Biogas Magazine Edition 14

Bio-Energy e-Pavilion 2021 | 18-19 February 2021

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BI GAS magazine | Edition 14 | 2020

Title Sponsor

IBA’s commitment towards leapfrogging the prospects in the biogas/bio-CNG industry (Period: Oct, 20-Dec, 20): Pg 08

Outlook on biogas in Sweden: Pg 15

Enhance Productivity of Biogas Plants using Novel Vortex based Cavitation: Pg 28

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Index IBA News IBA’s commitment towards leapfrogging the prospects in the biogas/bio-CNG industry (Period:

08

Oct, 20-Dec, 20)

International Corner Biomethane - The Energy of the near future

11

Outlook on biogas in Sweden

16

Successful implementation of POME to POWER Plant in Malaysia

32

Research Corner Thermophilic Anaerobic Digestion: The Way towards Sustainable Utilization of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Biogas Production

20

Enhance Productivity of Biogas Plants using Novel Vortex based

28

Cavitation

National Corner A glimpse of Biogas Scenario in

24

Eastern India Chhattisgarh village shows way for sustainable, healthy living

Published by

Financed by

37

Coordinated by

In-Cooperation with

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Foreword

In 2020, the world faced a situation for which it wasn’t prepared! It has forced mankind to adopt a more pragmatic approach, which gets well with nature. Undoubtedly, Biogas is one of the best possible option to do it. Since our inception, the association has been carrying out activities to ensure the technical, financial, and social sustainability of the Biogas projects. One thing that the Association has keenly pursued upon is integration of national and international networks. We have recently broadened our global presence with the MoU with Ghana Biogas Association, Brazilian Biogas Association, and World Bio-energy Association. The recently signed MOU with Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Bio-Energy (SSS-NIBE), Kapurthala, an autonomous Institution under the Ministry New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Govt. of India, as well acts as a catalyst for our endeavors. We are also emphasizing to lever upon the existing network of bioenergy experts and developers through an upcoming platform, which shall facilitate volunteering service for the Biogas community.

Looking at India’s commitment to the Paris agreement, be it in form of increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix, reduction in GHG emissions, and, reduction of crude oil imports, all of it inspires us to stick to our goals, and develop robust strategies to propel the Biogas industry.

Biogas, being a CO2 neutral renewable resource, can not only be treated as alternate energy source but, organic manure, another invaluable product in the process, is gaining the momentum to ensure that financial risks can be derisked.

The magazine covers different aspects of biogas.

It presents a glimpse of the activities conducted

by IBA in last couple of months along with its upcoming “Bio-Energy e-Pavilion 2021”. Apart from IBA activities, the articles give glimpses of the potential of NOPAL and Palm Oil Mill Effluent (“POME”) as biogas plant substrates, and how they can contribute towards fulfilling the energy needs. The magazine also throws light on the biogas market of Europe especially of Sweden, and discusses the prevailing scenario of Eastern India.

It also showcases a technology that is used to enhance the productivity of the biogas plants.

Through several case studies [national as well as international], we have ensured that the readers get exposure of the on-ground issues]. With these exemplary case studies, we intend to improve and expand our knowledge base for the best practices. We firmly believe that the articles in this issue shall augur well for companies, researchers, and politicians to consolidate their efforts towards Swachh Bharat and Aatmanirbhar Bharat goals.

Wish all of you a cleaner, greener, and more responsible 2021!

Dr. A. R. Shukla

President Indian Biogas Association

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IBA’s commitment towards leapfrogging the prospects in the biogas/bioCNG industry Period: Oct, 20-Dec, 20

IBA’s participation in follow-up meeting organized by NITI Aayog

O

n 23rd November 2020, a follow-up meeting on “Prospects of Compressed Biogas projects in India” was organized through video conferencing under the chairmanship of Shri. V. K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog. Like the earlier version of the meeting, the follow-up meeting saw the participation of several Ministries, its bodies (like MNRE, MoPNG, PESO, and IREDA), and key industry stakeholders.

Dr. A. R. Shukla, President-IBA, represented the industry’s standpoint by reiterating the exhaustive suggestion list, formerly submitted by IBA, after the previous meeting held on 24th September.

Amongst all meeting points, the primarily highlighted points included: feasibility of the bioCNG projects with the defined SATAT price of 46 Rs/Kg (pre-tax) of CBG, uncertainty over off-take guarantee/ assurance under the existing SATAT scheme, and status of making provision for CBG/ biomethane insertion into the Gas grid.

The following is the list of some of the salient decision taken during the meeting: • Preparation of a standard template for creating a robust system of CBG project evaluation/ due diligence.

• Formulation of a committee comprising officials from relevant Govt. bodies and industry stakeholders to reassess the price of CBG and its offtake issues.

• Preparation of report on possible double taxation on CBG owing to different tax regimes for different petroleum products.

• Preparation of common norms and shortening the time cycle for approval by PESO. • Sharing the outcome of the technical committee formed to evaluate CBG/ biomethane injection in the Gas grid.

• Promotion of CBG projects under Atma Nirbhar Bharat to replace CNG, most of which is based on imported LNG.

Successful organization of The ‘Virtual Biogas Training Tour’, 2020 A two-day digital event (on Oct 7th and 8th 2020) was organized in coordination with the German Biogas Association (GBA), Brazil Biogas Association (ABiogas), and National Institute of Bio-Energy (NIBE). The event was supported and promoted by the National Dairy Development Board, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, Institute of Management-BHU, and Industrial Outlook Online Magazine.

On the first day of the digital event, the focus was on discussing elementary concepts of Biogas / Bio-CNG, associated contemporary technologies, Indian Biogas Ecosystem, and R&D scenario of biogas in India. The agenda for the second day, purported specifically for relevant government officials, entailed exploring the overall scenario of biogas in India, Germany, and Brazil, along with a step-wise process/plan towards foraying into a successful biogas venture.

The Virtual Biogas Training Tour 2020 had over 220 registrations and the list of participants included corporate professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs, environmental enthusiasts, research scholars, academics and NGOs, and relevant government officials. On average, over 150 participants were recorded on either of the event days.

At the end of the 2nd day’s proceeding, the participants were honored to hear inspirational words from Jr. Secretary- MNRE, Mr. Dinesh Jagadale.

The Vote of thanks was shared by Dr. A. R. Shukla, President, IBA, which also included the launch of the “Informative Brochure on Biomethane”, a brochure entailing basic information on biomethane in English and Hindi. A copy of the launched brochure can be accessed through the link: https://bit.ly/3jbPx0T Overall, the virtual event was extremely helpful in raking up awareness and interest amongst the

Meet the Jury!

IBA E- Awards

Dr. Claudius da Costa Gomez

Prof. Dr.-lng habil, Jadran Vrabec

Padmashri Janak Palta McGilligan

MD, German Biogas Association

Technical University of Berlin

Social Worker

Dr. S. C. Sharma

Mentor & Independent Advisor, Energy & Climate Change, Fmr

Prof. P. K. Mishra IIT BHU

Prof. Amit Garg IIM Ahmedabad

Officer on Special Duty (Energy & Climate Change) to Govt of India

participants in the Biogas industry.

this growing industry.

