Biogas Magazine Edition 18

BI GAS MAGAZINE | EDITION 18 | 2022 An overview on COP26 - Pg 12 Biogas in mountainous regions of India - Pg 25 Clusters – the future for smaller plants in the AD sector? - Pg 14

Fertilizing Energy

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Index IBA News IBA's commitment towards leapfrogging the prospects in the biogas/bio-CNG industry (Period: Oct, 21-Dec, 21)

08

National Corner An overview on COP26

12

Sustainable contracting models in Indian bio energy industry

17

A system and a process for formation of a renewable natural coal from waste output of a cattle/agricultural based biogas plant

29

Biogas in mountainous regions of India

25

Waste-derived biogas: A key toward building a truly sustainable, Carbon-free future

33

Compressed biogas is the key to achieve India's goals of energy security and sustainability

37

International Corner Clusters – the future for smaller plants in the AD sector?

14

Methane emissions reduction The case for anaerobic digestion to help reduce short term global warming

21

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 04

Foreword Dear Reader, Wish you all a happy and prosperous new year 2022!

With the advent of the new year, we are excited to bring to you our eighteenth edition of the quarterly Biogas Magazine, which is further being evolved befitting the diversified interest of our avid readers. At IBA, we are proud to see the indispensable contribution by members in form of rivetted participation in the activities and services offered by the Association. Year 2021 witnessed several webinars including participation from MNRE officials, Hon’ble Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari ji, Norwegian embassy with innovation Norway, and many others. The physical show i.e., Biogas pavilion in REI also got a positive response, inspiring us to opt for a bigger show in 2022. IBA could rework on Biogas app, and launched a totally new interface. In 2021, we also saw the deadliest second wave in India, and with Team Shvaas and AIF, IBA could install thirteen PSA based oxygen plants throughout India.

Our partnership activities with the German Biogas Association is further helping IBA to continue with its focused, and persistent effort towards fostering the development of the biogas industry in India. The ongoing study with ICF and World Bank shall ultimately result in a definite roadmap for SATAT implementation.

plants in the AD sector, Sustainable contracting models in Indian bio energy industry, Biogas in mountainous regions of India and many more. As per the request received from several of our members, we have decided to start covering a segment on other biofuels too.

The articles cover the need to set national waste reduction goals and implement Zero Waste solutions to minimise greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, how biogas clusters give older, smaller plant owners access to services that only the bigger commercial biogas plants normally avail. Discussion on several contracting models, and the need to derisk through apt contracting to attract more investments in bio-energy business, thus enabling the industry to become more sustainable.

As always, we are keen to present to you interesting perspectives, case studies, innovative models, experience of field experts, good practices, and global occurrences relevant to the biogas industry. Hope, you enjoy the diverse collection of contributions from our numerous stakeholders. We try our best to keep our readers enticed to the green sector in the most exciting manner.

Once again, I wish all the readers a pleasant, prosperous, and eventful year in Biogas.

Happy digesting!

In this issue, we tried our best to provide an outlook for the biogas covering various aspects with articles like an overview on COP26, Clusters – the future for smaller

Dr. A. R. Shukla

President Indian Biogas Association www.biogas-india.com

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IBA’s commitment towards leapfrogging the prospects in the biogas/bio-CNG industry Period: Oct, 21-Dec, 21 IBA asks MNRE to continue waste to energy scheme with central assistance The Indian Biogas Association has asked the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) to continue the waste-to-energy scheme through central financial assistance. Highlighting the challenges faced by the biogas, bio-CNG projects, Indian Biogas Association’s President A R Shukla said that a proper push is needed from the government by supporting projects with the Central Financial Assistance program. With three distinct outputs of ‘Biogas/CBG/bio-CNG projects/plants, they work as scientific waste treatment and pollution abatement plants, organic fertilizer production plants, and gaseous fuel generation plants. Unfortunately, the subsidy part is still not clear for the ongoing financial year, Dr. Shukla said.

“If all of the country’s biogas potential could be unlocked, the distinct output shall result from the annual production of 62 million metric tonnes of Bio-CNG along with 658 million tonnes of organic fertilizer. A direct impact would include a reduction in fossil fuel import (by around 35 percent of imported crude oil) and synthetic fertilizer import (roughly 27% of imported N, P, K fertilizers),” Dr. A.R. Shukla further said.

The government is targeting to facilitate the setting up of 5,000 plants by 2023. The projects can be fast tracked if the state policy can further support the concept with ground-level implementation e.g., by allowing agricultural land to be used for the Bio-CNG plant, which is already the case with some states like

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Haryana, the IBA said. With Rs 20,000 crore subsidies, the government will be able to reduce the import bill in various fossil fuels and synthetic fertilizer imports worth Rs 1.1 lakh crore y-o-y, post the commissioning of these projects.

As per the latest relevant notification dated February 28, 2020, in 2019-20, around Rs 478 crore for 257 MWeq. was allocated under the CFA grants, IBA stated. Unequivocally, this allocated amount was way too less than the CFA/subsidy needed to achieve the envisaged target under the SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) initiative, it pointed out.

The Above article has been covered in The Economic Times, Nov 25th issue

National Training Program organized by IBA and SSS-NIBE Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Bio-Energy (SSS-NIBE), in collaboration with the Indian Biogas Association (IBA), organized a two-day national training program on the ‘Biogas Technology and its Implementation’ which concluded on November 26,2021. The event was inaugurated by Mr. Dinesh D Jagdale, Director General, SSS-NIBE, and Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). Mr. Jagdale shed light on the role of biogas in the Indian renewable energy scenario with a specific focus on its application as a cooking fuel across Indian households. He also spoke about the efforts taken by MNRE in association with MoPNG to bring a new revolution in the past decade to make the transition to greener energy from fossil fuel to solar and Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 08

biogas-based energy.

Dr A.R. Shukla, President, IBA, spoke over the emergence of biogas in a time where there was no clean fuel even in the cities. He also spoke about the strength of biogas technology to efficiently convert waste to valuable biogas. The digestate produced from biogas also finds application as a bio-fertilizer.

The program was coordinated by Dr. Sachin Kumar, Deputy Director, SSS-NIBE and Gaurav Kedia, IBA. The participants discussed various burning issues as they said: “India has huge potential for conversion of biomass to energy and it provides an attractive investment opportunity because of the abundance of organic waste such as paddy straw, appropriate infrastructure, and suitable climate. India is a farming nation where more than 500 million tonnes of agricultural waste is generated every year. It is estimated that about 200 MT of paddy straw is produced in India annually, which must be used for bio-energy production”.

SSS-NIBE has been contributing to the bio-energy sector for the past 12 years with a key research focus on biogas production using diverse feedstocks. Here we aim at analyzing the development and scope of conversion of biogas to Bio-CNG. R&D activities are undergoing for the management of biomass, production of biogas from animal excreta and agricultural wastes.

Research is being conducted for the purification of the biogas, its bottling and commercial application of both Carbon Dioxide and Methane.

The participants from all over the country participated through online mode. The training program was organized in four modules: Biogas Process and Design; Biogas Operation & Maintenance; Biogas Upgradation; and Policy and Financing. During the two days, the various experts including Prof. P.M.V Subbarao, IIT Delhi; Dr. Shanmugham, CSIR-CLRI, Chennai; Dr. Ram Chandra, IIT Delhi; Abhijeet Mukherjee, IBA; and S.R. Meena, MNRE delivered their lectures through online mode.

The Above article is covered in “The Tribune”, Dec 15, 2021 issue Joint Webinar on Biogas/Bio-CNG organized by IBA and WBA On 7th October 2021, the Indian Biogas Association (IBA) and the World Biogas Association (WBA) hosted a joint webinar on “Biogas/Bio-CNG: Opportunities in India” to provide insight into the growing biogas and bio-CNG market in India.

