In a first of its kind project, Pune Zila Parishad led by IAS officer Mr Ayush Prasad is setting up 505 biogas plants in 13 tehsils of the district. This is to prevent the damage to the environment by usage of fossil fuel. Biogas is a renewable fuel produced by the breakdown of organic matter such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, food scraps and animal waste.  

BIOGAS SETUP

Speaking with Indian Masterminds, CEO, Pune Zila Parishad, Mr. Prasad said, “We have about 3000 existing micro-bio digesters in the district and we are adding another 525 this year till march. This project is under National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP). For GOBARdhan mission, we are building a large single biogas unit.”

He further said that a lot of mass is already available as agriculture waste in the rural areas and also the food waste that comes from various factors. Cow dung is one of the good sources of waste.

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Pune as a district is rich in dairy so the biogas setup can be proved as a boon to farmers in the dairy business and the idea of linking dairy to biogas has been there for a long time. Further, compress bio gas (CBC) has a newer interest because oil marketing company is even procuring compressed bio gas at 46 Rs per kg at 200 bar pressure.

CHALLENGES

But the process hasn’t been free of challenges. Transportation of gas is difficult because these are micro-bio gas centers. Filling, collecting and compressing is the other challenge that they are currently facing.

Secondly, they are trying to create markets of biogas by declaring rates to procure biogas. The administration is also asking gram panchayats to provide raw material to a private biogas plant. Many biogas units often go out of biomass. So, the continuous production of biogas is hampered.

Further, challenges remain with regards to market linkage and extending the use of biogas. “Currently we are linking it to local domestic uses as well as in the dhabas by piping the biogas. So, most of the gas is being used locally. Biogas is sustainable because the raw material, biomass, is available locally producing thermal energy required primarily for cooking and heating water,” Mr. Prasad told Indian Masterminds.

The flame temperature is around 80-90 degree Celsius which is easily achievable use in biogas. All of these are easily doable and the administration has been working on it consistently.

NEW ADDITIONS

The administration is also innovating to enhance biogas production. It is clustering biogas in certain buckets. So, instead of spreading it through the blocks it is doing it in only 2-5 villages. The biogas consumption and linkage in that area will further develop a culture of biogas usage.

“It also makes easier for us to scale up biogas use. We are allowing the market to define the rate by way of price discovery,” he shared.

He further informed that a gram panchayat in the Pune district has set up a pallet making unit from biogas. They also sell these pallets made of slurry and are organic fertilizers. They are good carbon linkages and help in specially horticulture crops. Slurries are also being made and put into drums and being sold.