For more detailed coverage on the event, visit our webpage:https://biogas-india.com/virtual-biogas-training-tour-2020/

IBA is coming up with Bioenergy-e-pavilion in February 2021 To support the growth of the biogas and bio-energy sector, IBA is organizing the “Bio-Energy e-Pavilion 2021”, a two-day event that will be accompanied by informative conference sessions.

The pavilion will be organized through a virtual platform from February 18 to 19, 2021. The event is supported by the German Biogas Association.

IBA conducts the E-Awards Ceremony On 5th of Dec, 2020, the Indian Biogas Association organized the ‘IBA E-awards’ to recognize and honor the companies/organizations/NGOs/ NPOs/Start-ups for their phenomenal contribution in the biogas sector. IBA is privileged to host such a wide spectrum of experiences, which were shared during the historic event-the first of its kind in the field of biogas in India. Through this endeavor of IBA, it encourages all relevant stakeholders in the biogas ecosystem to take a leaf out of these nominations and in turn fetch their own success stories.

Applications for the Awards were invited in three categories namely, Promising start-up, Circular waste management – bio-methanation category, and Operational Excellence-Biogas plants.

The received applications were evaluated and screened by a power-packed jury team consisting of Dr. Claudius da Costa Gomez, MD, German Biogas Association; Padmashri Janak Palta McGilligan, Social Worker; Dr. S. C. Sharma, Independent Advisor- Energy & Climate Change, Govt. of India; Prof. Jadran Vrabec, Technical University of Berlin; Prof. Amit Garg, Public Strategy, IIM Ahmedabad; and Prof. P. K. Mishra, Dept. of Chemical Engg., IIT-BHU. IBA congratulates all the winners, nominations for the final selection round, and the applicants across the Award categories (Refer to the Awards Page in the magazine for the list of Winners).

Surely, all the biogas stakeholders are true champions in a real sense and are the torch bearers of

Mentioning of the earlier versions of the prospective virtual event, IBA has been participating in the REI Expo, a recognized renewable event, for the last two years. In 2019, IBA was accompanied by 15 companies in the former’s physical version of the ‘Bio-Pavilion’, which addressed over 2000 trade visitors and 200+ business meetings.

This year, owing to the pandemic situation, IBA is organizing the Bio-Energy Pavilion through a virtual platform and inviting companies and start-ups working in the field of Biogas, Bio-CNG, Bio-fuel, Waste Management, Sewage Treatment Plant, Effluent Treatment Plant, Biomass, Bio-Diesel, Bio-Ethanol, Bio-fertilizer to join the Bio-Energy e-Pavilion. The pavilion is expected to attract a multitude of trade visitors, companies, and business meetings.

Refer to our webpage for further details on the event. https://biogas-india.com/iba-events/bioenergy-e-pavilion-2021/

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Biomethane - The Energy of the near future

M

aybe you remember the movie - “Back to the Future-part 1” from 1989-, let me brief you on the climax of this movie:

Suddenly there is a burst of electricity and the DeLorean screeches to a halt. Doc [Dr. Emmet Brown] comes out, dressed in wild clothing, and tells Marty he needs to accompany him to future; something is wrong with his and Jennifer’s kids.

Doc gathers “fuel” by rummaging through a garbage can, (banana shells, and a can of beer) and loads it into a new addition to the car’s engine called Mr. Fusion.

All three pile into the DeLorean and it backs out of the driveway. Marty tells - Doc he needs to back up further to get up to 88 mph, as they have no road. Doc replies, “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads!” Doc has converted the car to a hovercraft.

Question: Why Doc. (Dr. Emmet Brown] collects these items?

• Banana shells • Can of beer

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energy, ALTERNATIVE to those that consume fossil fuels and emit polluting gases.

Biogas as an alternative energy has great challenges but it will also give us a sea of opportunities.

What is Biogas?

Biogas is produced from a wide variety of biological substrates, such as agricultural residues (intermediate crops, manure, straw, etc.), sludge in sewage, domestic and industrial organic waste, energy crops, etc.

Answer: The banana shell generates --methane (CH4) and CO2 Beer has a grain that comes from corn - it generates methane (CH4) Uhhh and the final question and the aluminium can ==== aluminium carbide, chemical formula Al4C3 Aluminum carbide hydrolyzes with the evolution of methane. The reaction proceeds at ambient temperature but is rapidly accelerated by heating.

And if you remember also, he introduces them in a container called: Mr. Fusion [it is a physical process that results in the phase transition of a substance from a solid to a liquid].

Conclusion: A small biogas plant {This (the biogas) is purified, and thus arises what we call biomethane—THE GAS OF THE FUTURE} Since the 70-80s, biogas was predicted as an alternative, renewable, and green energy source.

But alternatives, to what?

ALTERNATIVE to polluting nuclear

The biogas production process is the result of anaerobic digestion in the absence of oxygen of certain bacteria on these substrates. From this process, first untreated biogas arises whose composition consists of 50 to 75% methane (CH4), 25 to 50% carbon dioxide (CO2), and small amounts of water vapor (H20), nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), and hydrogen sulphide (SH2). From this generated

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primary gas, the water vapor, hydrogen sulphide, or some other component can be extracted. The most common use of biogas is to produce HEAT AND ELECTRICITY. To inject biogas into the natural gas pipelines or use it as fuel for vehicles, it must go through a purification process. This process consists of eliminating the carbon dioxide in its composition so that the percentage of methane gas increases.

Typically, the methane content reaches 96%, so that it meets the standards to be used as natural gas. From this moment on, the biogas becomes known as BIOMETHANE. BIOMETHANE reaches a composition and energy power very similar to natural gas, so it can be used for the same purposes, such as injecting it into a gas pipeline and using it as natural gas in different proportions or as fuel for vehicles

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Challenges and Opportunities Challenges: • Change the perspective of people and make them unaccustomed to what is already established.

• Change of outlook of producers.

• Maximum use of already established systems (structural/mechanical/piping, etc.)

Opportunities: • Opportunity for the future of the planet, which suffers a lot due to CO2 emissions into the atmosphere and global warming, [climate change].

• Opportunity to leave for future generations, a sustainable world that does not self-destruct.

• Unlike the production of fossil fuels which caused agriculture to be abandoned, this (GREEN ENERGY) would generate green jobs in agricultural areas.

Conclusion: India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country around 2027, it is expected to add nearly 273 million people by 2050, and will remain the most populous country until the end of the current century, so it is a great opportunity for green energies to take the reins and accept the prodigious challenge of being the world’s leading supplier.

Oscar E. Morillo L. Managing Director Secemec Solutions Ltd.