Mr. Gaurav Kedia, Chairman, IBA, explained: “Interest in Biogas/Bio-CNG continues to grow globally, and the www.biogas-india.com

virtual event was organized to showcase the highly potent Indian biogas market to foreign investors focussing on this sector. With the economic outlook looking brighter amidst post-pandemic market corrections, the Indian biogas industry anticipates unlocking a plethora of FDI opportunities. This online event was a precursor to that.”

Shri. Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways lent his gracious presence to open the webinar. In his keynote address, he emphasized “India’s pursuit to be self-dependent through the ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ (Self-reliant India program). The biogas/CBG industry, with the tremendous potential it has shall play a critical role to bridge the present trade-deficit scenario of India. The bridging shall happen in terms of reducing the overall import of crude oil and fertilizer, mitigating the climate change effects of greenhouse gases (GHG), creation of huge employment opportunities across the industry value chain, and so on.” He then added, “ GoI (Government of India), encompassing several Ministries, have been supporting this industry. However, the need of the hour is to integrate all the incentives and resources, relevant to this industry, and the onus for the same remains with industry stakeholders”.

The webinar enabled industry stakeholders, especially global participants, to better understand the existing Indian ecosystem for biogas/bio-CNG. The two and a half-hour webinar offered a perfect blend of national and international speakers, featuring Dr. A.R. Shukla-President IBA, Ms. Charlotte Morton – Chief Executive, WBA, Mr. Abhijit Rajguru – General Manager, Clarke Energy, and Mr. Jeremy Moorhouse – Bioenergy Analyst, International Energy Agency.

The webinar was well-received by participants, as alongside presenting opportunities, it addressed the various challenges faced by the biogas/bio-CNG stakeholders, such as financial closures of projects, difficulty in loan availability, getting the requisite permits and clearances, and the adequacy of government subsidy.

These bottlenecks were identified as a higher priority in a recent online survey, conducted by IBA amongst its members from the bio-CNG industry.

Dr. A.R. Shukla, President of IBA, commented: “The discussion on the list of prioritized bottlenecks during the webinar shall go a long way in unlocking the true potential of the industry by allaying the deep-rooted and ever-existent concerns amongst the industry stakeholders, especially the foreign investors.”

Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of WBA, said: “The Indian biogas market represents a huge opportunity for international investors to support sustainable deBiogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 09

velopment in India and ensure economic growth in the country, whilst at the same time addressing climate change issues and helping India achieve its Paris Agreement targets. We were delighted to partner with IBA in hosting this webinar, which we hope will facilitate fruitful relationships for the deployment of biogas and bio-CNG technology in India.”

IBA organizes a session on circular economy in RenewX, Hyderabad 2021 IBA team participated in RenewX 2021 which was organized on November 19 & 20, 2021, at Hitex Exhibition Centre, Hyderabad, India. The event was planned by Informa Markets and IBA was a support partner of the event. The event focused on the renewable energy sector in southern India and witnessed the participation of over 150+ exhibitors along with a good footfall of visitors. IBA also organized a session on November 20, 2021, titled “Circular economy based on anaerobic digestion – Waste is not a waste until wasted!”. This session witnessed presentations and panel discussions on developments in the Anaerobic Digestion Ecosystem, the convergence of technologies, and financial aspects. The session had the participation of over 50 participants.

by delivering free PSA-based oxygen plants to provide an immediate and long-term solution to the oxygen crisis, thus decreasing reliance on overburdened liquid oxygen delivery system.

IBA President, Dr. Shukla, stated, “we need to reassess our response to the resurgent Covid-19 to find a longterm solution to the oxygen crisis. The plants will increase oxygen supply in the country’s worst-affected areas, preparing us for the impending peak in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. That’ll be the first step toward hospitals being self-sufficient in oxygen supply.”

IBA and Team Shvaas set up 13 oxygen plants whole across India with the help of AIF India experienced one of its worst health crises in 2021 as a result of the devastating second wave of Covid’19. IBA and Team Shvaas in collaboration with American India Foundation agreed to assist hospitals

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An overview on COP26

T

he 26th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP26) witnessed as many as 200 world leaders come together in Glasgow, Scotland to discuss on measures to tackle climate change.

India presented its Panchamrits (five elements) as its promises to contribute to climate action: • India will take its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030.

• India will meet 50 percent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.

• India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tones from now till 2030.

• India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by more than 45 percent by 2030.

• India will achieve the target of Net-Zero by the year 2070.

The utmost priority of the conference this year was to make the Paris Agreement operational. To this effect, some of the agreed goals of this year include 1. Securing net-zero globally mid-century and keeping 1.5 degrees within reach Countries were asked to come forward with ambitious 2030 emissions reduction targets that can be aligned with net zero goals. Countries were also asked to accelerate the phase-out of coal, curtail its deforestation and speed up the switch to electric vehicles, and encourage investments in renewable energy.

2. Protection of communities and natural habitats

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To avoid the loss of homes, livelihoods, and even lives, countries were urged to cooperate to safeguard and restore ecosystems by investing in defense, warning systems, resilient infrastructure, and agriculture.

3. Mobilize finance One of the most critical elements was the implementation of Article 6 which obligated developed countries to promise an obligatory mobilization of at least $100bn in climate finance per year so that developing countries can channelize this fund towards greater investments for their climate goals. International financial institutions were also directed to contribute towards securing global net zero.

4. Collaborate to achieve world goals The global community was directed to work together closely to tackle the rising climate crisis and challenges.

To this effect, the Paris Rule book was finalized to make the Paris Agreement operational, and countries were asked to accelerate their climate change actions through collaborations amongst governments, businesses, and the society at large.

Some of the other key outcomes include 1. Glasgow Climate Pact Countries were urged to strengthen the climate action plans and NDC’s. Mitigation ambitions and implementation is to be scaled with tools like reduction of coal usage and abolishment of “insufficient subsidies” on fossil fuels. The pact also directed for increased Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 12

investments for climate change adaption.

2. Enhanced Transparency Framework Parties agreed on a framework of rules on communicating their national emission balances in accordance with the modalities, procedures, and guidelines adopted during COP26.

3. Common Timeframe for NDCs Countries agreed to update their NDCs every five years, and that each set of updated NDCs shall cover a 10-year period. They also agreed to update and communicate their NDCs every 5 years starting from 2025.

4. Adaptation Fund The COP26 acknowledged that financial contributions had failed to meet the 2020 goal of $100 billion a year and discussed ways to scale up collective contributions for the next period to 2030.

to adopt. Composting instead of burning biomass can help to store carbon in our soils. Composting food leftovers and yard debris, as well as recycling paper, can help minimize landfill methane emissions.

COP26 takeaways for you and I While the COP26 established several guidelines for climate change actions and all the nations have promised to come together and work for a sustainable tomorrow, each of us humans has responsibilities as well.

It is the need of the hour to take significant steps to save the world. This is a critical concern, and it will only add to the importance of forums such as COP26. Every small action we do counts and helps to save our future generations’ livelihoods, giving them the gift of a secure and wealthy existence.

Here’s to a better tomorrow!

5. Warsaw Mechanism for Loss & Damage A decision was taken to establish the role of the Santiago Network under the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage. The Santiago Network will ̀catalyzé technical assistance to avert, minimize and address loss and damage in climate-vulnerable developing countries.

6. Article 6 One of the important outcomes of COP26 is the Operationalization of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement which has paved the way for countries to work with each other and reduce the overall cost of emission reduction. These savings could be to the tune of $250 billion per year in 2030.

COP26 was regarded as the last chance for the implementation of Article 6 which would enable developed and developing countries to work together.

