution.

Click on this image to see how dung is used to generate fuel in an Indian village. Dung from livestock is put into a brick tank, and then it flows down to the main tank. Here it is all squished up and the gas (biofuel) accumulates at the top. This gas is now taken to the kitchen through a pipe. One single charge can produce enough gas for five days in the kitchen. The same technique can be applied in school, this time with 15-20 tanks. When enough gas accumulates at the top, it can be burned to generate electricity.

In the US, the most widely used biofuel is ethanol. S.E.E.K. encourages all Americans to use biodiesel made from ethanol. Ethanol is a transparent liquid extracted from corn and similar crops. Added to petroleum, ethanol decreases carbon emissions. E5 for example, is the name of a fuel that is 5% ethanol and 95% petroleum. Depending on the ethanol content, fuels can be E10, E20, E85 or even E100. Most cars will run on E5-E100 fuel without needing new or modified engines (really old cars might go boom!), but we recommend you consult a mechanic before filling your gas tank with ethanol.

One problem with ethanol is that corn for livestock and human food is diverted to energy production. To meet the total fuel needs of the US, 55% of the total land area would have to be dedicated to corn for ethanol production. Innovations by scientists, by adding hydrogen to the ethanol production process, can help us produce twice as much ethanol from the same area of land. Animal fats can also be used alongside corn to produce biodiesel. Biodiesels can be mixed with petroleum to make B2, B5, B20 and B85 fuels. B5 is 5% biodiesels mixed with 95% petroleum. The emissions from cars running on biodiesel are cleaner than emissions from cars running on gasoline. Help the world. Use biodiesels and ethanol! 

There are quite a few different kinds of biofuels. It doesn’t matter which one you use, you will still help the environment!!!

To test your knowledge of the information found on this page, print out this Biofuels Crossword Puzzle.

Vocabulary: Here are the meanings of a few words.

Biomass - materials such as leaves, waste and timber
Biofuels - energy produced from biomass.
Biodegradable - materials that break down easily.
Renewable - can be used over and over again.

Here are a few interesting facts and statistics:

1. 90% of the rural households in India use biofuels.
2. 15% of the urban households in India use biofuels.
3. Biofuels produces less CO2 emissions than coal or petroleum.

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Subsidy for biogas plants

Subsidy for biogas plants: CM

Thiruvananthapuram 14-10-2011: Half of the total expense for installing biogas plants at homes will be given as subsidy by the Government, said CM. He was releasing the 12^th Project Policy Paper of Grama Panchayath Association here.
These biogas projects are installed as part of the Garbage Free Kerala initiative. Under this only 25% o the total cost needs to be paid by the consumer. The rest 25% will be given by the local self governing bodies and the rest 50% by the Government.
75% grant will be given to the Garbage treatment plants run by Panchayaths. A maximum of 35 lakhs can be given.
The order regarding the hike in the honorarium of Panchayath members will be issued within a week, said CM.
The Policy paper was received by Minister K C Joseph from CM. Ministers K P Mohanan, V. S Sivakumar and Planning Board Member CP John also spoke at the occasion.

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An eco-friendly method to treat garbage

 An eco-friendly method to treat garbage may soon come your way

KOCHI: Will there ever be a Kerala where each home is self-sufficient in dealing with its own garbage?
Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) dreams so. KSSP which evicted smoke from many a Kerala kitchen through its revolutionary, low cost, smokeless ovens, is now coming out with another 'package', a unit that can treat all kitchen waste produced in a house and turn it into biogas which can be used for cooking purposes.
The biogas plant which was developed at the Integrated rural technology centre (IRTC), the research and training centre of KSSP, has been designed in such a manner that it is light and can be moved around easily.
The 500-litre capacity plant, according to KSSP, can produce biogas that lasts for over one and a half hours every day.
Priced at Rs 12,000, the plant comes with the full guarantee of KSSP and is expected to take care of kitchen waste produced in an average Malayalee house.
"Three to four kilograms of kitchen waste can be deposited along with water in the plant, and it would help generation of nearly two hours of biogas every day. Made of fibre reinforced plastic, it would last for many years," said VG Gopinathan, registrar, IRTC.
He said that the biogas plant comes with a burner and a PVC hose for the gas to pass from plant to the stove.
"KSSP would take care of installation and would demonstrate its function to the customer. Besides kitchen waste, the plant is suitable to produce gas from water produced during rubber sheet processing and from animal faecal waste. The residue collected from the plant is a good bio-manure," he said.
As waste management remains a big issue in the state, this unit would be helpful in making every house self-sufficient as far as the garbage disposal is concerned, he said.
"Treating waste in houses would reduce the load at garbage dumping yards and would help keep our water bodies and public spaces clean," he added.