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Biogas refilling station photo credit Photo credit Roozbeh Feiz

Outlook on biogas in Sweden Sweden has effectively realized the potential of biogas as a renewable energy resource to achieve a secure, sustainable society. Besides generating additional socio-economic benefits such as employment opportunities and new export possibilities, biogas is also a promising substituent for natural gas. In practice, biogas could also facilitate in achieving specific environmental goals laid by the government and industries at an economically viable level.

Fossil fuels to renewable energy | An essential transition Fossil fuels are being used for many decades and have contributed significantly to elevated levels of anthropogenic gases in the atmosphere. Due to the high carbon content in fossil fuels, a large amount of CO2 is produced during their combustion, resulting in serious environmental concerns.

Consequently, this underlines the significant challenge of today’s society on reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

A sustainable transition may involve changes in several aspects such as technology, political, or-

ganizations, and socio-economical situations.

Nowadays, industries are motivated to mitigate CO2 emissions by using alternative renewable energy resources such as solar, wind energy, and hydropower. However, most renewable energy offers various challenges, for instance, expensive infrastructure and geographical dependency. According to the Renewable Energy Directive, biogas is one of the promising solutions which could fulfill the legislative standards for a sustainable society and promotes the transition from fossil fuels to carbon-neutral fuel. Moreover, biogas could replace natural gas to decrease global fossil fuel dependency with a low energy footprint.

Furthermore, Sweden is using 54.6% of energy from renewable resources, the highest in the European Union as described in the January 2020 Eurostat report.

Biogas production and upgrading Europe leads in biogas production as it generates more than half of the world’s biogas, 197 TWh. For biogas production in Sweden, society’s food waste is collected to undergo anaerobic digestion involving various complex microbial processes. In this way, biogas is a remarkable example of waste to value creation, which further contributes to the eco-cycle. The residue collected after biogas production (digestate) is an effective bio-fertilizer in the Swedish agriculture sector. Hence, this conventional process of producing biogas

www.biogas-india.com provides excellent fuel to society and recirculates nutrients back to the eco-cycle. Additionally, the use of bio-fertilizer has also led to a 30% reduction in commercial fertilizers. In 1999, Swedish Waste Management Association had set specific standards for digestate to be used as a biofertilizer according to the concentration of metals, presence of visible contaminants, and pathogens. In 2018, 86% of digestate produced in Sweden was used as a biofertilizer and the rest was used to cover landfills.

Biogas mainly consists of methane (CH4, 50-70 vol%), the primary energy carrier. However, it also has a substantial amount of carbon dioxide (CO2, ~40 vol%), which reduces the calorific value of biogas. Additionally, CO2 can react with water and form carbonic acid, leading to corrosion in pipelines. The composition of biogas depends majorly on the type of substrate used and digester conditions. Other impurities such as siloxanes, water, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, nitrogen, and oxygen are also present in trace amounts. Hence, impurities removal, referred to as biogas upgrading, is an essential step to transform biogas into high purity biomethane (upgraded biogas) to achieve its maximum potential.

There are 280 biogas plants spread across Sweden, contributing to 2 TWh of biogas reported in 2018. 63% of raw biogas was upgraded to biomethane and the rest was used in heat and electricity production. According to the European Biogas Association statistical report in 2018, 70 plants in Sweden are responsible for upgrading biogas to biomethane. The biogas production in Sweden is mostly from co-digestion plants (47%) and sewage sludge in waste-water treatment plants (35%). Furthermore, raw biogas can be utilized in generating heat and electricity, whereas to inject biogas in the natural gas grid or use it as a vehicular fuel, biogas upgrading is required with methane content higher than 98 vol%. Biomethane can also be liquefied to obtain high energy density for further use in heavy road transport or maritime transport.

“Production and upgrading of biogas in Sweden have come far but there have been some issues with the adaption in the transport sector, and the methods for small-scale upgrading of biogas need further development. Small-scale and lowcost methods for the upgrading of biogas with

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Biogas bus in Luleå

Scania Biogasbus modularity and mobility could facilitate an extended use of upgraded biogas.”

Prof. Niklas Hedin Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry Stockholm University, Sweden Sweden’s Vision *Zero waste* Sweden has an extensive and efficient waste sorting system throughout the country, making it a global waste management leader. These

Dr. Kritika Narang Author Luleå Technical University

www.biogas-india.com waste management strategies effectively reduce the possibility of waste piling up in landfills. Additionally, less than 1% of the household waste contributes to landfills and the rest is recycled or converted into biofuels. The Swedish government aims to minimize waste creation followed by reuse, recycle, and energy recovery. The significant responsibility lies in households separating their waste in a well-organized manner to facilitate further waste management carried out by municipalities. Further, municipalities collect waste according to their waste management plans, under the Swedish Environmental Code. To reduce the operational challenges associated with waste collection, municipalities also suggest households to separate the cooking oil rather than pouring into the drain to make it feasible for energy conversion.

Biogas/Biomethane market Up to a large extent, the Swedish biomethane market depends on the local and regional biogas plants spread across Sweden. In recent years, the private industries facilitated biogas production, where industrial organic waste is used as manure and waste from the food industry and the agricultural sector. Around 63% of biogas is upgraded to biomethane and is further compressed around 250 bar for transportation. A remarkable increment in the gas-operated vehicle was noticed from several hundred in 2000 to 53,982 in 2019. Consequently, gas filling stations also had a significant increment from 20 to 195 during the same period.

Sweden’s tax exemption incentives are focused on the application of biomethane, resulting in

Biogas Magazine | Edition 13 | 18 an economically feasible import of biomethane.

However, other countries focus their incentives on the injection and production of biomethane.

To support biomethane production, the Swedish government has granted 270 MSEK for the year 2019, and additionally, 100 MSEK was contributed for 2020. This premium does not benefit biogas produced from the substrate such as sewage sludge and landfill.

Policy incentives and sociotechnical systems are the main drivers for feasible biogas production.

For instance, ‘manure gas support’ is awarded to the gas producers, who use manure as a substrate for biogas production. Taxes on fuels and electricity production in form of energy and CO2 taxes are imposed in Sweden since 1995. However, few exemptions are made to enhance renewable resource use, contributing to a negligible or zero carbon footprint. Several Swedish policies until 2020 are illustrated below: • In the transport section, usage of biomethane as vehicular fuel is exempted from CO2 and energy tax. On the other hand, natural gas as a transportation fuel is only exempted from the energy tax.

CO2 tax rate 2020 - 21 €/MWh CO2 tax rate of petrol - ~ 27 €/MWh Energy tax - ~ 44€ /MWh • Biogas and biomethane as a heat source are exempted from the CO2 and energy tax. On the contrary, natural gas use as a heating fuel has a tax of approximately 31 €/MWh. Sweden’s target by 2030 According to the Swedish Energy Agency report, a significant increase of 27% in biogas consump-

www.biogas-india.com tion in Sweden from 2017 to 2018 was reported.

This increment is attributed to twice the import of biogas in 2018, in which two-third, ~1.6 TWh, comes from the neighboring country Denmark.

