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Fermented organic liquid fertiliser recognised by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare (MoAFW)

by admin
written by admin

Indian Biogas Association apprised on the latest amendment (dated 1st June 2021) in fertiliser Control Order (FCO) from Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare (MoAFW), which now recognises the ‘Fermented organic liquid  fertiliser’ as a form of organic fertiliser. 
Just last Year, the solid fraction of the produced slurry from biogas plants was incorporated as ‘Fermented organic Manure’ in the FCO. Now with the latest notification from the Ministry on recognition of the liquid fraction as well, it would legally facilitate production and sales of organic manure (in both solid and liquid fraction) from biogas/CBG plants.This in turn would catalyse the process of setting up new biogas/CBG projects. Investors will be able to realise better returns upon fairly monetizing the produced digestate, a byproduct of all biogas/ CBG plants. 
It’s also worthwhile to note that digestate produced from any biogas/CBG plant is an excellent manure for crops. It also improves the overall soil health, which has been deteriorating rapidly due to rampant and imprudent usage of chemical fertilisers. 
Some of the salient benefits of using digestate as organic fertiliser are: improves soil’s physical and biological properties, supplements nutrient requirement for the crop, improves carbon content of soil, augments nutrient mobilization rate in soil, increases microbiological activity, improves water holding capacity, improves crop productivity, and most importantly optimises usage of chemical fertilisers strictly on supplementary nutrional need basis.
It would be fair to anticipate that this declaration from the Ministry shall aid realization of the target (setting up of around 5000 CBG plants over a period of 5 years, set by MoPNG under its SATAT scheme launched in October 2018.

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Biogas

BIOGAS POWER GENERATION

by admin
written by admin

In the midst of the global climate change phenomenon, mainly caused by fossil fuel burning to provide energy for our daily life and discharge of CO2 into the atmosphere, biogas is one of the important renewable energy sources that can be upgraded and applied as a fuel source for energy in daily life. The advantages of the production of hybrid materials, metal-organic framework (MOF) adsorbents, expected for the biogas upgrading, rely on the bulk separation of CO2 under near-ambient conditions.

Biogas is formed naturally when palm oil liquid waste (POME) is decomposed under anaerobic conditions. Without control, biogas is a major contributor to global climate change. Biogas power plants take advantage of the natural decomposition process to generate electricity. ​Biomass that is high in moisture content, such as animal manure and food-processing wastes, is suitable for producing biogas using a biological treatment process called anaerobic digestion. Biomass decomposition is made by methanogenic bacteria. Gas composition is methane 50%-65%, 25%-45% CO2, and some admixtures. It is estimated that India can produce power of about 17,000 MW using biogas. This is about 10% of the total electricity installed capacity in India. This high methane content makes biogas an excellent source of renewable energy to replace natural gas and other fossil fuels. Biogas is typically used in factory boilers and in engine generator sets to produce electricity and heat. If internal combustion engines are fuelled with biogas to produce electricity, the facility can use the electricity or export it to the power grid.

Market of biogas plants worldwide in 2006 – 2030

Biogas plants are a reliable source of decentralized Renewable Energy for heating, cooking as well as generating electricity/power generation and as thermal energy application alternatives in our country.

In India there are various resources to generate the electricity using wastage i.e. Agriculture, Landfills gas, Sewage & Water Treatment, Coal gas etc…

Speakers from MNRE, IREDA, UNIDO, DFID, SBI CAP came together to decode the nuances of financing in Bio-CNG sector

Agriculture

Agriculture in many countries, especially in India, is the biggest GDP contributor, hence to the bio-waste of the country. The agro-residues from a typical energy crop including Maize, Grass, Wheat, Rice and alternatively from other organic waste materials such as Slurry, Poultry waste Manure, Vegetable waste can be used for biogas production.

Here our leading gas engines and biogas power solutions can provide best savings by converting all the bio-waste to energy and fertilizer.

Our cogeneration systems running on biogas in farms and dairies produce power and heat both economically and environmentally friendly.

Sewage & Water Treatment

Sewage and water treatment plants remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants from wastewater. Sewage gas power is the energy generated from the Effluent. Sewage gas is available as a “free” fuel on site.

The electric power can either be used to supply the sewage plant itself, or it can be fed into the electricity grid. The thermal energy can be utilized for heating up the sewage sludge in the digester or for heating the whole facility.