The article established rules and guidelines for Parties who choose to pursue voluntary cooperation in the implementation of their national contributions to together aim for higher ambitions in their mitigation and adaptation actions and to promote sustainable development and environmental integrity. With this, developing countries like India can not only meet their promised targets but also contribute more significantly towards climate change.

Waste management – a critical element for climate actions While the Paris Agreement’s adoption is a significant step forward, countries will also need to set national waste reduction goals and implement Zero Waste solutions to minimise greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Recycling, composting, and trash reduction are proven climate solutions that are low-cost and easy www.biogas-india.com

Mr. Manish Dabkara

CMD and CEO EKI Energy Services Ltd.

Mr. Sachin Patra

Senior Manager Sales, Climate Change EKI Energy Services Ltd. Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 13

Clusters – the future for smaller plants in the AD sector?

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gricultural co-operatives and buying groups have long been a staple of the industry, helping farmers achieve the best deals on everything from fuel to livestock feed, veterinary medicines, and fence posts. The power of bulk buying and the economies of scale certainly have an impact - few individual farmers can buy as well as co-operatives, meaning joining one can bring efficiencies to a farm business that far exceed the cost of membership and ultimately, drive up profitability. The dominance of buying groups in agricultural is such that one UK company is redefining the way they can be used and aiming to bring efficiencies to another, one of the neglected aspects of the farming industry.

Farmers won’t be able to order mineral licks of insecticides any time soon, despite the fact that this new form of buying club borrows from more established setups. This is due to the fact that it concentrates only on one area, i.e. farm AD plants.

The concept is the brainchild of leading UK AD plant service, maintenance, and operations provider Birch Solutions. The company, which is situated in North Lincolnshire just south of the Humber estuary, was hired to offer AD plant service and maintenance to five agricultural enterprises in Yorkshire, all of which are within a 10-mile radius of each other. The proximity of the biogas plants motivated Birch Solutions’ directors to investigate how they could maximize efficiencies in their own operations, and it quickly became apparent that what was good for them was also excellent for their customers.

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Clustering Mark Sacker, managing director of Birch Solutions, described the concept as ‘clustering’. It entails forming a co-operative with all the AD plant owners in a certain area and devising a strategy for enabling service and maintenance contracts to be delivered in the most efficient way to each individual plant. Not only does this mean that the entire cluster benefits from the lower costs that efficiencies offer, but it also means that each plant spends more time working at its best and earning the best possible return for its owners.

Importantly, in exchange for a long-term commitment, Birch Solutions will maintain crucial parts for specific plants on hand, preventing extended lead times that might disrupt a biogas operation or even result in costly shutdowns. Similar concepts had been tried in Denmark and California, but it was the first time such an arrangement had been tried in the UK. All the five biogas plant owners approached to form the cluster were enthusiastic about the benefits it could bring.

The cluster idea was borne out of our ongoing search for efficiencies in the way we do things. As a part of that, it was recognised that we were working with five AD plants within a 10-miles radius, and four of those are within a five-mile radius of each other. So, it made absolute sense to find ways of bringing efficiencies to how we managed them. It comes down to the very basic concept that if we’re in the neighbourhood, we might as well drop in on all of our customers and see if there is anything we can do for them. From there we realised that by combining service and maintenance schedules and instigating group purchasing of Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 14

parts, insurance, feedstocks, and other supplies and inputs, brought significant economies to us and our clients, so the basis for the co-operative-style cluster was born. We proposed it to the farm businesses we were working with, and they all liked the idea. They quickly bought into how the approach could deliver a combination of enhanced operational efficiencies, cost reductions, and reduced risk of breakdowns.

The cluster concept is of particular value to older plants that were out of warranty and performing sub-optimally. By having access to the skills of a company like Birch Solutions, the long-term cost of ownership is reduced, revenue maximized, and the plant performance optimized, especially at a time in their lifecycle when plants are typically under-performing.

Plants of around 10 years old are now probably halfway through their working life. Some of the plants are profitable but many aren’t. For those that are not profitable, the owners often don’t know how to swing these plants back into profit, and struggle justifying the costs of employing experts to do that for them.

Older plants suffer from lots of issues, such as grit build up, and need intervention to optimize its performance. Couple this with expired warranties and OEMs that might have gone out of business or moved on to another sector. So, it becomes very difficult for owners of smaller plants to find the capital needed to get them working again.

The cluster concept is about bringing efficiencies and added value to the aftermarket phase – aftermarket spares, cheaper but highly skilled labour and committed service efforts all provided at a shared cost. All of a sudden, by being part of the cluster, plant owners can afford to turn their plants around.

Asset mapping The process gets underway with asset mapping. This involves a detailed audit of the plant, the key component parts, their age and condition, the general health of the facility and how well it is functioning.

Asset mapping also looks at the lead times of critical spares. Currently, this can be up to three months due to COVID and other factors affecting imports, meaning a mechanical failure could spell disaster for the plant owners. To avoid this situation, Birch Solutions will order and stock critical spares for all plants in a cluster at the business’s own cost. This optimises parts procurement in two critical ways. First of all, it reduces the time needed to get spares to a site from months to a couple of hours. Secondly, because spares are ordered in bulk, the cost per item is reduced – savings that can then be passed on to customers. www.biogas-india.com

“The more plants you have on stream, the better the economies of scale”. This works across the board – parts, feedstocks, insurances. Anything that is needed by all the plants can be bulk ordered, creating significant operational costs savings.

Skill labour Labour is another area where the cluster concept can add a huge amount of value to farm plant owners.

Many small, on-farm AD plants don’t require a fulltime manager, meaning one skilled person can oversee more than one plant. This is extended by advances in remote monitoring technology that constantly assesses many processes within a plant and alerts engineers and owners when something is not performing as it should. By combining these, all the plants in the cluster benefit from expert oversight that is usually the preserve of large, commercial biogas operations.

“Skilled labour in the AD sector is not easy to find because the industry is not well regulated”. But by joining a cluster, the individual plants get access to WAMITAB-qualified engineers, ensuring sites are run safely and in line with best environmental practice. We can supply health and safety experts, CHP engineers, and generally the type and level of support small plants can rarely afford by themselves. But it comes as standard as part of the cluster concept and the costs are shared, making it affordable.

Plant shutdowns It is easy to see that the cluster concept brings many benefits and efficiencies on the input side of an AD plant. But there is another, equally important, feature that extends the attraction to small plant owners.

By clustering together, Birch Solutions can secure more favourable power purchase agreements, helping to maximise income, and also protect individual plant owners from being penalised, if they are unable to provide the contracted amount of fuel.

Being part of the co-operative means that if your plant goes down, you’re far less likely to be penalised, and if you are, then the penalties will be much reduced. If a single plant shuts down, the owner will be penalised by the broker for not supplying what it is contractually obliged. With a single plant, this is all or nothing. You’re either producing biogas or you’re not.

However, if you are part of a cluster of 10 plants and only one goes down, the broker still gets 90 per cent of the contracted energy, so the penalties are far smaller. These can either be absorbed by the cluster, or there might be an arrangement where the owner of the plant is responsible for the penalty. Either way, it will be much smaller than the penalty a single plant would face for defaulting on their contract.

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There were a host of fringe benefits to being part of a cluster, feedstock availability being high among them.

The great thing about having farmers in the cluster is they can trade feedstock. If one farmer has an excess of maize, for example, he can trade this with another farmer in the group. It is the same with the digestate or with the fertilizer produced by the plant. Some farmers have a larger land bank than others and, as a result, they require more fertiliser. All of this can be traded within the group, resulting in more efficiency gains.

As well as this, we provide cluster members with regular updates on government incentives such as the Green Gas Support Scheme, industry regulations, and as we are members of various industry groups such as ADBA, members benefit from that too.