The increase in the subsidized biomethane lowered the prices and became more competitive in the natural gas market. Currently, the export of biogas is negligible in Sweden. Two-third of biogas in Sweden is used as a substitute in industries and the rest is upgraded to biomethane to use it as a vehicle fuel. Recently, European commission has laid out a new 2030 reduction target for anthropogenic gases to at least 55% as compared to 1990 levels.

Sweden’s national goal is to use 15 TWh of biogas in various sectors to maximize its potential, leading to a significant increase in the biogas market.

However, to achieve such a target, funding from various sectors such as government, regional municipalities, and the private sector is a prerequisite.

Collaboration is a key: Companies and universities ‘Hand in Hand’ A collaborative approach is necessary in achieving a sustainable economy with integrated biogas solutions. For instance, Sweden was part of the research project ‘HiGradeGas’, which involves Scandinavian universities and companies to develop

Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 19 novel concepts for biogas upgrading. The project was funded by Innovation Fund Denmark and led

by Associate Prof. Andreas Kaiser from Denmark Technical University. The project’s specific innovation goal was to lower the biogas upgrading cost to increase its availability for small-scale users in the agricultural sectors. Optimized engineering of a small-scale commercial pressure swing adsorption (PSA) system for 20-200 Nm3/h of raw biogas was conducted to reduce the cost of the biogas upgrading. Associate Prof. Farid Akhtar and Dr. Kritika Narang Landström from Luleå Technical University have further researched selected microporous materials to tailor the carbon dioxide capturing properties by novel pathways to enhance biogas upgrading efficiency. Herein, they designed efficient hierarchically structured microporous materials to achieve rapid mass transfer kinetics, reducing PSA cycle time and overall energy footprint. These hierarchically structured microporous materials were further optimized to ensure high methane recovery and low methane slip to overcome current challenges faced by biogas upgrading technologies. In this context, the research on biogas production systems and their upgrading technologies is still ongoing at various levels to procure a sustainable society. *The data mentioned in this article is obtained from The Swedish Gas Association (Energigas Sverige) report.

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Thermophilic Anaerobic Digestion: The way towards Sustainable Utilization of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Biogas Production

T

emperature is one of the process parameters in the anaerobic digestion (AD) with a direct impact on microbial (especially methanogens and acetogens) growth and activity, and reaction kinetics. It affects the nutritional needs, metabolic product formation, and characteristics of microbial cells during biochemical conversion.

A rise of 1oC in the temperature leads to an almost two-fold increase in enzymatic activity until the optimum range is obtained. Sudden change in temperature results in a sharp decrease in biogas production, while the process attains normalcy once the favorable temperature is reached.

Under the optimum range of temperature, enzy-

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 21 short hydraulic retention time (HRT). Various countries such as the United States of America (U.S.A), Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic, and Germany are shifting from MAD into TAD, mainly to control pathogens at a large-scale. Countries like Brazil are using this kind of thermophilic biodigester to process cheap material such as vinasse as a feedstock for sustainable biogas production.

Improved kinetics Another important advantage of TAD lies in the fact that there is a significant shift of hydrogenotrophic archaea from acetoclastic methanogens under mesophilic conditions causing enhanced biogas yield by utilizing hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) produced as an intermediate product during AD. TAD process also aids in maintaining the pH during the acetogenic phase, which generally drops down in the conventional process causing a halt in the process. Therefore, this technology proves to be advantageous over mesophilic AD. Moreover, the rate of TAD is faster than MAD because high-temperature aids in the start-up of the process and process stability also. According to Ge et al., the most-temperature effected(unable to understand, please check) step of AD is the hydrolysis step with activation energy of 31±4 kJ.mol-1 ,in which degradation rate increases 1.5 times for every 10oC rise of temperature.

matic activities are at maximum which reduces or even inhibits (via denaturation/ inactivation) upon deviation from that particular range. Of the different temperature conditions, thermophilic anaerobic digestion (TAD), a technology of operating AD digester at high temperature (45-75oC) using specific microbial community functional under thermophilic conditions is getting attention due to various advantages over mesophilic anaerobic digestion (MAD: the most common and convenient type of AD operating at 20-45oC), in terms of higher organic loading rate and degradation of feedstock (due to improved lipid solubility at elevated temperatures) with shorter start-up time, process stability, improved kinetics, reduction in foaming without the requirement of agitation, and reduced risk of contamination. TAD is the technology for enhanced biogas yield and

Better degradation of organic matter Due to the better organic matter degradation, high methane potential and specified US EPA 40 CFR part 503 Class A residual biomass, TAD is the preferred technology for sludge stabilization. TAD has the potential to reduce organic matter by about 20% as compared to MAD. This in turn, improves the biogas yield by about 20% in comparison to the MAD. Due to the high degradation rate of feedstock, there is reduced (25-30%) formation of sludge, by decreasing digester’s outlet total solid (TS) content by 10-15% thus reducing the final disposal quantity as compared to MAD. Economic sustainability Conversion of MAD into TAD requires fairly low investment costs. Moreover, a reduced volume of the digester is required while operating TAD. Due to improved kinetics, better degradation of substrate, the resulting product is enriched with methane content and reduces unnecessary components such as CO2 and hydrogen sulphide (H2S). So, higher biogas and methane yields make

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TAD a better sustainable technology over MAD. Lack of risk of contamination and reduced foam formation further leads to its better maintenance and stability without any special set-up or requirement of killing the pathogens or introduction of antifoaming agents in the digester. Furthermore, sludge dewatering is also better in TAD than MAD leading to the minimum volume of the sludge which means minimum transport cost and energy consumption during drying and incineration of the sludge along with improved management and constancy.

Environmental sustainability Sustainability of TAD is more than MAD in environmental context. This lies in the fact that former technology don’t require harsh chemical/ thermochemical/ biological or combined pretreatment of feedstock unlike later, which are generally associated with the release of harmful fumes/ spores into the environment. Pretreatment of biomass typically accounts for almost 30% of total plant cost and hence, omitting biomass pretreatment requirement also leads to the economic sustainability of TAD. Comparatively efficient degradation of lignocellulosic wastes, for e.g. agricultural wastes, forestry residues, industrial wastes, and municipal and domestic wastes via

Fast growth rates & high metabolic rate

TAD over MAD resolves the residue management issues of regularly generated wastes on a largescale, which further as well aids combating the pollution issues for a cleaner environment. The additional energy required for heating and insulating the digester under TAD could be obtained from biogas produced from the digester, meaning a fraction of the product is used for maintaining its production itself, which again insinuates environmental sustainability.

Strategies of transition from MAD to TAD The transition from conventional MAD to TAD requires either direct or step-wise increase in temperature where the former strategy involves selection of specific thermophiles whereas the later strategy is associated with acclimatization of mesophilic culture.