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Biogas in a Bottle

 Biogas in a Bottle

Two technology students in India could be on to a winning idea. Inspired by our Award winners, ARTI in India who turn kitchen waste into biogas for cooking, these students want to develop the technology to store biogas in cylinders as an affordable substitute for LPG. Whilst studying at the Indian Institute of IT, Design and Manufacturing in Madras, they’ve already attracted development funds from angel investors to help them get closer to making this a reality. Not even content with this, they have their sights set on becoming social entrepreneurs using other green technology ideas. We’ll certainly be watching with interest over the coming months to see how they get on.

(Image: ARTI in India build household biogas plants that create fuel from spoilt food)

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CHENNAI, INDIA: Disappointed with galloping LPG prices burning your pockets? Don't worry. Two students from IIIT DM (Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing), Kancheepuram, an institution incubated by IIT Madras campus, have come up with a cost-effective bottled biogas fuel which not only acts as a substitute for your cooking gas but also helps manage kitchen waste.

Biofuels As Future Fuels (BAFF), a project by Kunal Bhambhani and Swagat Sharma who are on a mission to bring in a bottled biogas while keeping the environment clean, has already drawn the attention of many.

“The inspiration behind the BAFF was the amount of waste we noticed in Indian cities. A large chunk of the waste is coming from our kitchens,” say Kunal and Swagat. “We were aware of various gobar gas projects initiated by the government in rural areas, but we want to develop something on that lines for the urban India too.”

But what inspired them the most was ARTI, an Ashden award winning technology in Pune that uses kitchen waste to run biogas plant. “We thought a step ahead and we wanted to use the idea to produce a bottled biogas, which acts as a substitute for cooking cylinder.”

The new cylinder will help the cities remain clean, as it uses the waste from vegetable markets, hotels and residential areas.

It may take a while to make their dream a reality, as a compression technology has to be built to use the gas in a compressed form as a substitute for LPG cylinder. But they assure that the new cylinder will be priced Rs. 100 less than the existing price of the gas cylinders.

Since they want to start a manufacturing unit of household gas cylinders with the compression technology, the initial capital is going to be huge. However, the duo did not have to sweat it out to raise funds. A few angel investors came forward to help them. They will provide a total of Rs. 60 lakhs in two tranches -- Rs. 15 lakh initially, and Rs. 45 lakh later to market the product.


“There is no point in building a prototype as it is not a small machine. So, we plan to have an experimental set up and then go for a proper investment of Rs. 2 crore and start manufacturing compressed gas,” they explain.

Kunal and Swagat have no plans to sell the idea to anyone. “It's our idea and both of us are motivated to make this a reality. We do not want to remain just technologists. We want to be social entrepreneurs and bring about a positive change in the society. We are not just getting rid of the waste but we create renewable energy too. Ours is a green product.”

They are not just going to be satisfied with just one product. “We do not want to restrict ourselves to just biogas alone. We want to produce many more green products. Biogas is only one of them,” they say.

“We know that biofuel and biodiesel also have the potential. That is why we have named our product, BAFF (Biofuel as Future Fuel). We want to see the logo of BAFF all over India like that of Indian Oil. That is our dream.”

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Treading the eco-friendly path

Non-conventional: Ramanamma working at the biogas plant at her home. -Photo: KV Poornachandra Kumar

It took the implementation of an idea that occurred as a flash in K.Ramanamma that resulted in saving of Rs.700 in terms of firewood or Rs.900 in terms of LPG consumption every month. More than that, the path she has embarked on has helped the Mother Earth go green!