A mission critical STP plant requires a reliable and continuous power supply to maintain 24/7 operations. Our complete power range along with industry-leading reliability and availability provides backup and standby power 24/7 for utilization of waste energy in sewage plants in a most economical way.

Landfill Gas

Landfill gas is generated as a result of anaerobic digestion of garbage in the dump site. It virtually constitutes a free source of energy that can be utilized to generate electricity.

Although being an attractive financial aspect, planned gas recycling offers other important benefits like-

The odour nuisance from landfill sites is reduced. Fire & explosion hazards can be prevented.
Gas migration is avoided
Landfill sites can be re-cultivated more quickly.

Coal Gas

Waste methane from working mines, coal seam methane extracted from unmined virgin coal and so called “syngas” produced by the gasification of biomass and waste can be used to generate Power using advanced CHP modules. Methane has 21 times the global warming potential of CO2 when released into the atmosphere.

Gas engines help dispose of coal mine gas while harnessing it as an energy source. The potential danger due to the diffuse emission of mine gas and its main constituent methane (25 to 60 percent) is reduced by efficiently using it for power generation. This process avoids the liberation of methane that would otherwise be vented or flared.

‘Pragmatic policy-supported-ecosystem’-Key to u nlock the true potential of Biogas/ Bio-CNG/ CBG /RNG industry

Bio-CNG environment-friendly and low emission

Bio-CNG has commercial, industrial and automotive values and can be used in restaurants, cement factories, public transport and CNG-fitted vehicles.

Bio-CNG contains about 92-98 % of methane and only 2-8 % carbon dioxide. The calorific value of Bio-CNG is about 52,000 kilojoules (kJ) per kg, which is 167 % higher than that of biogas. The high methane content and calorific value combined with the low quantity of moisture, hydrogen sulphide and impurities makes Bio-CNG an ideal fuel for automobiles and power generation. The low emission levels of Bio-CNG also make it a more environment-friendly fuel than biogas.

Compressed biogas is exactly similar to the commercially available natural gas in its composition and energy potential. Given the abundance of biomass in the country, compressed biogas has the potential to replace CNG in automotive, industrial and commercial uses in the coming years. The potential for compressed biogas production from various sources in India is estimated at about 62 million tonnes per annum and also help bring down dependency on crude oil imports. Bio-CNG also holds great promise for efficient municipal solid waste management and in tackling the problem of polluted urban air due to farm stubble-burning and carbon emissions. The Bio-CNG process also

produces enriched organic manure which can be used as fertiliser. As Bio-CNG has a high calorific value it also finds its use in blast furnaces.

As production of Bio-CNG from biogas is a new technology there may be some challenges in adopting this technology:

●  The capital cost for installing a Bio-CNG is expensive. E.g. to produce 400 kg/day of Bio-CNG requires a capital investment of Rs. 1.65 crores while 5000 kg/day requires Rs.16 crores.

●  Preliminary processes like collection, transportation, and segregation may also limit the adaptation.

●  It can be installed only where waste generation is abundant. It is challenging to assure waste sources for the production of Bio-CNG and it will not be consistent.

●  The production process requires skilled technicians.

●  There are no specific standards existing in India for installation, operation, and maintenance of these plants.

Snapshot of Bio-CNG in India

In India, Bio-CNG is estimated to replace two-thirds of India’s Natural gas imports, which is currently at 429 billion cubic feet. In July 2016, the Waste to Energy Division of MNRE launched a programme on energy from urban, industrial and agricultural wastes/residues which aims to promote setting up of projects for recovery of energy in the form of biogas/Bio-CNG/enriched biogas from urban, industrial, and agricultural wastes. Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of INR 4 crore per 4800 kg of Bio-CNG/day generated from 12,000 cubic metre Biogas /day has been announced, with a limitation of Maximum CFA as INR 10 crore/project). Presently, there are seventeen Bio-CNG plants operational in India, with a combined capacity of 46,178 kg per day (Figure 2). These plants are spread over nine states, of which Maharashtra leads in terms of the largest capacity as well as the highest number of plants. In addition, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India is planning to develop a Bio-CNG facility in a few states including New Delhi and Chennai.