Important parameters to be considered Despite the various advantages of TAD over MAD, TAD is more susceptible to changes in ecological factors such as temperature, pH, and toxic intermediates. Generally, the initial pH of the TAD process is kept between 7.5 and 8.5, which may be maintained by the addition of pH regulating agents or buffers periodically during the AD process. Further, increased ammonia accumulation

High degradation rate of biomass

Short log phase & HRT of process

Thermophiles

Improved kinetics

Process Stability

Figure: Advantages of thermophiles towards AD process

Lower risk of contamination

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Feedstock

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Seed

Temperature (ºC)

HRT

Methane yield (L/kg-VS) 328.8 + 16.8

References

Corn silage and cattail

Granular sludge from apple juice waste water treatment plant

37

60 days

Wheat feed pellets

Effluent of a sewage treatment plant

35

20 days

359

Carbon-rich macroalgae (Laminariadgitata), nitrogen-rich micro algae (Chlorella pyrenoidosa) and Nannochloropsisoceanica)

Laboratory anaerobic digester effluent

37

26 days

224.3

Food waste

Anarobic digester sludge

35

25 days

210

Han and Shin, 2004

Wheat straw hydrolysate

Granule sludge + digested manure

>60

4 days

307

Kongjan-et al., 2011

Food waste

Mixture of minced organic waste and tap water

55

12.6 days

720

Cavinato et al., 2012

Grass silage

Cow manure sludge

55

6 days

467

Pakarinen et al., 2009

Bio-waste from treatment plant

Seed sludge of bio-waste treatment plant

55

32 days

780

Cavinato et al., 2011

Nkemka et al., 2015

Massanet-Nicolau et al., 2013 Ding et al., 2016

Table: Comparative methane yield of MAD and TAD from lignocelluloses (Hans and Kumar, 2019)

during hydrolysis phase (of protein-rich substrates e.g. animal wastes, industrial wastes, etc.) under high-temperature conditions is one of the major adverse factors inhibiting the process from completion because of its vulnerability of penetration through the microbial cell membrane.

However, reduction in the temperature from 55oC to 46oC, results in an increase in biogas yield, especially in high ammonia loaded reactors. However, the accumulation and toxicity of ammonia in the thermophilic digester could be combat by acclimatization of microorganisms to high concentrations of ammonia for improved ammonia tolerance. The unavailability of an acclimated consortium for TAD is another major limitation of the technology, which is generally required at least during the start-up of the process. Typically suitable inoculum sources of choice of TAD could be compost, manure, wasted activated sludge, and anaerobic sludge containing varied categories of microorganisms adaptable to novel thermophilic conditions. The best choice for appropriate TAD inoculum would be digestate from an existing mesophilic digester due to acclimatization of microbes with the harsh ecological factors.

tion would be a sustainable approach for future energy security, management of bio-wastes, and pollution concerns from an economical and environmental point of view.

Therefore, it can be concluded that TAD is a better choice of treating variety of wastes with better efficiency, cost-effective manner, and overcoming many limitations. In this way, thermophilic diges-

Deputy Director

Dr. Sachin Kumar National Institute of Bio-Energy

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 24

A glimpse of Biogas Scenario in Eastern India

D

espite acute power shortage in rural areas, varying levels of poverty and impoverishment, and above all government’s heavily subsidized program to encourage people in rural areas; installation of biogas and manure plants in India, particularly for the domestic ones, is limited to one-third of the total estimated potential.

This is as per the latest estimates of The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for the lag, the financial, social, institutional, or technical constraints can be analyzed.

Several conducted surveys among household biogas plant beneficiaries, primarily through the erstwhile National Biogas and Manure Management Program (NBMMP), now revamped as New National Biogas and Organic Manure Program (NNBOMP), across various regions of India have reported the proportion of functioning biogas plants varying between 40% and 80% (Bhat et al., 2001). Furthermore, most of the report on household biogas installations in India insinuates towards the Western region being the lead-

er, so far as installation numbers are concerned.

On the other hand, the progress of biogas in the Eastern parts of India, entailing states like West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, and the other North-Eastern States is something that isn’t much talked about and hasn’t gathered much attention.

However, deep-diving into the progress of biogas in the Eastern regions churns out a few interesting facts, like the first micro-turbine-based electricity generation project which was commissioned in the year 2007 in the Purulia District of West Bengal. The project was commissioned by the State Nodal Agency of West Bengal, i.e. West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA) with the support of USAID, and generates electricity through grid-connected mode.

Thereafter, three more projects on similar lines were undertaken by WBREDA in West Bengal.

While there is much to rejoice about being the pioneer of adopting the micro-turbine technology, the fact that over the years, the generation of electricity in the Purulia Project has attenuated to almost one-fourth of the installed capacity, is highly dampening.

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Another achievement that has been reported in 2018, is the setting-up of a biogas plant at Gunduba village in Birbhum district, West Bengal.

The commissioned plant will supply biogas as cooking fuel after the needful up-gradation in cylinders to the distributors in the state. This is the first instance of such a biogas plant being set up in Eastern India. While it looks fascinating as well, the economics and sustainability of the plant is something that has to be kept an eye upon in the long run.

Contrastingly in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand, the implementation of NBMMP has left a lot to be desired. A report conducted on the functioning of household biogas plants across four villages, namely Godwa, Bhamrauli, Jaipur, and Parsa revealed that around 80% of the plants were non-functional. Of the remaining 20%, half were running sub-optimally to the designed capacity.

Amongst others, lack of adequate maintenance remains one of the major reasons for the failure of the majority of systems. Customized training to the beneficiaries, as per literacy level, to address

Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 25 minor maintenance problems along with the establishment of local servicing and maintenance networks can turn out to be the panacea for effective implementation of NNBOMP from hereon.

Across the hilly terrains of Assam, Sikkim, and West Bengal, it provides a wonderful opportunity for biogas production from the plenty of agro-residues coming from the immense area being put into tea and coffee cultivation. Also, in a majority of North-East states of India, almost every household has a small piggery unit as there lies a huge demand for pig meat in these states. This provides a huge potential to harness biogas from pig manure. Now, with two of the premier technical institutes located in Eastern India, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) located in Kharagpur, West Bengal, and Guwahati, Assam, there have been several research and on-field initiatives related to biogas. For instance, IIT-Kharagpur and National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) jointly inaugurated 15 domestic biogas plants under the CSR program, wherein NBCFDC, a Government undertaking is looking forward to the construction of these domestic-sized biogas plants in a village of Midnapore district. Likewise, there are several research programs on biogas running at the institute, like the effect of mechanical agitation on breakage of scum in digester and carbon dioxide sequestration from biogas using microbial electro-synthesis.

Further, IIT-Guwahati is experimenting on the construction of a biogas digester with alternate feed material, such as locally available bamboo and resins (www.iitg.ac.in/ceer). Also, it is one of the established Biogas Development Training Centres (BDTC), set-up by MNRE to foster the progress of biogas in the North-Eastern States. It thus has an additional responsibility to work with state nodal agencies and other stakeholders in the region and propagate educational programs on the benefits from setting up of biogas digesters and household use of biogas among locals.