Ramanamma, wife of K. Marappa Reddy, cooks midday meals for school children of Diguva Chennamarri in Kurabalakota Mandal of Chittoor district. The arduous task of procuring firewood from the nearby woods and cooking food for 30-40 children made her think of an alternative. The biogas plant sanctioned to her by NABARD in her individual capacity was put to use for the community purpose. As she has two cows and 80 sheep at her barn, the dung thus generated started going into the biogas plant, leaving her with virtually no ‘physical ordeal' to go in search of fuel. She is happily able to cook rice and curry with biogas.

As natural fallout, all the remaining 29 households got 26 biogas plants and three solar cookers installed, thus making the village tread the eco-friendly route. Though the semi-literate Ramanamma could not go beyond the direct benefits, Non-conventional Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NEDCAP) authorities put the reduction of carbon dioxide emission per year at a whopping 86 tonnes, saving of firewood at 60 tonnes and LPG at 5 tonnes for the village. “The biogas plants alone generate organic fertilizer weighing 450 tonnes per year”, NEDCAP District Manager C.B. Jagadeeswara Reddy told The Hindu .

When so much can happen from an innocent woman's initiative, why cannot the State concentrate on alternative sources of energy, especially in the rural areas where cow dung and sunshine are abundant? Every Panchayat school has a kitchen and enough space to stack fuel (firewood).

If biogas plants are built there, cooking will be hassle-free and women engaged in the task can actually see more savings, apart from cutting environmental cost. For those who strain their eyebrows on how and where from to fetch cow dung, Ramanamma says: “Simple. Everybody sells excess cow dung for Rs.1,000 per tractor load and Rs.10 per thatta (basin). The State can procure at a much lesser cost”.

Are the policymakers and administrators listening?

Ramanamma switches to biogas plant for cooking midday meal, spurring the remaining 29 households of the village to follow suit

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Ecosan biogas plant set up at Manjeri

Ecological sanitation plant to use toilet effluents

An ecological sanitation (Ecosan) biogas plant, based on toilet effluents, is being set up at the District General Hospital at Manjeri near here.

Hospital Superintendent A.P. Parvathi said here on Sunday that the plant was ready for commissioning.

The plant will make use of the toilet effluents and food wastes generated at the hospital.

The plant had been set up at a cost of Rs.13 lakh. Funds had been provided from the MP's local area development fund by the then MP, P.V. Abdul Wahab, the Hospital Development Council, and the district panchayat. The plant had been constructed by the Integrated Rural Technology Centre (IRTC), Mundur, a State government-accredited agency, under the supervision of Bio-Energy Systems, a Kozhikode-based agency with technical expertise in ecosan plants.

The model had been done in the Non-Conventional Energy Development Agency (NEDA) model, recognized by the Central government.

The plant would be below ground level, and the roof could be used for parking or gardening. The plant will run on a trial basis for a month, Dr. Parvathi said.

The IRTC will oversee the functioning for three years. The plant would help reduce the problem of waste disposal at the hospital by 85 per cent, she said.

The plant would make septic tanks redundant. A similar plant would soon be set up at the old block of the General Hospital, she said.

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Biogas in India - Current Status and Future Possibilities