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Biogas

‘Pragmatic policy-supported-ecosystem’-Key to u nlock the true potential of Biogas/ Bio-CNG/ CBG /RNG industry

by Industrial Outlook
written by Industrial Outlook

Dr. A.R. Shukla- President, IBA

It’s indeed heartening to learn of India is gearing up for the paradigm shift towards being self dependent through the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. Within this context, Biogas/ Bio-CNG/ CBG/ RNG can potentially turn out to be the panacea that promises to hit many birds in one shot. With three distinct outputs of ‘Biogas/ Bio-CNG/ CBG/ RNG plants, these plants work as ‘Biomass waste treatment and pollution abatement Plants, ‘Organic Fertilizer Production plants’ and ‘Gaseous fuel (Biogas) Generation plants’, thereby helping in solving three burning problems of pollution, energy and need for eco-friendly organic fertilizer. Some of the crucial aspects that needs categoric intervention to facilitate leapfrogging of this sector are hereby portrayed.

It’s no brainer that ceteris paribus, gradual removal of bottlenecks towards insertion of bio methane in existing Natural Gas Grid shall significantly ramp the industry growth upon truly exploiting the bio-methane potential. Such a utopian scenario shall have tremendous positive financial, social and environmental impact, such as generation of massive employment

opportunities, reduction in fossil fuel and synthetic fertilizer import (Refer Table-I and Table II), meeting the requirement of ‘strategic fuel’ for managing emergency situations by producing local resource based indigenous ‘Make in India’ energy and organic fertilizer products, aiding decongestion along with scientific waste management in cities thus fructifying the objects of ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’, and facilitating the opportunity to re-build a sustainable and self reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat)’. 

Table I 

The salient outputs, mentioned above shall result from minimum 62.2 million metric tonnes of Bio-CNG generation along with the production of about 658.42 million tonnes of bio/organic fertilizer annually. Putting it quantitatively, this shall result in employment generation of about 1.33 million personnel (Refer Table III for break-up); scientific waste treatment through digestion of 1286.88 million tonnes of biomass waste annually thereby reducing annual GHG emissions of 265.88 million tonnes of CO2eqv., which is commensurate with 11.2% of the total GHG emission in India (based on 2015 level). Altogether, this will potentially save huge cost incurred in pollution abatement and healthcare. 

Table II 

Table III- Break-up of Employment opportunity upon realization of complete bio-methane
potential

Function/ RoleEducational Skill and
Qualification Level		Key skillsPersonnel needed to
harness complete bio-
methane potential
ManufacturingHighly skilledResearch and product
development		36,000
Business
Development		Highly skilledTracking the market, Drafting
bids, Land selection, Project
Finance		15,000
Design & Pre-
Construction		Highly skilledPlant design engineering24,000
Construction &
Commissioning		Highly skilled
___________________
Semi and Low Skilled		Site engineering
_______________________
Electricals training and plant
installing		48,000
________________
1,50,000
Operation &
Maintenance		Highly skilled
___________________
Semi and Low Skilled		Performance data monitoring
_________________________________
Fitter, Electricians, Labour		30,000
__________________
1,50,000
Indirect Employment
across the value		Low Skilled/semi-
skilled		Waste collection (primary and
secondary), Farming, sales		3,39,750
Chainchannel for org. fertilizer
sales, sales channel for other
by-products
Supporting
infrastructure- gas
grid (micro/mini),
bio-CNG dispensing
outlets		High skilled/ Semi
Skilled
____________________
Low Skilled/semi-
skilled		Administration, Site
Engineering
_________________________________
Fitter, Electricians, Labour,
Operators		2,16,000
_____________________
3,24,000
Total13,32,750

However, it’s worthwhile to bring to put forth that there are several Ministries encompassing MNRE, MoPNG, MoDWS, MoCF, MoHUA, MoAFW, MoEFCC, and few others, which are handling/ supporting this sector, including at least one of the three main deliverables of biogas generation or organic fertilizer production or biomass waste treatment. This has always led to inadequacy of required support to the sector. As a result, these Ministries individually/collectively could not harness the realistic potential of Biogas/ Bio-CNG)/ CBG/ RNG sector. The need of the hour is to pool and integrate all the inter-Ministerial incentives, relevant to Bio-CNG industry, through better coordination amongst all the Ministries with MNRE being the focal Ministry of all. 