Clusters offer unparalleled benefits to small plant owners and given the way in which subsidy payments are likely to benefit large plants in the future, they probably offer the highest value and returns to farm-based AD plants. We definitely think they are the future of this part of the industry.

Speed is a major attraction One farming business that has bought into the cluster concept is H.M. Poskitt Ltd, based Kellington in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The large family operation grows more than 1,000 acres of carrots, 300 acres of parsnips, 100 acres of swede, 4,000 of cereal crops and sugar beet and 700 acres of potatoes. It also grows 600 acres of maize for the farm’s onsite AD plant, and 200 acres of rye which is used either as an energy crop or a forage crop depending on the previous year’s maize yield. The business has operated an AD plant for six years which generates 6,000kW of power every 24 hours and is coupled to a CHP unit.

So, the main attraction for us is speed. If a part costs £4,000, that’s one thing, a cost we have to bear. But if the plant is shut down for a long period because we’re waiting for the part, the costs suddenly ramp up. That’s a different matter altogether and it’s not something we can just let happen. Being part of the cluster helps us avoid this.

Planning out everything that could go wrong and having a solution already in place for it offers a comfort blanket to a plant like ours. We’ve never done much in the way of preventative maintenance so having an expert partner on board to take care of that, especially as the plant ages, and splitting the cost of that across a number of plants is key. That’s where the cluster concept brings us real value.”

Birch Solutions aimed to provide a ‘one-stop-shop’ to cluster members, offering everything from reduced lead times, better pricing, service, maintenance, plant optimization and the latest government and industry updates. We’re really engineering a farming cooperative with a difference. Clusters provide owners of smaller and older plants access to the types of services that large commercial biogas plants take for granted. By clubbing together, we can deliver these services cost effectively and help the smaller end of the market continue to thrive.

For more information about Birch Solutions, go to www.birchsolutions.co.uk or email enquiries@birchsolutions.co.uk.

All the electricity and heat are used by the farm business, leaving just a small requirement for energy to be bought in from the National Grid. Jamie Gutteridge, farm and AD plant manager at H.M Poskitt, agreed that the cluster concept brought significant benefits to the AD operation.

The two businesses have worked together for around three years with Birch Solutions providing maintenance support for the CHP engine as it requires stripping and rebuilding after every 50,000 hours of use.

But, it was a feeder gearbox problem that highlighted the value of joining the cluster to the farm operation.

Mr Gutteridge said, we needed a paddle for the gearbox in the feeder and when we enquired, we were told there was a three-month lead time. This was far too long. Thankfully, we managed to fix it ourselves, but it did make us realize we needed better provision for issues like this. www.biogas-india.com

Mr. Mark Sacker

Managing Director Birch Solutions (UK) Limited Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 16

Sustainable contracting models in Indian bio energy industry

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part from societal concerns and some limits and concessions / incentives by governments, one of the causes for the recent evident expansion in the Bio Gas business is a shift in investors’ perspectives, who see it as an investment opportunity.

Investors are getting convinced that the Bio Gas business model is a sustainable business model. This has made way for private owners to raise funding required for the projects. The Selection of suitable Contracting model becomes essential for sustainability of the Business in India. Most of the Contracting models are Ownership driven models which focuses on financing and risk mitigation concerns. As a general practice, projects are assessed mainly in terms of financial feasibility apart from other non-profit or social benefits.

Any contracting model shall have following characteristics to be sustainable a) Acceptance: Should create win-win situation for an enterprise as well as for its customers. b) Accessibility: Should ensure last mile delivery of product. c) Affordability: For its investors, owners and customers the arrangement should be affordable. d) Regulatory: The entire model should be within the regulatory frame work of local govt. e) Flexibility: Adopting changes to get desired result and increase effectiveness.

Key feature of contracting model in India Most of the projects are on PPP basis. The participawww.biogas-india.com

tion of Public sector or Govt coexists along with the Private Company, either as an investor, committed purchaser or facilitator. For offsite waste to energy business, mostly ownership driven model are being adopted, which focuses on financing and risk mitigation concerns. In cases of on-site waste to energy business, servicing models also being practiced, which focuses on providing specific services and different methods of Operation and Maintenance.

To reduce the energy cost of the Country, Govt has facilitated growth of this Sector through concessions. It gives to the concessioner, a long term right to use utility assets for operations. The asset reverts to the authority at the end of the concession period including assets created by the Concessioner. During Operation period, the revenue is obtained by the Concessioner directly from the Consumer/s.

Selecting a right PPP model The PPP models adopted, focuses on ways to spreading risk and overcoming financial barrier to investing in Waste to Energy business. At the same time these projects also have non-quantitative social benefits, which drives govt. involvement in these projects.

BOT model Private Investment would only be materialized if project is commercially viable and for a weaker project it is difficult for a private owner to get investment at an affordable cost. In such a scenario, Govt Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 17

investment makes the project a viable one. A BOT (Build Operate Transfer) is a sustainable model for such projects. The private company builds the facility where as Govt arranges for the finances. At the end period the asset is transferred back to Govt. Govt bears the equity risks whereas private owner bears the Construction and Operational risk of the Project.

DFBOT model In Waste to Energy Sector a prominent model which is practiced in India is DFBOT. The risk involved in Design Build Finance Operate is with the private company and at the end of period both the original asset and newly created asset is transferred back to Govt. The contracting model is similar to that of BOOT, however it adds specific risk of equity.

Some of the key features are (i) risk transfer to private company (ii) The private company owns the technology Risk (iii) The equity risk (finance) is with private company (iv) Govt. provides concession in form of rights of assets and permissions during the concession period. In India the Local Municipal Corporation floats the tender, commits a minimum municipal solid waste (MSW) as a feed during project period, offers land for setting up plant.

Number of Individual contracts This approach is difficult to manage because a private company must handle a variety of stakeholders through separate contracts, including a financier, a shareholder, an EPC contractor, an O&M contractor, and others (as detailed in Fig 1). These are generally

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long period contracts of 20 Years. Many times it becomes difficult for a single company to manage the entire risk. Thus special companies are formed through SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) which also provides the company a chance to offer equity to consortium partners. The SPV facilitates the transfer part of risk to the partners, who are normally owner of a process such as investors, EPC Contractors, etc.

Making model financially sustainable The government has facilitated a number of measures to make the contracting system more appealing to private companies and to provide a more reasonable Return on Equity (ROE). For MSW based projects, the local municipal corporation commits a minimum feed for project period and offers land for setting the up plant at a nominal price called “Royalty”. The offtake of Bio Gas (Bio-CNG) is assured at a price of Rs 46/- Per Kg for at least certain quantity. The OMC’s (Oil Marketing Companies) purchase the balance quantity of Bio CNG through tenders floated in open market. The private company can also have their own dispensing station for automobiles or sell it to Industry as fuel. The leftover waste is also used as fertilizers and Govt has facilitated offtake by fertilizers making companies mandatory to sale some portion of bio fertilizers along with chemical fertilizers. Study shows usage of organic slurry as fertilizers has increased the yield of farmers by 15% - 20% and this has supported biogas manufacturers.

A detailed flow chart showing various contracts the company has to be sign in Fig.2.

Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 18

Potential for new revenue source An additional incentive is provided when a ERPA (Emission Reduction Purchase Agreement) is signed, where in the carbon credit earned are sold. The emission reduction is calculated based on reduction in emission of replaced energy source against traditional charcoal or wood fuel. Alternatively, these carbon credits can be set-off for internal consumption against some other high carbon emitting businesses. This opens a new market for high carbon emitting companies for reducing carbon footprint and aim for attaining carbon neutral for a business house as a whole.