Biogas is primarily methane that is generated from an anaerobic digestion of organic wastes by microorganisms. It is a relatively simple and economical method to produce a fuel from waste.
While technically biogas can be produced from any type of organic material, most times, biogas is produced from organic waste. This waste could comprise agricultural and crop waste, human waste and animal waste (cow dung for instance). With a calorific value of about 5000 KCal / m3, biogas is an excellent fuel for heating purposes as well as for generating electricity.
It is estimated that India can produce power of about 17,000 MW using biogas. This is over 10% of the total electricity installed capacity in India.
The advantages of biogas-based energy generation are as follows:
1. It is based on renewable sources
2. It can provide distributed energy generation, thereby providing much-needed energy for remote locations and villages.
3. In many cases, it provides a beneficial way of disposing organic waste
Biogas in households and communities
Biogas production has been quite dominant in India at household and community levels (especially in rural areas) than on large scales. In villages especially, thousands of small biogas plants use the cattle waste (especially cow dung) and provide biogas used for home heating and cooking. It is estimated that over 2 million such biogas plants have been installed all over India.
Such use of biogas systems in agrarian communities can increase agricultural productivity. This is because producing heat using biogas is more efficient than producing it using combustion, and hence more agricultural and animal waste can be returned to the land by farmers as organic fertilizer. Moreover, the slurry that is returned after methanogenesis is superior in terms of its nutrient content and can be used as a soil conditioner and plant nutrient (fertilizer).
Biogas for electricity production
The use of biogas for electricity generation in India is more recent, but this trend is accelerating. In many cities across India, sewage treatment centers and organic waste treatment plants (those treating organic municipal solid waste, for instance) already use anaerobic digesters to generate biogas and electricity. Some of the industries that generate significant amounts of solid or liquid organic waste also have installed digesters and gas engines for electricity production. Many of these require sizable investments, but it is estimated that they have a good return on investment as the main feedstock that they use is essentially free.
Biogas in the Indian industry
Use of digesters at industrial complexes (to treat the waste generated at the factory) is also increasing. For the factories and businesses concerned, this is an excellent avenue to dispose of waste in a cost effective manner while at the same time generate heat and/or electricity. Industries that have an especially high potential for using anaerobic digestion include cattle and poultry industry, sugar, breweries, pulp and paper, leather, and the fruits & vegetables industry. As pointed out earlier, some of these industries are already producing electricity from biogas, and this trend is likely to grow further in future.
Many Indian industries, in their quest for becoming more environment conscious, are turning to biogas one of their energy sources. In Sep 2009, for instance, PepsiCo India, a division of PepsiCo installed a biogas plant at its Pune-based Frito-Lay manufacturing unit. It's the first plant within Frito-Lay's global operations to use biogas. Companies such as Sintex Industries have introduced novel biogas digesters for the small users of this renewable energy resource.
Future prospects for biogas in India
With the Indian government keen on utilizing renewable resources for energy production, it is likely that there will be a greater thrust and higher incentives for concepts such as biogas production from waste. An increasing awareness among the public regarding sustainable use of resources will only enhance the production and use of biogas. It can hence be expected that biogas will have a significant growth in India at all levels of usage (household, municipality and industry) for both heat generation and electricity production.
It is also possible to earn carbon credits for biogas-based power or heat generation in India. For instance, in Apr 2008, Andhyodaya, a non-government agency working in the field of promoting water management and non-conventional energy and social development distributed the first installment of the biogas carbon credit to farmers in the state of Kerala. Andhyodaya had helped construct 15,000 biogas plants in the state and earned carbon credits. This trend is likely to grow further.
Both the central and the state governments in India have recognized the significance of biomass-based energy in the context of development of the rural population. It is also heartening to note that steps are already being taken in this regard. For instance, in Feb 2010, the Haryana Government has formulated a Rs. 85 crore project for setting up 50,000 family size biogas plants to harness the potential of generating biogas for cooking and (remnants as) organic manure in the fields.
More such investments and efforts are on the horizon.
In sum, India has significant potential for generating heat and electricity from waste in the form of biogas. While only a portion of the potential has been tapped, it is likely that more investments in this direction could accelerate exploitation of this source in future.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Renga_Nathan

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Biomethanation in india

Biomethanation in india, biomass gasification in India, bio gas, trends, costs of biomethanation and biomass gassifiers, types, business challenges, opportunities 

Biomethanation involves the biodegradation of organic wastes under strict anaerobic conditions to yield methane-rich biogas.

Biomethanation of aqueous wastes involves hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis reactions, which generates a mixture of methane, carbon dioxide and other gases.

Biomethanation can be carried out in a single step or two steps.