One of the conducted surveys (D. Raha et al./ Energy Policy) in the North-Eastern States showed that in general, the beneficiaries believe that little awareness has been provided on operation and maintenance of the biogas plants and, so for even a minor technical problem affecting the gas production, the entire biogas unit (inlet and outlet) has to be tediously cleaned out and digester restarted by the beneficiaries. Also, as North-Eastern states are primarily located in hilly terrain, the common sight is that digestate is considered a junk product with no obvious value. Only a few households opt to sell their digestate to local organizations which then use it in the production and marketing of vermicompost. The Depart-

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 26

ment of Environment and Forests officials in the region are nevertheless extremely interested in promoting vermicomposting as a potential entrepreneurial activity for forest villages.

The top-down approach of policy implementation enables the government to set targets and requires cooperation from individual states to roll-out the schemes to trickle down further.

But, despite additional capital subsidy (almost double of other general states) being provided from Centre for installations in the North Eastern States, there is a lack of communication around income-supplementing opportunities from biogas plant installations. More needs to be done to educate householders as to the options available to them to add value from operating biogas systems. For this to happen, sufficient knowledge and understanding of the technology amongst beneficiaries shall enable them to make the most of the installed digester, both in terms of continued production with good biogas yields as well as value-added benefits from the digestate output as an alternative to expensive chemical fertilizers.

Provided training across India, and particularly in the Eastern parts can be tailored to the recipient’s educational needs. Undoubtedly, placing the

Biogas Development and Training Centres in elite universities provides the educational leadership, but more can be done to encourage participation by the deprived and unprivileged beneficiaries, rural dwellers, or community-based organizations which may increase awareness in a more accessible and locally- appropriate form, especially to women.

Thus, it is recommended that policy for the promotion of household biogas plants, now known as NNBOMP (New National Biogas Organic Manure Program) should enable greater stakeholder engagement, market competition to deliver new microfinance options such as low-interest loans through government institutions, farmer cooperatives, banks and NGOs, and should seek to involve community education, training, and awareness campaigns. The positive vibe created with successful household-based programs shall create the aura of confidence among the different stakeholders of biogas, which then can translate into a paradigm shift towards the overall biogas industry.

Abhijeet Mukherjee Project Head Indian Biogas Association

www.biogas-india.com

Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 27

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 28

Enhance Productivity of Biogas Plants using Novel Vortex based Cavitation

B

iogas is not new to India. In fact, the first biogas plant in the world was built in India more than 160 years ago (1859 to be precise). India today produces more than 2 billion m3 of biogas per year. Though this number looks large, it is way below the realizable potential of biogas in India. The estimated potential of biogas generation in India is up to 50 billion m3 per year. The Government of India (GoI) has introduced several policies and incentives to encourage biogas production in India. For example, the Sustainable Alternative Toward Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme was introduced in late 2018. This scheme has set a price of INR 46/kg compressed biogas (bio-methane) produced from waste bio-

mass resources. The initial plans are to set-up 5000 biogas plants across India. In addition to this, the GoI has also approved for the digestate, generated from the anaerobic digester (AD), to be sold and marketed as organic manure. Digestate from AD contains readily available nitrogen which can be used as organic fertilizer. All these developments augur excellent growth for the biogas industry in India.

To realize the true potential of these developments, it is however essential to be innovative and continuously develop the technology of generating biogas. The following three aspects are crucial for enhancing the overall productivity of

www.biogas-india.com biogas plants: • Use waste biomass for generating biogas (to reduce raw material costs and facilitate waste mitigation) • Enhance biogas yield from waste biomass (enhance revenue and waste valorization) and • Enhance the productivity of digester (to reduce capital investment and effective return on investment) These three aspects are inter-linked. Significant quantities of waste biomass are available in India (bagasse, wheat and rice straw, distillery spent wash, and so on). However, most of these waste biomass streams are difficult to digest in AD. The extent and rate of digestion of waste biomass depend on its molecular structure, particle size, and elemental composition. Most of these waste biomass streams have a complex lignocellulosic structure, wherein relatively easy to digest cellulose and hemi-cellulose are encapsulated by lignin. Cellulose crystallinity and lignin-(hemi-) cellulose interlinks hinder the rate and extent of digestion. It is essential to develop innovative pre-treatment methods that will open up complex lignocellulosic structures and allow commercially viable rate and extent of digestion of these complex waste biomass streams.

Several different pre-treatment methods have been proposed and advocated. These may broadly be classified into four types: physical, chemical, biological, and physico-chemical pre-treatment.

Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 29 Generally, biological pre-treatment methods are rather slow and chemical treatments are expensive and generate additional waste streams due to the use of external chemicals. The holy-grail of pre-treatment methods is a Physico-chemical method without requiring any external chemicals.

Cavitation, which generates localized hot spots, intense shear, and strongly oxidizing hydroxyl radicals, offer an attractive platform for realizing the dream pre-treatment method for waste biomass. Vaporous cavities are formed in the cavitation process which eventually collapses and generate intense shear thus opening the structure of biomass particles and reduction in its size.

Besides, the hydroxyl radicals generated in –situ during the cavitation process leave long polymer chains and facilitate easy digestion of pre-treated biomass in AD. Despite the tremendous promise of the cavitation platform, unfortunately, there are several difficulties that need to be overcome to harness the potential of cavitation for enhancing the productivity of biogas generation. There are mainly two ways of generating cavitation: Acoustic cavitation and hydrodynamic cavitation. The acoustic cavitation requires expensive ultrasonic horns and is extremely difficult to scale-up. These two dis-advantages make acoustic cavitation unsuitable for enhancing the productivity of biogas plants.

Hydrodynamic cavitation eliminates the disadvantages of acoustic cavitation and offers an attractive opportunity for applications in the biogas sector. However, most of the conventional hydro-

Figure 1: Unique design of vortex based devices for cavitation VoDCa®

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Unique features of VoDCa® • No small holes- no risk of clogging • Early inception- lower opex • Cavity collapse away from walls- less erosion • Enhanced contact between cavities and biomasss • Enhanced cavitation yield

Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 30

Improved digester yield Realize more biogas per ton of feed Enhance throughput of digesters Higher ton of food/day/m3 of digester

Figure 2: VoDCa® based pre-treatment of various waste biomass and distillery spentwash dynamic cavitation applications are based on the usage of orifice or venturi based devices. None of these devices are suitable for pre-treating waste biomass since these devices use small constrictions and therefore cannot be used with biomass slurries. Secondly, the use of small constrictions also creates a major cavitation zone adjacent to the device walls leading to significant erosion and thereby limiting the effective working life of such cavitation devices. Our group has developed novel vortex based devices for cavitation which generate cavitation using swirling flows rather than small constriction. This novel design poses no clogging risk. The unique design ensures that cavity collapse occurs away from walls leading to lower erosion than conventional cavitation devices. The strongly swirling flow also ensures intense contact between collapsing cavities and biomass particles resulting in significant physico-chemical treatment of waste biomass. The devices are licensed and commercialized by VIVIRA Process Technologies. A schematic of such devices and salient features are shown in Figure 1 and the accompanying box.