Abundancy of feed The supply of feedstock for biogas plants in India is plentiful, but yet unorganized. The ever-increasing population generates a considerable amount of food waste on a daily basis in the form of domestic, restaurant leftovers, and food waste from food businesses such as poultry, slaughterhouses, and packed food businesses, among other things. Instead of incineration, the government is encouraging farmers to use agro waste as a feed for Bio Gas. To meet the difficulty of collecting this waste, a new industry is emerging in India that collects such goods for feed to Bio CNG plants.

Onsite Waste to Energy All of the models, such as BOT, BOOT, and DFBOT are befitting where a large amount of feedstock is accessible.

These plants are better suited for use in a community, an industrial setting, or by farmers, among other things, and provide more practical benefits. Onsite Waste to www.biogas-india.com

Energy is powered by self-generated feedstock and uses the products for personal usage. This lowers the cost of collecting feedstock and selling it. This paradigm has several flaws, including a lack of understanding, limited access to newer technology, a lack of operational excellence, and maintenance of equipment.

Some of OEM’s have made DIY kits (Do it Yourself) or small equipment to be installed with minimal help followed by training on operations and maintenance enabling the local person/s to produce energy for domestic consumption. This model enjoys dual benefit of reduction in cost for incineration or disposal of waste, and the same time getting energy almost free.

Challenges faced some of the challenges faced as follows: • The prevailing model i.e. DFBOT is complex to execute as it involves number of stakeholders. Each stakeholder has its own interest in the business and for a private company to manage multiple stake holders become highly complicated • The projects are fairly long duration i.e., 20 Years ( apprx.) and company has to commit upfront for such a long period along with its partners and stake holders. Many socio political and technological changes can impact the original model, which is difficult to visualize at the inception stage.

• Committing financials to the probable investor is another challenge.

• Some of the partners are from unorganized sector.

• Risk analysis, and mitigation is a challenge.

• It may be difficult to manage the entire project Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 19

by a single company, hence a consortium or a SPV is formed to include other partners in the business.

Entering into mutually concurred shareholders agreement is yet another challenge faced by companies.

• The number of stakeholders are managed by individual contracts. Each contract is in different form containing different risk profile and interest.

• Where the contracts are made with Govt. authorities, it becomes practically difficult to enforce the penalties, performance shortfall or delays from Govt. agencies. The revocation of sovereign guarantee is always a difficult task in any business.

Although PPP is a well-established model in other businesses, identifying and managing risks through apt contracting will attract more investments in bio-energy business, and will help the industry to become more sustainable.

Ms. Mrunal Parkhi

Consultant in Legal consultancy Team CCO

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 20

Methane emissions reduction - The case for anaerobic digestion to help reduce short term global warming

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ethane is a prominent GHG. It is both a significant contributor to climate change and a vital chance for rapid decarbonization. Since the beginning of industrialization and intensive agriculture, methane concentrations have increased by around 150 percent. Methane was responsible for roughly 23% of climate change in the twentieth century, and its elimination would have the greatest impact on global temperature rise in the next ten years. We believe the government should focus on reducing methane emissions by employing the anaerobic digestion (AD) process, which has the added benefit of creating renewable methane.

AD achieves this while capturing the methane produced during anaerobic digestion of organic wastes that would otherwise emit methane during uncontrolled decomposition.

Why Methane is a crucial player in the fight against climate change At the COP 26 Glasgow Climate Change Conference 2021, it was agreed that methane reduction is the lowest hanging fruit of all the ways states can use to mitigate global warming.

According to the advisory panel, reduced methane emissions would have a much more obvious positive effect in a 10 to 30 year timeframe up to 2050 than equivalent carbon dioxide emission reductions. It all comes back to the half-life of methane in the atmosphere. This indicates that methane has a significant greenhouse gas effect, but only for a relatively short

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time. In terms of GHG emissions, the future of carbon reduction management will have to focus on lowering the global warming potential (GWP). The GWP of a gas refers to the overall contribution to global warming caused by one unit of that gas emitted in comparison to one unit of the reference gas, CO2, which has a value of 1. The major goal of climate change mitigation will be to reduce GWP. Prioritizing agricultural emissions reductions and biofuel production is one method to do this utilising technology that has already been tried and tested and is already available for deployment.

There is no recommendation that efforts to minimize CO2 emissions should be diverted into methane production, as both are required. However, the development of methane utilisation such as through anaerobic digestion may be given a higher priority. When compared to the equal CO2 reduction, this would result in short-term gains as illustrated in the diagram below: Using Anaerobic Digestion to reduce global emissions of Methane There are two ways in which rapid deployment of anaerobic digestion as a valuable renewable energy source would reduce methane emissions.

These are: • Installing landfill gas extraction systems in all actively gassing landfills as a partial cure for landfill gas methane emissions, and • Developing new Anaerobic Digestion Plants both to process agricultural wastes which would otherwise tend to ferment and emit methane in slurry lagoons Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 21

and to divert food waste and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste away from landfill from which collection of above in the region of 50% of the methane in landfill gas will never be achievable.

In terms of climate change amelioration this is a win-win situation as the renewable energy generated by burning the biogas output displaces demand for fossil fuels. The fact that CO2 becomes available as an output stream during the conversion to biomethane also means that sequestering that carbon is considerably easier than with biomass combustion systems, which would require carbon capture technology before sequestration.

Reducing Methane emissions from Landfills Landfill methane may now still be collected utilizing landfill gas extraction pipe systems if climate change targets are to be met. To counteract the usage of fossil-based fuels, the biogas gathered should be burned in well-designed flares or purified and sold as renewable energy.

The landfill gas energy (as biomethane or electricity) is sold at a profit once the landfill gas collecting and extraction system has been paid for. The amount of energy that a landfill can produce will often be sufficient to supply electricity to several thousands of local homes. A higher level of sustainability and income can be achieved with extra investment in biomethane upgrading equipment.

Reducing Methane emissions by installing Anaerobic Digestion facilities Now let’s see how the age-old natural decomposition www.biogas-india.com

process known as anaerobic digestion might help us in reducing methane emissions.

All forms of organic waste, from manure to sewage sludge, poultry litter, and food crop wastes, are delivered to a massive mechanical stomach in this design.

A significant portion of the mass is converted to biogas, which is then purified. The remaining is used as a fertiliser, a livestock bedding, and even compressed into blocks as a building material. The benefits are numerous, but when done properly, anaerobic digestion prevents methane from escaping, which would otherwise occur under present global farming techniques.

It is worth while to reduce methane emissions on its own, but it is also prudent to use methane to replace fossil fuels such as natural gas, and when used to fuel transportation vehicles, diesel fuel. This means that fossil fuels can be left where they are safely stored underground.

Other benefits of anaerobic digestion include reductions in the following relative to normal agricultural practices: • Reduces water pollution • Using pasteurization results in a hygienic output and less spread of disease and infections • Produces a fertilizer that can reduce agricultural demand for synthetic (fossil fuel-intensive) fertilizers • Lessens farm waste odours overall and agricultural air pollution • The fibrous output can actually restore soils that have become drastically depleted by the over-use of synthetic fertilizers. It does this in a way that means healthier crops that are more robust against disease Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 22

and need less watering.

• Provides local jobs and enables farming businesses to diversify and even keep the younger generation on the family farm to help run these plants and spin-off businesses which add value to the spin-off products from the anaerobic digestion process.

Above all, it is important to note that according to Californian government organisations, dairy digesters (Anaerobic digestion plants) on large US farms have been demonstrated to be the cheapest and most efficient of all methods for reducing methane emissions. Similar investigations, such as those conducted by the World Biogas Association, have demonstrated that this is a general result.