In the process of hydrolysis, anaerobic bacteria breakdown complex organic molecules such as protein, cellulose, lignin and lipids into soluble monomer molecules such as amino acids, glucose, fatty acids and glycerol. Hydrolysis phase is relatively slow.

Acidogenic bacteria convert sugar, amino acids and fatty acids to organic acids, alcohols and ketones, acetate, Co₂ and H_2. The products formed vary with type of bacteria as well as with the temperature, PH etc.

Acetogenic bacteria convert fatty acids and alcohols into acetate, hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Acetogenic bacteria require low hydrogen for fatty acids conversion.

Methanogenesis is the formation of methane by microbes known as methanogens. Methanogenesis in microbes is a form of anaerobic respiration. Methanogens do not use oxygen to respire; in fact, oxygen inhibits the growth of methanogens. The terminal electron acceptor in methanogenesis is carbon. 

The two best described pathways involve the use of carbon dioxide and acetic acid as terminal electron acceptors:

CO₂ + 4 H₂ → CH₄ + 2H₂O

CH₃COOH → CH₄ + CO₂

The process of small-scale Biomethanation includes feedstock colleting, pretreatment, fermentation, treatment and purifying, storage and transportation.

Batch fermentation and semi-continuous fermentation are usual technologies for small-scale biomethanation. In batch fermentation technology, all the feedstock is added at the first. The biomethane generates fast at the beginning and then decreases. In semi-continuous fermentation technology, ¼ - ½ feedstock was added at the first. When the biomethane generation slows down, more feedstock is added to make the biomethane generation work in order.

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Large-scale biogas plants video Rwanda,

Large-scale biogas plants video Rwanda,





Comments:

Great ideas! Utilizing waste AND providing the inmates with highly viable skills simultaneously - brilliant!

On another note: making male prisoners wear pink, it that a form of punishment or what?
Gr8Teaist 7 months ago

@Gr8Teaist Not sure about the pink, but it must mean an escaped prisoner is easy to identify.
AshdenAwards 7 months ago

Hello,

Can I have the contact of the engineer who helped in building this? I am interested in a similar project in West Africa.
kohouwd 9 months ago

@kohouwd Hi. You can get the details on the Ashden Awards website. Go to the case study database, find KIST, and download the PDF, which includes contact details.
AshdenAwards 8 months ago

GREAT JOB, RWANDA, NOW LETS REINTEGREATE THIS PRISIONER INTO SOCIETE
ciceromatrix 1 year ago

how do i get in touch with some1 thta can build a biogas plant
chiluba123 1 year ago

@chiluba123 If you go to the Ashden Awards website, and download the case study for any of our biogas winners, you will find their contact details in there.
AshdenAwards 1 year ago

Ironic that Rwanda is going to leed the way for energy in USA. Good job Rwanda!!!!
gabbe81 2 years ago 2

"leed" the way. Pun intended? lol
yawakoben 1 year ago

congrats
exm5fe03 2 years ago

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Sweden to support biogas project in city

Sweden has initiated a process in extending support to New Delhi and Visakhapatnam in setting up biogas projects, High Representative of Indo-Swedish International Environmental Technology (ISETC) Mats Denninger has said.

He was addressing a visiting Indian delegation at the Swedish Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday after deliberations on Indo-Swedish collaboration in areas concerning energy and solid waste management.

Indian Ambassador in Sweden Ashok Sajjanwal said the Indian Government was keen on long–term collaboration between the two countries and the visit was aimed at strengthening the process.

Mayor Pulusu Janardhana Rao thanked Sweden for the support and said the delegation would visit various biogas plants in Sweden with a view to replicating the technology in Visakhapatnam.