These novel, vortex based devices for cavitation (VoDCa®) have been shown to generate a signif-

icant beneficial impact on the rate and extent of biogas generation from pre-treated biomass. For example, Nagarajan and Ranade (2019) used a vortex based device to pretreat bagasse and have shown that a significant net energy gain can be realized by pre-treatment using about 10 passes through VoDCa®. The effectiveness of VoDCa® based pre-treatment has been tested for a variety of complex lignocellulosic biomass. Pre-treatment of waste streams like distillery spent wash or dairy industry wastewater stream require just 1 or 2 passes through VoDCa® for effective enhancement in biogas yield. A sample of pre-treatment results is shown in Figure 2.

The VoDCa® devices have been successfully scaled up to 50 m3/hr slurry flows and have been deployed in commercial plants. This novel, vortex based cavitation devices and processes offer an unprecedented opportunity to beneficially impact biogas production and valorization of waste biomass. Mahatma Gandhi had said that “Waste is a resource in the wrong place”. VoDCa® devices have the potential to transform so-called waste biomass streams into valuable resource streams and allow these streams to gain their rightful place as ‘resource streams’. VoDCa® based

www.biogas-india.com pre-treatment combined with anaerobic digesters have the potential to realize economically beneficial decentralized bio-refineries producing valuable bio-CNG and organic fertilizers. In principle, such AD based bio-refineries have the potential to provide useful raw materials to produce other value-added products (see Figure 3 showing conceptual AD-based bio-refinery). The crux of transforming the waste biomass streams into a resource is to ensure that the cost of pre-treating these biomass streams (for making them amenable for further value addition) and the cost of extracting value-added products from pre-treated waste streams to be lower than the potential revenue generated by the recovered products. VoDCa® based pre-treatment offers such a possibility which can make significant contributions towards realizing inclusive economic growth of rural India and realization of ‘Atma Nirbhar’ Bharat.

Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 31

Dr. Vivek V Ranade

Suggested references: Nagarajan, S. and V. V. Ranade, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2019, 58, 15975-15988 Nagarajan, S. and V. V. Ranade, Bioresource Technology Reports, 2020, 100480. Konde et al. (2021), Sustainable Energy & Fuels, DOI: 10.1039/d0se01332c

Figure 3: AD based bio-refinery using VoDCa® based pre-treatment

Director VIVIRA Process Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 32

Figure 2: Energy Reactors

Successful implementation of POME to POWER Plant in Malaysia

T

he palm oil industry is one of the leading agricultural industries in Malaysia. The milling process of palm oil generates large quantities of wastewater resources in the form of palm oil mill effluent (“POME”) that need to be effectively treated and processed for it to be sustainably managed and disposed of.

POME, therefore, is an oily liquid waste that is a by-product of the palm oil milling process. In general 1 MT of oil palm fresh fruit bunch (“FFB”) can create approximately 0.65 cubic meters of POME in addition to solid waste such as shells, fiber, and empty fruit bunch (“EFB”). Alternatively, it is estimated that for every MT of crude palm oil (“CPO”) produced, 5.0 MT to 7.5 MT of water is required, and approximately 3.5 cubic meters of POME is generated. Malaysia produced 19.7 million MT of CPO in 2014, generating almost 69.0 million m3 of POME. POME poses an environmental threat if released untreated into waterways.

Conventionally, POME is released into open lagoons where anaerobic bacteria consume the organic matter in POME and convert it into methane, carbon dioxide, and sludge in order to meet regulations enforced by Malaysia’s Department of Environment. This ponding system has been

an industry standard, with a majority of mills in Malaysia adopting this method as it is relatively economical in terms of capital investments and operating costs. However, the process of treating POME in an open lagoon is time-consuming as POME has to be retained in anaerobic, facultative, and aerobic ponds for a hydraulic retention time of approximately 90 days. At the same time, these ponds take up substantial land space, emit bad odors, and produce significant volumes of greenhouse gases as methane and carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere.

Increased production of Palm Oil in Malaysia has led to a corresponding increase in the production of wastewater resources in the form of POME. This is a substantial by-product of the Palm Oil production process that requires to be effectively treated for it to be disposed of without polluting the environment.

As a result of a wider drive by the Malaysian government to combat greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution in the country, there has been an increased focus on the treatment of POME and the subsequent capture of Biogas as a by-product of the Palm Oil production process.

www.biogas-india.com One of the measures that the Government has taken is encouraging Palm Oil Mill owners to build Biogas Power Plants, which are processing facilities that are designed to trap Biogas released from POME and harness it to generate renewable energy. The Economic Transformation Program (“ETP”) which was launched in 2010 by the Malaysian government with an aim of transitioning Malaysia into a high-income economy by 2020 identifies Biogas in two of the 12 National Key Economic Areas (“NKEA”), namely the Oil, Gas, and Energy area as well as the Palm Oil area.

The Oil, Gas and Energy NKEA emphasizes the importance of increasing the installed capacity of renewable energy sources in Malaysia, with Biogas being targeted as key to the overall supply of electricity to the National Grid, and highlights the role of the FiT mechanism in increasing the share of renewable energy in Malaysia’s total energy mix.

The Palm Oil NKEA underlines the importance of enhancing the sustainability of the industry through the treatment of POME, and its potential

Figure 1: POME to POWER Plant; Johor State; Malaysia

Figure 3 Central Agitator

Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 33 for electricity generation and as a source of an additional revenue stream when connected to the National Grid under the FiT scheme.

As part of a wider effort to reduce carbon emissions generated by the Palm Oil industry, the Government, through the MPOB, has imposed a new license condition since 1 January 2014 that makes it mandatory for all applicants for new Palm Oil Mills as well as those applying for throughput expansion for existing mills to have plans that involve the installation of a Biogas capture or methane avoidance facility for the treatment of POME. On the other hand, in 2011, the Government of Malaysia brought into force the Renewable Energy Act 2011 (“Renewable Energy Act”) which focuses on renewable energy development in Malaysia under the purview of SEDA, which was established to oversee the implementation and management of renewable energy including the FiT mechanism.

The Renewable Energy Act provides a FiT mechanism to sell electricity (up to 30 megawatts, “MW”)

www.biogas-india.com generated from renewable energy resources to power utility companies at a fixed premium usually for a term of 16 years from the FiT commencement date.

Given the above opportunities to generate power from POME being encouraged by the Government of Malaysia; our client gave us the mandate to design and construct POME to POWER Plant at one of the Palm oil mills in Malaysia. The client carried out civil works as per our drawings and we have constructed the Biogas Plant. The H2S scrubber was purchased from Thailand and the Biogas Engine of MTU Make was from MTU On-site Energy GmbH owned by Rolls Royce Limited.