In fact, there is a need to implement a paradigm shift in formulating pragmatic policies in terms of moving towards, ‘Generation based Incentive (GBI)’ from the existing upfront subsidy regime (refer Table IV for estimation related to GBI) and provisioning for Credit Guarantee scheme for facilitating swift lending process from Financial Institutions (Banks, NBFC, etc.). Same could be achieved upon setting-up a ‘Biogas-Fertilizer Fund’. For harnessing the total generation potential of 62.2 million tonnes p.a. of Biogas/ Bio-CNG/ CBG/ RNG in India, the proposed “Biogas-Fertilizer Fund” will have an estimated corpus requirement of Rs. 9,44,664 crores (Refer Table V), of which Rs. 97,392 crores will be pegged towards the ‘Credit Guarantee scheme’ and remaining Rs. 8,47,272 crores towards ‘Generation based Incentive (GBI)’ @ Rs.20/- per kg of Bio-CNG (produced as per BIS Standards) for 15 years of tentative plant life. With this outlay of Rs. 9,44,664 crores for the sector, there will be an enormous overall return to the govt. in the form of savings from reduction in crude oil import, nutrient-based subsidy savings on chemical fertilizers, and meeting the GHG emission reduction target (@ price of Certified Emission Rating CER) as per the Nationally Determined Contributions-NDCs (Refer Table VI). The consolidated savings on above accounts are estimated at approximately Rs. 11,02,200 crores in 15 years span (useful life of a typical biogas/ Bio-CNG plant). Thus, the net value creation turns out to be Rs.1,57,536 crore, which is a net surplus for the Govt. Exchequer through harnessing of total Bio CNG/ CBG/ RNG potential in India. Also, it’s worthwhile to note that under the launched SATAT scheme, over the next five years, its envisaged to set-up about 5000 plants, which would facilitate harnessing around one-sixth of the aforementioned total potential of 62.2 million tonnes of bio-CNG per annum.

Table IV- Determination of Bio-CNG Price for a Typical 5 TPD Bio-CNG/ CBG/ RNG Generation
plant

S. NOEstimated
Expenditure
per kg of Bio-CNG		Amount
(Rs.) (3)		Item of Revenue
Sources per kg of
Bio-CNG		Amount
(Rs.) (4)		Generation Based Incentive
(GBI) Requirement
(difference of Column 3 and
4)
1. Levelized Cost of the
Plant		55.62Contribution from
Manure Sales		7.70
2. Variable Cost of
operating the Plant		18.11Bio-CNG sales
(SATAT off take
price)		46.00
Total:73.7353.7020.03

Note:

  1. Above estimated table is subjected to change based on different scenarios and assumption of various parameters
    such as feedstock price, CAPEX, OPEX, WACC, cost and price escalation, and so on.
  2. Levelized Cost includes-CAPEX/Depreciation, Finance Cost, Operation and Maintenance, Plant Overheads
  3. Variable Cost includes- Feedstock and its Transportation Cost
  1. Above estimated table is subjected to change based on different scenarios and assumption of various parameters
    such as feedstock price, CAPEX, OPEX, WACC, cost and price escalation, and so on.
  2. Levelized Cost includes-CAPEX/Depreciation, Finance Cost, Operation and Maintenance, Plant Overheads
  3. Variable Cost includes- Feedstock and its Transportation Cost

Table V-Total Funds Requirement in terms of ‘Credit Guarantee Scheme’ and GBI
Corpus’ for harnessing Bio-CNG/ CBG/ RNG Potential in India

S. NOParticulars of
harnessing of Bio-CNG/
CBG/ RNG		Credit Guarantee
Requirement
(in Rs. Crore)		GBI Corpus
Requirement*
(in Rs. Crore)		Total Funds
Requirement
(in Rs. Crore)
1. Harnessing
target under SATAT		14,8751,24,2981,39,173
2. Harnessing
Total
Potential		97,3928,47,2729,44,664
*For 15 years of Plant Life @ Rs.20/- per Kg of Bio-CNG/ CBG/ RNG

Table VI- Estimated Monetary Savings through Harnessing Total Biogas/ Bio-CNG/ CBG/ RNG
Potential in India