Apart from the GVMC delegation that included Andhra University Professor Bala Prasad, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority Commissioner Rajeswar Tiwari, Member, Environment, Sunil Kumar Gupta, Lokesh Jayaswal from the Department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Head of International Department, Swedish Energy Agency, Josephine Bahr Ljungdell, and ISETC Directors Michael Hagman and Tina Karlberg,

Arati Davis of the Swedish Embassy in New Delhi and Delhi Jal Board Chief Engineer V.S. Thind participated.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/article2395438.ece

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BIO GAS VIDEO FROM INDIA

BIO GAS VIDEO FROM INDIA

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Biogas plant History and status in India

India's58' consumption ofenergy today is at 6500TWha-1, but this is expected to double in the near future. Today, about 2.5 Mio biogas plants are running, with an average size of 3-10 m3 ofdigester volume. Depending on the substrate, the plants generate 3-10 m3 biogas per day, enough to supply an average farmer family with energy for cooking, heating, and lighting.
The national advisory board for energy in India has published a report forecasting the required quantity and the manner of supply of energy in the future. The board estimates that India has enough resources to sustain 16-22 Mio small biogas plants with 2 m2 reactor volumes, each to supply sufficient energy for a farmer family with 4 cows. The estimates suggest that the plants will together provide an energy yield that corresponds to 13.4 Mio Mg of kerosene oil. The amount of fertilizer is projected at 4.4 MioMg.
In plants in India, the substrate, cattle dung, and biogenous waste, are manually mixed with water in a ratio of 10% dry matter to 90% water. The mix is filled into the digester by simply pushing. The reactor is neither heated nor isolated, enabling the fermentation process to take place at temperatures in the the region of 14 °C during winter and 25 2 C during summer. In the reactor itself, the substrate is mixed by a simple mixer which is operated manually. After a dwell time of the substrate in the reactor of around 100 days the fermented residue is removed with buckets or scoops. Pumping systems are not used.
In general, such a small biogas plant costs around 5000 Indian rupees (about 120 US$) per cubic meter of digester. The plants are constructed with the help of local artisans who receive a daily wage of 50 rupees (1.20 US$).
The construction of more and more biogas plants has revealed several beneficial side effects, such as a significant reduction in the exhaustive cultivation of forests. Unexpected successes were noted in the medical sector also. Since respiratory systems and eyes were no longer exposed to aggressive wood smoke from fires, the number of cases of acute asthma and eye diseases was significantly reduced.
Overall, the use of biogas for energy supply provides economic but also ecological and hygienic advantages.
Figure 4.3 Biogas plants. China: cross section of a "four in one" plant in China (1st row, left), "Four in one" plant in China (1st row, right)
Green house in China, part of a "Four in one" plant (2nd row, left), pig pen with loophole to digester and digester cover in the floor (2nd row, right)
Figure 4.3 Biogas plants. China: cross section of a "four in one" plant in China (1st row, left), "Four in one" plant in China (1st row, right)
Green house in China, part of a "Four in one" plant (2nd row, left), pig pen with loophole to digester and digester cover in the floor (2nd row, right)
Plastic biogas reactor in South Africa (3rd row, left), Moderm biogas plant in Kerala, India, (Suntechnics GmbH) producing 6.75 kW to lighten street-lamps (3^ row, right), Feeding of a biogas plant in Peru (4* row, left), Bioreactors in the Ukraine (Elenovka/ Dnipropetrovsk).

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Indian Biogas Association

Indian Biogas Association

The “Indian Biogas Association” aspires to be a unique blend of; nationwide operators, manufacturers and planners of biogas plants, and representatives from science and research. The association was founded in 2010 and is now ready to start mushrooming. The sole motto of the association is “propagating Biogas in a sustainable way”.
The association will have members from the different biogas related fields and one of the main aims of the association will be, to make politicians aware about the biogas potential. In addition, the association will also strive to attain the following objectives:

        1.       Promotion of technical developments in the biogas sector,

        2.       Promotion, evaluation and communication of research findings and practical experiences from the field of biogas technology for the benefit of the public and the environment,

        3.       Provide training for research and development growth

        4.       Issuing publications in text, image and sound,

        5.       Promoting exchanges of experience through participation and implementation of exhibitions, conferences and other events, 

  6. Promoting international exchange and knowledge sharing experiences

        7.       Creating a network of counselors by aggregating members in various regions

        8.       Development of quality standards for design, construction and components for biogas plants.

        9.       Development of quality standards for biogas fermentation residues,

        10.       Development of quality standards for the operation of biogas plants.

The Biogas Association pursues exclusive and direct charitable purposes and will be active to fulfill the above objectives.  Association funds will be used for statutory purposes. The members will receive NO compensation from the association funds. No person may benefit from expenditures that are not the purpose of the association and No person will receive disproportionately high remuneration from the association.