If biogas plant operators can then sell renewable energy credits nationally and/ or internationally to organisations which wish to offset their carbon emissions rather than reducing emissions at the source, the additional funds received by anaerobic digestion plant operators will improve the return on investment. This in turn with higher energy prices generally seen since the start of the global pandemic recovery will allow the industry to grow and invest in Research and Development further improving this young technology.

Methane is a major Greenhouse Gas and reducing its emission using Anaerobic Digestion is a priority - Conclusion According to the World Meteorological Organization, the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has reached yet another new high record this year. If this long-term trend continues, future generations will face increasingly severe climate change implications, such as increased temperature, more intense weather, water stress, sea-level rise, and disruption to marine and land ecosystems. It is critical that countries respond as quickly as possible, and lowering methane emissions is widely accepted as the quickest strategy to limit global temperature rise in the next ten years.

Biogas is generated as living things decompose in absence of oxygen. It’s also simple to utilise as a renewable source of natural gas when converted to biomethane, which is provided to millions of homes via gas distribution networks. Methane, unlike CO2, only stays in the atmosphere for a short time, yet it is a significantly more potent global warming gas than CO2.

According to the science assessment of the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change, methane (chemical formula CH4), a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 28 times greater than CO2, is responsible for 30-50 percent of current global warming. However, when other effects are taken into account, it is preswww.biogas-india.com

ently estimated to be around 80 times more harmful as a greenhouse gas than CO2.

Natural gas leakage from unintentional (fugitive) sources is significant and must be minimised. Current technology allows escapes to be discovered and leaks to be repaired. Governments all across the world would do well to follow California’s lead in implementing legislation requiring gas distribution companies to adhere to best practises for decreasing methane leakage. That effort must continue, but the benefits of quick deployment of the anaerobic digestion process are being overlooked.

Anaerobic digestion is both the cheapest and lowest technology risk option for quick wins in global methane emissions reduction, and can be developed rapidly using existing technology in two ways: • Landfill gas extraction and utilisation • The installation of large numbers of AD plants maximised for biogas production.

Instead of leaking into the atmosphere, LFG can be captured, processed, and used as a renewable energy source. This practice decreases LFG emissions,foul odour, other hazards, as well as methane leakage into the atmosphere, which contributes to local pollution and global climate change. LFG energy efforts also bring money and job opportunity to the neighbourhood and beyond. Government must implement rules to ensure that commercially viable anaerobic digestion technology is given first attention. If that is the case, its full potential will be used to help reduce methane emissions, leading in the most cost-effective and significant reduction in greenhouse gas warming.

Meanwhile, CO2 decarbonization should also be encouraged, as it will aid in the long-term prevention of future global temperature rise. Methane is a major greenhouse gas and reducing its concentration in the atmosphere through adopting anaerobic digestion technology should be a key priority for mitigating climate change’s severe impacts.

Mr. Steve Last Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 23

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 |

Biogas in mountainous regions of India

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ndia’s Himalayan region is home to some of the country’s most abundant natural resource reserves, yet much of its population still lags behind the rest of the country in access to basic amenities. Access to sustainable sources of energy is still a major limiting factor foreconomic development in adjoining parts of these regions. Sustainable energy brings benefits to human health, the mountain environment and the global climate. However, many sustainable energy sources in mountains remain unused or under-utilized. Inhabitants of a majority of the hilly regions have relied on renewable energies like wood, animal dung, and draught power for survival - be it for cooking food, keeping the house warm, milling grain, plowing fields, or transporting goods; but the traditional energy sources are no longer sufficient to meet people’s needs.

In India, mountainous terrain can be found in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Meghalaya in the Himalayas, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala in the Western Ghats, and Andhra Pradesh and Odisha in the Eastern Ghats. A number of these hill stations attract a large number of tourists in summer as well as other times of the year, they are well connected by rail, road, and air services to major Indian cities.

The Government of India (GoI) has embarked on a number of ambitious programmes in the last decade to promote renewable energy by demonstrating the use of solar and biogas energy at holy and tourism sites. In the north-eastern regions of India, which are primarily covered by the Himalayas, the government has recently promoted biogas generation initiatives

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and organic farming methods. More so, additional capital subsidies (almost double of other general states) in form of the existing flagship programs of MNRE, i.e. The National Biogas and Manure Management Program (NBMMP) and the Biogas Power (offgrid) Program (BPP) are being provided from Centre for installation of small-scale biogas plants in the North-Eastern States.

For instance, the ministry is working with the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board to use mule dung— 40 tonne of which is collected every day—for biogas to light up the route to the Vaishno Devi shrine. It is learnt that apart from Vaishno Devi, other places of religious interest where the ministry is setting up similar projects include the Golden Temple, Dargah Ajmer Sharif, Tirupati temple, Shanti Kunj at Haridwar, the headquarters of the Brahma Kumaris at Mount Abu, and the Satya Sai Baba shrine at Shirdi.

Another initiative worth noticing from State bodies is the “Special Area Demonstration Project Scheme”, which aims to install pilot projects at places that are visited by tourists and pilgrims. They organize forest treks with outdoor camping, bird watching, or participation in the farmer’s life for animal husbandry, cow milking, biogas production. Especially, 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 Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 25

pig manure as well as a significant amount of on-farm manures, which could be efficiently used for organic farming. Unambiguously, there remains a lot of scope for organic agriculture in the hills especially in the north-eastern region of India. Some of these states comprising particularly Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur have been identified by Union Government for promoting organic farming. The reason for the selection of these states is the virginity of the arable land in these regions and the crops grown are virtually organic.

Another interesting fact regarding the hilly terrains in India is it being covered with coniferous forests wherein regular leaf shedding in form of pine litter is available in abundance which is still a predominant fuel being used for domestic purposes. Pine needles constitute lignocellulosic biomass, and is available in the mid-altitude villages of the Indian Himalayas region (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir) which produces about 159 lakh tonnes of pine needles every year. Studies have been undertaken to explore naturally fallen foliage for the generation of biofuels which is neither being used for human consumption nor animal feed.

Upon interacting with one of the IBA’s member functional in Uttarakhand state, the representative stated that in general the beneficiaries of the subsidized domestic biogas installations 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. Further, he stated that as these 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 vermi-compost. The Department of Environment and Forests officials in the region are nevertheless extremely interested in promoting vermi-composting as a potential entrepreneurial activity for forest villages.

government institutions, farmer cooperatives, banks, and NGOs, and should seek to involve community education, training and awareness campaigns. Also, the provided training in the mountainous parts can be tailored to meet the recipient’s educational needs.

More needs to be done to encourage the participation of the deprived and unprivileged beneficiaries, rural dwellers, and community-based organizations, which may increase awareness in a more accessible and locally- appropriate form, especially to women and Self-Help Groups (SHG).The positive vibe created with a handful of successful stories shall create an aura of confidence among several stakeholders of the biogas industry.

Mr. Abhijeet Mukherjee Program Head Indian Biogas Association

Biogas technology has established itself over the years, and as explored in this article, this could exercise major influence in the energy scenario in the mountainous terrains of India. So, it is recommended that central assistance schemes for the promotion of household biogas plants and mid-sized biogas plants through NNBOMP (New National Biogas Organic Manure Program) and the Biogas-based Power generation and Thermal Application Program (BPGTP) respectively should enable greater stakeholder engagement. This shall include a market competition to deliver new micro-finance options such as low-interest loans through www.biogas-india.com

Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 26

Crossword Puzzle

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ACROSS

TOP DOWN

1. An insoluble polysaccharide (consisting of chains of glucose monomers), which is the main constituent of plant cell walls and vegetable fibers.

Although a complex substrate for anaerobic digestion, but still can be digested upon suitable pre-treatment.