S. No.ParticularsEstimation
Basis		Estimated Annual
Savings to Govt.
Exchequer by
Harnessing Total Bio-
CNG Potential in India
( in Rs. Crore)		*Estimated 15 years
Plant-life-Savings to
Govt. Exchequer by
Harnessing Total Bio-
CNG Potential in India
(in Rs. Crore)
1.Equivalent Foreign
Exchange Outflow on
Crude oil import		US Dollar per
Barrel		1573.6210,71,800
2. Subsidy on Chemical
Fertilizers		NBS per Kg of
N,P,K		35.3824,100
3. GHG Emissions
Reduction Savings		Prevailing CER
price		9.316,300
Total:1618.3011,02,200

Note: * Values are reported as discounted PV @ 12 % p.a.
NBS- Nutrient Based Subsidy, CER- Certified Emission Ratings

So, in view of the ‘Atmanirbhar and Swachh Bharat’, there is a need to steer and drive a pragmatic policy-supported-ecosystem that shall enable harnessing the afore-mentioned potential of Bio-CNG and its other supplementary offerings, by including minimum of the following:
a) Harmonization and Integration of all the present schemes and required clearances and
permissions relevant to the biogas/ Bio-CNG industry under different Ministries
b) Supporting creation of ‘Mini-biogas, Bio-CNG Grids’ and its onward integration with ‘Natural
Gas Grid’ along with ‘ Organic Fertilizer distribution and utilization Infrastructure’.
c) Transgression from the existing upfront subsidy model to GBI model.
d) Creating the ‘Biogas-Fertilizer Fund’ with an estimated corpus requirement of Rs. 9,44,664
crores as provision towards Credit Guarantee schemes and corpus for ‘Generation Based
Incentive and building Bio-CNG infrastructure’. To begin with, an initial provision of
Rs.1,39,173 crore for five years can be earmarked.
e) Setting-up of ‘Biomass Resource Bank (BMRB)’ for assured biomass/waste supplies to the
installed plants.
f) There is a need to bring ‘Bio-CNG sector in the category of Social Infrastructure, as waste
treatment is not internalized and with non-paying capacity of farmers to buy organic fertilizer
of these plants.

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BiogasNews RoomUpdates

Webinar on Biogas: A step towards sustainability

by Industrial Outlook
written by Industrial Outlook

REPORT

In the midst of the COVID pandemic situation, which brought the world to a halt, India continues its fight against the pandemic and gearing up for a paradigm shift towards self- dependent India through the “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”. Biogas sector is also playing its part to support the initiative and moving towards reducing crude imports and save the environment.

With reference to this context, on July 25, 2020, at 11 AM (IST) Indian Biogas Association (IBA) organised a webinar on Biogas: A step towards sustainability. The webinar was attended by over 417 subscribed participants, as it enabled biogas enthusiasts to understand the ground facts from the unsung heroes of the biogas who have real-time experience with Biogas and proved it to be a feasibility solution to the energy need which is also a source of organic fertilizer.

The two-hour webinar was in furtherance to the webinar series being organized IBA, the former was conducted in April and June of 2020 on biogas industry challenges and financing aspects respectively. The organized webinar was lined-up with eminent speakers representing a diverse spectrum of biogas generation and use Mr. Dinesh Jagadale, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Mr. M. P. Singh, Director, Punjab Energy Development Agency, Mr. Meenesh Shah, Executive Director, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Mr. Rasik Parmar, Chairman, Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Dairy Federation, Mr. Jaswinder Singh, Project Manager, The Lambra Kangri Multipurpose Cooperative Service Society Ltd., Mr. Sunildatta Lad, Executive Assistant CEO, Sarda Group, and Mr. Ch. V. K. Narasimha Rao, Managing Director, CALF Pvt. Ltd.

Shri. Dinesh Jagadale, Joint Secretary, MNRE commenced the webinar proceeding by emphasising on the fact that biogas will be playing a pivotal role in India’s renewable energy portfolio. The other speakers also shared their experience with biogas and enlightened about their journey of Biogas from the problem identification, project conceptualization, plant installation, and successful execution & operations of the plants. They also emphasised on the social aspects of their respective biogas plant and how they brought positive changes to the local people. The exchange of experience was motivating to the participants and they praised the participation of the diverse speakers who shared their case studies in the webinar.

We hope that webinar will motivate and inspire those enthusiasts, startups and entrepreneurs who want to explore the biogas fields and will be contributing to the greener future of the country.

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