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biogas demand in India

biogas demand in India

New biogas products to meet growing demand in India

As part of our judging process earlier this year, David Fulford had the chance to catch up with BIOTECH Ltd, in Kerala, India. Their award-winning work is building domestic, commercial and municipal biogas plants. BIOTECH has grown a lot since winning in 2007 and as a result of their ongoing research and development, they’ve now developed two innovations which takes them closer to meeting the large demand for their biogas systems.
The need for biogas is massive in urban areas; food waste from markets, for example, is a huge problem. Animals often break open refuse bags and municipal councils and households are looking for a good way to deal with a stinky and unhygienic problem.

 

A biogas plant works by taking food waste or even sewage and letting microbes digest it in a sealed container until a gas is produced. This gas can then be then burnt safely and used for cooking, lighting or running engines. If you’d like a more in-depth explanation of how it works, we’ve got great technical pages  .
BIOTECH were doing well when they won an award, but now their trade is really soaring. They’ve sold 22,000 domestic plants 270 institutional plants and 62 waste-to-electricity plants – councils love these as they can use the electricity to light streets in the early mornings and evenings. This mobile demonstration unit is in constant demand in towns and villages:

Changing the material that domestic plants are made from has made a huge difference. David Fulford reports on why BIOTECH took the step to move from using glass reinforced plastic (grp) to High Density Polyethene (HDPE):
“The problem with the original domestic systems is that the demand is growing rapidly, but the production capacity is limited. Biotech’s grp manufacturing unit can only make one domestic plant a day for each set of moulds. In order to meet the increasing demand, they worked with Capital Polymers of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala to design and make dies for a domestic biogas plant made from spun HDPE. One stainless steel die can be used to make 20 to 25 units a day. At present they have 3 dies in use and have installed 400 of these systems. Biotech Ltd has moved from a cottage industry to a factory production line. They are now selling between 5 and 10 units a day and demand is still increasing.”

 For their larger systems BIOTECH have also developed a modular two stage digestion system made from grp which are much quicker to install and is much more efficient than their original designs.  This system is still under development.
David, who had the chance to see one of these in action while he was visiting, explains how they work:
“The system is designed to work mainly with gravity, although there is one pump to recycle the effluent liquid to the feed tank. The food waste - kitchen peelings, leftovers and cooking water - is put in the feed hopper of one of several pre-digesters. Inside the vessel is a screen that prevents the solid material from continuing through the system. The liquid from the outlet of the digester is pumped into a storage tank, from which it flows slowly through the pre-digester. The microbes in the liquid dissolve out digestible matter, which is flushed into the main digester tanks.
Once a predigester is filled with solid material, which takes several weeks (up to three months) the next one is used. The full pre-digester is drained of liquid and the solid matter removed by hand. The food materials are not crushed or ground, but the microbes dissolve any digestible matter over time. The material that is left has little smell and forms good quality compost quickly. Both the solid compost and the excess liquor can be sold as biofertiliser and there is a good market in places such as Kochi for farmers and gardeners.
The main digester tanks are designed to be high-rate digesters. There are usually two or more main digester tanks connected in series. Biogas is generated in the pre and main digesters and taken from the top of the containers through pipes to a gas storage system. The gas is cleaned of hydrogen sulphide and stored in flexible synthetic bags, enclosed in a cylindrical tank. A system of counterbalances and weights controls the gas pressure in the bags. The gas is either used for cooking in kitchens or to run an engine to generate electricity for lighting.”