We have designed and constructed the above POME to POWER Plant on a turnkey basis providing “Kaashyap Envergy Reactors” based on “n-CSTR Technology” in a double reactor configuration. The power plant was constructed for one of our Malaysian clients at FELDA palm oil mill at

Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 34 Total Suspended Solids: 8000 mg/l Oil & Grease: 2000 mg/l Key Performance Indicators of the plant during stable operations: Peak Biogas Production: 480 cu.m/Hr Peak Power Production: 28,875 Units / day The POME to POWER plant (figure 1) is under our advisory services for Operation and maintenance for 16 years; i.e. up to the year 2031 The raw POME after due pre-treatment and equalization is subjected to the Anaerobic Digestion process in Kaashyap Envergy Reactors for the conversion of Biodegradable organic content to raw Biogas.

The following three stages are involved in the process of anaerobic digestion.

Kaashyap Envergy Reactors are designed on the

Figure 4: Degasser

The plant is designed to handle 500 cu.m / Day of raw POME per day having the following parameters:

principle of the anaerobic contact process. The raw effluent enters the reactor at the top in a central shaft. The Re-circulated sludge collected from the bottom of the reactor is also mixed with raw effluent in the central shaft.

Ph: 5.0 to 6.5 SU COD: 60,000 mg/l Temperature: 35-45 Deg C

A central agitator is provided at the top to facilitate the mixing and downward movement of the mixed effluent. The effluent travels to the bottom

Johor State in Malaysia close to Singapore.

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 35

Figure 5: Biogas Holder

of the reactor through a central shaft. In the reactor,the effluent comes in contact with active anaerobic culture maintained in suspension. In the process, the organic matter in the effluent is converted into biogas and cell mass.

The reactor is constructed in Mild steel plates and structural members as per the design parameters specified in IS: 803; 2006; Edition 2.1.A robust and specially devised recirculation pipe network is provided at the bottom for complete mixing of reactor contents.

Certain Operational flexibilities are inbuilt in the above dual reactor system. The dual reactors can be operated either in series or in parallel. The active biomass escaping with the reactor overflow and trapped by a given Lamella clarifier can be returned back to either of the reactors. The Pipelines are so designed that with a simple valve operation active Biomass may be transferred from one reactor to the other reactor in case it is so desired based on the prevailing biology in each of the reactors.

The effluent is then taken out of the reactor through an overflow pipe provided with water seal. The effluent is received in a lamella clarifier where the active biomass is separated and part of it is returned back to the reactor. Before entering into the lamella clarifier the effluent is passed through a degassing tower for removal of dissolved gases to achieve better settling in the lamella clarifier. Lamella clarifier is fabricated with Mild Steel and specially designed Tube-desk is placed for efficient clarification process. The clarifier is provided with a sludge withdrawal arrangement. A sludge Recirculation pump is provided to re-circulate the sludge back to the reactor.

Raw Biogas is collected at the top of each reactor and stored in a Single and common gas holder separately constructed. Biogas holder is floating drum type and fabricated with MS plates. Biogas from biogas holder is scrubbed in a Biological scrubber and charged to Biogas Engines to produce power.

Mr. Kiran Kumar Kurilla Managing Director Kaashyap Envergy Infrastructures Pvt. Ltd.

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 36

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 12 | 37

Chhattisgarh village shows way for sustainable, healthy living

O

pportunity knocks once and how this opportunity is to be grabbed is best seen at Village Khaikhunt, Tehsil Tilda Dist Raipur, CG state. Aiming to create a self-reliant, smokeless organic village, people of Khairkhunt, a rural community with a population of 2,000 odd people, have formed a cooperative society and began utilizing local resources for supplying cooking gas to household and bio-fertilizers and bio pesticides for farming located at about 34 km from the state capital. They now proudly call it as ‘Khairkhut model of rural development’ where unproductive livestock are taken care of. Cow dung is purchased from locals for biogas and bio-fertilizer, milk procured from farmers and electricity is generated through solar power-all to meet the local demand. “We have realized that chemical fertilizer is a big issue as it’s not only harmful for soil and crop but, also for environment. Now, this village has its own biogas plant through which every household has been provided cooking gas connection. Bio-fertilizer produced is used for farming. This enhances the quality of soil but will also save a huge fraction of money of farmers.

The farmers will also get good prices (almost double) for their produce being ‘organic’, “It was just a humble beginning. Initially, villagers were skeptical when the idea of having a biogas plant was floated. Now things have taken a concrete shape.

Almost all the households are being provided biogas—two times a day—through pipelines”.

Gothan’ or a cow shed, brings relief to farmers as they no longer have to guard their fields at night and their crops are safe. Besides, the society purchases cow dung at 50 paisa per kilo from the village and it is used in the biogas plant.

Besides getting cooking gas, the villagers—who are members of the cooperative society—can purchase bio-fertilizer and fertilizer slurry at a minimal rate for farming. Also, a solar power plant has been set up which is producing 20 kW of power.

Half of the electricity produced is being used for running the biogas plant and the remaining is put in the grid for supply in village. Having tasted success in its initial work, Khairkhunt village now plans to foray into other area for the benefit of its members. A milk society has already been formed while plans are afoot for setting up a small plant for animal fodder, production of green fodder and production of organic products. A lab for bio pesticide is also being developed. At present, the khairkhunt’s Gauthan has is home to over 400 cows. M/s. Urja Bio System Pvt Ltd, Pune has designed suitable biogas plant based on 5 TPD dung, (200 m3 units), the gas is supplied to 130 nearby houses through a properly designed pipe line, which is @3 km long. The bio gas plant in

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 12 | 38

Gajanan Patil Managing Director Urja Bio System Pvt. Ltd the village produces 10,000 liters of liquid and 1 to 1.5 tons of solid dung fertilizer. the farmers will be using 30% of this bio-fertilizer in their fields which will gradually increase to 100 per cent in the coming years. Over 130 families are using stove fueled by methane gas for cooking by paying a nominal price of Rs 210 per month.

This project is completely funded with Rs 70 lakh under a scheme of National Dairy Development Board. The milk society is being modernized, and milk collected from the farmers will be used for

making milk products. The idea is to encourage farmers to produce organic grains and vegetables—which will be marketed with a brand name in the future.

About 15 acre vacant land has been identified in the village for production of green fodder for stray cattle. Related work for production will be done by local women self-help group, thus providing the village women a source of employmen

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 39

Category: Promising Start-up Winner:

Bioen Sustainable Solutions Pvt Ltd

1st Runner up:

VIVIRA Process Technologies

2nd Runner up:

Carbon Masters

Category: Operational Excellence in Biogas plants Winner:

Mailhem Ikos Pvt Ltd

1st Runner up:

Urja BioSystems Pvt Ltd

2nd Runner up:

LARS Enviro Pvt Ltd

27

November 2020

Category: Circular Waste Management (Biomethanation) Winner:

Knowledge Integration Services Pvt Ltd

1st Runner up: IOT 2nd Runner up:

Biogas Pvt Ltd

Urja BioSystems Pvt Ltd

Biogas Magazine | Edition 14 | 40

Indian Biogas Association announces

Bio-Energy e-Pavilion Image source: EventIndustryNews

18, 19

February 2021

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