2. The basis of this gas upgradation/purification technology is the different liquefaction temperature for the constituents in gas. However, in spite of many advantages of this technology, the high-energy requirement makes it adoption commercially challenging in biogas projects.

3. Analysis to determine and prevent abrupt built up of Volatile fatty acid concentration in the digester.

(The term/abbreviation has a German origin) 6. A medical condition representing lack of oxygen in body, may be caused by toxic gases like hydrogen sulphide or carbon monoxide.

4. While estimating the carbon offset/credit for a given project, __________ emission is the estimate of reference emission that would have been there if the project was not implemented.

E C

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ANSWER OF CROSSWORD 6.0

L A R C H A E A

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5. A type of high-rate anaerobic digester which functions upon forming a blanket of granular sludge. The application is mostly being used in conjunction with effluent treatment plants.

Please send your answer to info@biogas-india.com to win attractive prizes. Answer to be published in the next edition of magazine

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 27

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 28

A system and a process for formation of a renewable natural coal from waste output of a Cattle/Agricultural based Biogas plant

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his study resulted in the patenting of a “Renewable Coal” or “biocoal” process (Renewable Natural Coal from the waste output of a Cattle/Agricultural based Biogas plant).

Anaerobic digestion bio-reactors produce biogas (essentially a mixture of methane with carbon dioxide and other gases at low “trace” levels) and a slurry (digestate). Until recently, this output was seen to be a waste, and disposing it off may be costly. It is frequently utilised for land spreading when produced by agricultural AD plants, where it serves as a fertiliser and improves soil structure. The amount that can be spread, however, is constrained by the need to keep ammonia levels in the soil below allowable levels. The fibrous digestate from most sewage sludge biogas facilities and municipal solid-waste produced bio waste is also a hazard for metal accumulation in the soil.

coal (bio-coal) will need to offer. Before it becomes a marketable product for burning on open fires and in domestic coal boilers, following would be needed: • High caloric value similar to fossil/ geological/ mineral coal or be offered at a much lower price than mineral coal • Low smoke or smokeless burning characteristics • Low air emissions (low air polluting NOx etc).

Other benefits are as follows: • Help to restart biogas plants after shut-downs

Benefits of biogas coal versus non renewable coal Once processed in accordance to the patented method, a material remains (called “renewable natural coal” in the patent), which when burnt as a fuel helps to reduce consumption of natural coal. It is also assumed that this renewable coal will be in demand throughout the period up to and beyond “Net Zero” in 2050, and command at better price when sold. However, the details revealed provide only a few details of the important aspects which this form of renewable www.biogas-india.com

Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 29

• Generate revenue and • Raise employment available in rural areas.

Summary of the invention The present disclosure seeks to provide a system and a process for formation of a renewable natural coal from waste output cattle/ agricultural based biogas plant. Natural coal is formed when dead plant matter decays into peat, and is converted into coal by the heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years. The similar geological principle is utilized in cattle/agriculture waste biogas plant. The cattle/agricultural waste decompose and forms biogas. It comes out from another outlet which is called output slurry. Finally, there is comparison between renewable natural coal and natural coal in terms of overall performance. This renewable natural coal aids in the reduction of natural coal consumption, as well as the restarting of closed biogas facilities and the generation of revenue and employment in rural regions. This unique result helps us to develop a new technique of utilizing the output slurry obtained from the biogas plant, and converting the output slurry into a useful biofuel also known as

the bio-coal. The gross calorific value of the obtained renewable natural coal falls in the range of 2989 Kcal/ kg to 3439.94 Kcal/kg.

Geology of coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish sedimentary rock. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements like Hydrogen, Sulphur, Oxygen and Nitrogen. Coal is formed when dead plant matter decays into peat and is converted into coal by the heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years.

The similar geological principle is happened in cattle waste biogas plant. The cattle/agricultural waste is decomposes and formed biogas and coming out from another outlet which called output slurry. As shown in fig 3. The Gross calorific value of input material (Dry) is 3185.32 Kcal/kg and Gross calorific value of output material (Dry) is 2849.86 Kcal/kg.

From long time, open-air dried cattle dung has been used as a cooking fuel in India and other nations with low rainfall and hot climates. There is increasing value on using biogas upgraded to pure biomethane for usGross calorific value (Kcal/kg)

Input Material

3185.32

Output Material

2849.86

Renewable natural coal sample 1

2989

Renewable natural coal sample 2

3438.94

G13 natural coal

3400-3700

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 30

age as fuel for transport vehicles. Biomethane is seeing high demand growth, particularly for heavy goods vehicle use.

So, there could be a very important role for renewable coal/ bio-coal in many decarbonized communities in the decades to come where both biogas and the biocoal output is sold for income. Bio coal might be seen as a much-improved version of dung as fuel. The same might apply to peat, which was once extensively burnt in homes in countries such as Ireland.

“Bio coal could drive forward the biogas industry like never before.” If at the same time the liquid output was also sold,for use as a crop fertilizer, biogas plants would become far more profitable. Quickly they would become coveted assets with a very attractive ROI (Return On Investment) or payback period. This could drive forward the biogas industry like never before.

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Mr. Ankit Patil

Head Research and Developement Anchan Petroleum limited, India

Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 31

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Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 |

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Waste-derived biogas: A key toward building a truly sustainable, Carbon-free future

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e produce a lot of waste every day, from nail trimming to making excellent food.

However, once the garbage truck has collected our trash, we go about our daily lives without giving a second thought to what happens to the trash.

Whether it’s electrical devices or clothing, we buy, use, and discard. We live in a throwaway culture where we don’t care if items may be reused or recycled. Our desires have risen to unprecedented heights as a result of the expanding social media and e-commerce industries. People feel compelled to improve their appearance, dress, eat, and live in a better home in order to be accepted and feel better about themselves. However, we are generating more and more garbage than we can handle in the process. Today, waste management is one of the most important concerns confronting our country.

Controlling these wants and resisting the urge to spend money on things we don’t need is not an easy endeavor as it needs collective efforts, and conscious choices about lifestyle. On the other hand, dealing with biodegradable waste can be implemented on a larger scale. Generating biogas from organic waste, produced by peeling vegetables and other household activities can benefit both society and the environment. The waste-derived biogas can find industrial applications such as production of electricity and on-site electricity production, and thus help in maintaining circular economy.

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According to Allied Market Research the global waste-derived biogas market is expected to reach $126.2 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2021 to 2030. High number of investments toward renewable source of fuel and energy and lowcost substitute to conventional sources drive the market growth Biogas, both improved and raw, is utilised for a variety of commercial and industrial energy applications, including the generation of heat and power. Heat and power (CHP) units or biogas cogeneration facilities are the terms used to describe these applications. The units have a high efficiency rate of 50% and 35% for converting renewable fuel to heat and electricity respectively. Biogas cogeneration units are beneficial in places like hospitals, laundries, hotels, nursing homes, jails, recreational facilities, and academic institutions where renewable fuel is plentiful.

Use of waste-derived biogas to develop biogas fuel cells Biogas fuel cells is a novel way to using biogas as electricity source through use of fuel cells. Several companies have come up with new designs and technologies to develop efficient fuel cells to cater to customers across the U.S. and other nations.

The technology behind such energy conversion products entails injection of hydrogen-rich fuel such through reformation of biogas into a fuel cell. This in Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 33

jection triggers electrochemical reaction between Hydrogen and Oxygen (present in the air) and it initiates internal reforming process to generate direct electric current (DC). By converting it into alternating current (AC), people can use biogas as an electric source.

Moreover, the bioproducts of the process are heat and water vapor, which can be used to warm incoming fuel and warm bathwater.