 

 Source:biogas demand in India

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Small scale Biomethanation (Biogas) in India

Small scale Biomethanation (Biogas) in India 

 

**References in this post need to be updated**

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of kitchen waste to produce biogas and liquid slurry on a small scale has been very successful in India, especially South India, where the region’s temperate weather conditions favor the process yearlong.  Many households have such biogas units installed. Total number of units installed in cities is unknown as there are too many companies offering them and the units being installed in both urban and rural areas, while the numbers are not necessarily recorded. In order to have a closer look at this technology, the author identified a private company called Biotech with its office in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala as a case study for small scale biogas. This company alone installed twenty thousand (20,000) units of small scale biogas in Thiruvanathapuram and Kochi, combined. These units divert about 40 tons of waste from landfills, which is 7% of the organic waste generated in both cities combined. It also implies avoidance of 4.7% of collection and transportation costs and resulting GHG emissions.

A small scale (2 kg per day) Biogas unit at Biotech's office in Thiruvananthapuram

**References in this post need to be updated**

Capacity and Cost

The units are smaller in size, flexible with feed and operation when compared to its counterparts. They cost $ 470 (INR 21,000) per unit and almost half of this cost is subsidized in different ways. The remaining cost of the digester is paid back in approximately 3 years in the form of savings on cooking fuel. Each unit can handle kitchen waste from a household with 3 – 5 members and can generate one cubic meter of biogas every day. Biogas mainly constitutes methane and carbon dioxide and the unit can be connected directly to a cooking stove. Per capita organic waste generation in Thiruvanathapuram and Kochi is 0.17 kg/day and 0.38 kg/day respectively. A single household in Thiruvanathapuram and Kochi produce 0.51 – 0.85 kg/day and 1.14 – 1.9 kg/day respectively (depending on the number of persons in the house). Thus, the capacity of these biogas units is enough for households in these two cities and each unit occupies only 1.25 sq.m of space.

The technology was successfully scaled-up by the company to handle 300 kg of organic wastes every day. Space required per kg of waste treated increases with the scale due to increase in the number of single-units used and piping involved. More than 235 institutional units were installed at different hotels and canteens, hospitals, schools, markets and slaughter houses. These institutions use a generator to convert the biogas into electricity which in turn is generally used for street lighting. 1 cu.m of gas can produce 1.5 KW of electricity.

**References in this post need to be updated**

Comparison

This decentralized technology will be helpful in solving MSWM crisis in India sustainably but it takes many single units to address organic waste from a single community. Also, the technology would be able to address only 51% of the waste stream in Thiruvanathapuram or Kochi. The public investment into the technology is comparatively much higher (Table 1). Also, the units produce organic slurry which needs to be properly utilized. Table 1 is a comparison between small scale biogas and WTE incineration as waste to energy solutions to the MSWM crisis in Chennai. The values used in these calculations are generation of 6,464 TPD of MSW (in year 2005), organic waste percentage of 41% and calorific value of 10.9 MJ/kg.

Table: Comparison of small scale biogas and WTE incineration as options for MSWM for Chennai (cost in $)

	Small Scale Biogas	WTE Incineration	Comparison
Capital cost*	623 million	241 million
Operational +transportation cost* (20 yrs)	Negligible	243 million
Total expenses to society	623 million Note: Present Value	484 million Note: Future Value	0.77
Landfilling avoided (%)	41%	90%	2.1
Electric energy produced (MWh/day/ton)	0.75	0.76
Total energy produced in 20 yrs (MWh)	26 million	64 million	2.5
Pollution from transportation avoided	41%	0	41

*Costs calculated for the society as a whole

Despite the huge difference in total costs which is because of the difference in scale of the technologies compared, small scale anaerobic digestion would (is more likely) be the most sustainable way to treat source separated organic wastes considering the avoidance of emissions from transportation. Since anaerobic digestion works only for source separated organics as is the case with small scale biogas plants, it is not at all an option for mixed solid wastes. As source separation is not practiced in India, it is difficult to collect separated organic wastes on a large scale. That also explains why large scale biomethanation which could have been an option otherwise is not a part of this report.

 

Source : http://bio-gas-plant.blogspot.com/2011/08/small-scale-biomethanation-biogas-or.html

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