BIOGAS

 

  • Biogas is based upon the use of dung to produce gas which is used as domestic fuel, especially in rural areas
  • Biomass has always been an important energy source for the country considering the benefits it offers.  It is renewable, widely available, carbon-neutral and has the potential to provide significant employment in the rural areas
  • The technique is based on the decomposition of organic matter in the absence of air, to yield gas consisting of methane(55%) and Carbon Dioxide(45%), which can be used as source of energy
  • It can be used as cooking and lighting fuel; and the left over slurry serves as an enriched manure
  • This has taken deep roots in India, as it has higher thermal efficiency when compared with Kerosene, firewood, dung and charcoal
  • About 32% of the total primary energy use in the country is still derived from biomass and more than 70% of the country’s population depends upon it for its energy needs

Potential of Biomass energy in India

    • As per a recent study sponsored by Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, the current availability of biomass in India is estimated at about 750 million metric tonnes per year.
    • The Study indicated estimated surplus biomass availability at about 230 million metric tonnes per annum covering agricultural residues corresponding to a potential of about 28 GW.
    • This apart, about 14 GW additional power could be generated through bagasse based cogeneration in the country’s 550 Sugar mills, if these sugar mills were to adopt technically and economically optimal levels of cogeneration for extracting power from the bagasse produced by them

Schemes/initiatives

    • Biomass power & cogeneration programmeis implemented with the main objective of promoting technologies for optimum use of country’s biomass resources for grid power generation.  Biomass materials used for power generation include bagasse, rice husk, straw, cotton stalk, coconut shells, soya husk, de-oiled cakes, coffee waste, jute wastes, groundnut shells, saw dust etc.
    • Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation has launched the GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) – DHAN scheme to convert organic waste, especially ca􏰁le waste, to biogas and organic manure for use in rural areas