Use of biogas for transportation sector Some companies have concentrated their efforts on creating technology that can convert waste-derived biogas into a renewable fuel that can be used in automobiles. As the transportation sector is one of the major consumers of fossil fuels, the use of biogas as fuel could open new opportunities and minimize the pollution. According to researchers, the replacement of biogas to traditional gasoline can help reduce the greenhouse generation from the transportation sector by 80%. Thus, several companies in Europe have successfully upgraded biogas for vehicle fuelling purposes. However, this initiative is yet to hit the global audience. The purification process and production of biomethane is a bit expensive than the traditional methods to fuel vehicles. Hence, the widespread adoption of biogas for vehicles has a lot of challenges.

Once the infrastructure for generation of biomethane gets established on a wider scale, the automotive companies will turn toward the waste-derived biogas as a potential source of fuel, which could power sustainable future.

Waste-derived biogas could power sustainable future Biogas is one of the oldest and most effective way of waste management and energy source. Biogas has been used to light street lamps and warm bath water

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for many years. The applications of biogas have grown as a result of technological advancements in the twenty-first century, and new technologies to transform waste into biogas have transpired.

Dealing with organic waste is a major issue of the modern society, but it is a low-cost, sustainable, and attractive source for renewable energy. In fact, converting waste into fuel solves two major concerns of the modern world-scientific treatment of soaring global organic waste and meeting ever-increasing demand for energy. Farmers can benefit from modest biogas producing plants because they produce bio fertilizers as a by-product. Waste-derived biogas, according to some experts, is a win-win option that can help fuel a sustainable future while also addressing key challenges such as climate change.

It is estimated that over 3 billion people, or around 40% of the world’s population lack access to clean fuel for household purposes such as cooking. Furthermore, around 2.4 billion people don’t have proper access to sanitation and waste management facilities, both in developing and underdeveloped countries.

Thus, there lies a significant potential for companies in the waste-derived biogas industry to tap into these markets. Small-scale biogas technology could help these people generate energy while dealing with organic waste generated at home. In addition, biogas offers them clean cooking gas, which can replace use of woods, coal, and charcoal, which are the main culprits in increasing air pollution and thinning ozone layer.

Many companies such as Home Biogas have developed small-scale domestic biogas systems which includes biodigester and biogas stove, and same can be

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installed in any household. Such biodigesters can convert food scraps, animal and human waste into biogas, and convert it into up to two hours of cooking gas per day. A small biogas plant is sufficient for a family of 3–4 people.

Anaerobic digesters, also commonly known as biodigesters can produce biogas similar to the way human digestion works. When biodigesters are fed with organic materials including animal manure, agricultural leftovers, and food waste, it is decomposed by microorganisms in the absence of oxygen and turned into biogas. Biogas produced from waste contains mixture of gases including carbon dioxide and methane, which are potent greenhouse gases. Due to systematic waste conversion, these gases are harnessed; that would otherwise have released into the atmosphere and harmed the environment. Thus, waste-derived biogas is the most sustainable way of energy generation and to replace use of fossil fuels for household energy production.

The future uses of biogas will depend on how markets react to the development of renewable energy sources. The increasing prices of oil and gas, depleting sources of non-renewable fuel, and never-ending trade war could encourage several companies to look toward waste-derived biogas as a prime source of fuel to theusage in industrial applications, household purposes, and in transportation sector. Renewable natural gas is the most inexpensive option for zero-carbon transportation fuel and the automotive companies should not neglect such source of clean energy.

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The millennials and Gen Z are more concerned about their choices and sustainable practices that can reduce harmful effects on the environment. Thus, the demand for waste-derived biogas will increase in the future. Moreover, the governmental support could go a long way for companies to develop biogas generation plants that standalone can power a small city and such accomplishment will be a true step toward sustainable future.

Ms. Swamini Kulkarni Content Writer Allied Analytics LLP

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Compressed biogas is the key to achieve India’s goals of energy security and sustainability

I

ndia, with its 1.3 billion people, is the second-most populous country in the world, and that number is still growing every day. With this population spread across a total area of more than 29 lakh square kilometers, transportation is of paramount importance to move both people and goods across the length and breadth of the country to keep it ticking. India has relied on oil imports to meet its transportation needs so far. Oil prices, on the other hand, is fluctuating drastically all of the time. The rising costs of gasoline and diesel are proof of this. This puts a severe strain on the precious foreign currency reserves of the country and is something that India can do without. To help alleviate this burden on the economy of the country, the policy makers have been hard at work and the ‘Sustainable Alternative towards Affordable Transport’ (SATAT) scheme is the result of those efforts.

Through the SATAT initiatives, the Government aims to push Compressed Biogas (CBG) as an alternative to petrol, diesel, and CNG, all of which contribute sizeably to the country’s annual oil imports. The Government plans to set up 5000 CBG plants by 2023-24 with a production target of 15MMT of CBG annually; as of Aug 2021, 2407 letters of intent (LOI) have already been issued by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. As of now, 13 CBG plants have been commissioned and 2407 tonnes of produced CBG have already been sold. By collaborating with leading oil and gas companies via a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Government plans to invest

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more than Rs. 75,000 crores towards setting up City Gas distribution networks for CBG in due time.

All of this looks promising, but how does it address India’s need for energy security and goals for sustainability. This is where the fore mentioned burgeoning population comes into action. Over a billion people generate massive quantities of organic waste. Efficient management and subsequent disposal of these huge quantities of garbage are posing to be a nightmare, stretching the infrastructure to the limit. As a result of this, most of this waste simply gets dumped in landfills that are growing higher and wider with every passing day.

Methane is a greenhouse gas that is one of the prime contributors to global warming. Beside other greenhouse gases like Carbon Dioxide, organic waste left to rot emanates copious amounts of methane, which in turn increases air pollution. But if this methane can be effectively collected, it can make for a fuel with a high calorific value.

Biogas is produced through the anaerobic decomposition of organic waste. However, this raw biogas has high levels of moisture, Carbon Dioxide, and Hydrogen Sulphide, all of which make it unsuitable for use as an automotive fuel. Through the application of suitable technology and processes, these impurities are left behind and methane of more than 90 percent purity can be extracted. This so called methane-rich gas Biogas Magazine | Edition 18 | 37

is Compressed Biogas and is ready to be transported in cascades, or piped straightaway if the technology employed in its purification allows for this. The sludge and residue that is left behind after the production of biogas can be collected and used as organic fertilizer.

The reason why CBG is seen as a viable and sustainable fuel across the world is that it can be produced from any organic waste. Municipal solid waste (MSW), sewage water, sugarcane press mud, animal faeces, agricultural residue, and so on are all excellent raw materials for CBG production. This helps solve the issue with organic waste management and puts it to good use by facilitating a cyclic waste-to-wealth economy.

and by providing additional sources of revenue for farmers and job opportunities for workers, the adoption of CBG will bolster the country’s economy substantially. Perhaps CBG adoption is the rare instance where one can bake the proverbial cake and eat it too.

And the green aspect in terms of organic waste management and reduction of methane emissions is the icing on that very cake!

In terms of economic benefits, there are plenty to be had through the adoption of CBG as a fuel. All thanks to its characteristics and high calorific value, CBG can be used in existing CNG vehicles with little or no modifications. This makes the initial investment close to nil for vehicle operators to make the switch to CBG. Farmers will have an extra source of income via the sale of the agricultural refuse that they would otherwise have to burn or pay to dispose off. According to estimates, CBG plants that will come up will create more than 75,000 jobs with lakhs of indirect employment opportunities.

Through the reduction of the reliance on oil imports,

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Mr. Vinod Paremal

Regional President for Evonik in the Indian Subcontinent

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T

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presents

Bio-Energy Pavilion 2022

at Renewable Energy India Expo, Greater Noida

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