Q. What is bio-gas technology? What are the steps taken by Government of India towards its development? (40 BPSC/1995)

Q. What is bio-gas technology? What are the steps taken by Government of India towards its development? (40 BPSC/1995)

Ans:
Biogas is a gas mixture which is generated when organic compounds are fermented in the absence of air (anaerobic fermentation). This gas mixture is mainly made of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (75%) and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), moisture. It burns without smoke, leaves no residue like ash in wood, charcoal and coal burning. Its heating capacity is high. Bio-gas is also used for lighting. The slurry left behind is removed periodically and used as excellent manure, rich in nitrogen and phosphorous. Biogas is a renewable energy source. In India, it is also known as “Gobar Gas”.Biogas technology enables harnessing the anaerobic digestion (AD) process to convert household, community, or commercial organic wastes to energy in the form of biogas and enabling nutrients to be recycled via the output slurry known as digestate.

Benefits:

• Responsible waste management, reduction in carbon emissions and pollution
• Additional revenue source for farmers
• Boost to entrepreneurship, rural economy and employment
• Support to national commitments in achieving climate change goals
• Reduction in import of natural gas and crude oil
• Buffer against crude oil/gas price fluctuations

The steps laken by Government of India towards its development

• Programs for promoting biogas technologies have been running since the 1970s. (After first oil crisis in early 1970’s).
  • India was a net importer of oil products. The combination of global energy crisis together with the local energy shortages heightened the national energy security risk from rising costs of energy imports as well as the pressure on the national budget to meet the rising energy subsidy etc.
• Several rural programs such as National Biogas and Manure Management program (since 1981-82) and off–grid biogas power generation program for providing renewable energy for cooking and lighting use.
  • National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP) has provisions for setting up family type biogas plant. It mainly aims to provide clean bio-gaseous fuel mainly for cooking purposes; for reducing use of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and other conventional fuels; and to provide bio-fertilizer/ organic manure to reduce use of chemical fertilizers.
• The biogas development program in 1981 was a part of a multi-prolonged approach adopted to alleviate the rural energy crisis.
• Programs and initiatives for boosting the waste-to-energy sector from municipal solid waste and industrial wastes.
• India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy offers some subsidy per brick model constructed.

• In 2018, Petroleum Minister launched SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) initiative to promote Compressed Bio-Gas as an alternative, green transport fuel.
• The National Policy on Biofuels 2018 emphasises active promotion of advanced bio-fuels, including CBG.
• The Government of India had launched the GOBAR-DHAN (Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources) scheme earlier this year to convert cattle dung and solid waste in farms to CBG and compost.
  • The scheme proposes to cover 700 projects across the country in 2018-19. The programme will be funded under Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) component of Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) to benefit households in identified villages through Gram Panchayats.
• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) invites proposals from groups engaged in manufacturing / development of small biogas plant for Innovative & New Design and/or significant change in existing approved designs leading towards simple and cost effective domestic, community / village level small scale Biogas usage.

The rate of biogas dissemination is low in rural areas and the share of biogas in the fuel mix in rural households is insignificant. Around five million family biogas plants (40%) have been installed under the biogas development program against the total potential of 12 million domestic biogas gas plants estimated by the MNRE. In addition to family type biogas plants, 400 biogas off-grid power plants have been set up with a power generation capacity of about 5.5 MW (MNRE, 2015).Currently, there are only 56 operational biogas based power plants in India, the majority of them are located in three states, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Karnataka. 
More research in this direction and awareness creation among people are the need in this area.