Potential of CBG

Biogas is not a new technology, but the recent advancements especially in purification or upgradation systems have made this process more efficient. Biogas plants are the best way to get rid of wet waste without any adverse consequences to the environment.

The process is very simple and one can find similarities with animal digestion system. The food waste is grounded with water into a slurry or sludge. This sludge is then pumped into a Digester where the food waste is broken down and decomposed into raw biogas and rich organic manure with the help of Anaerobic bacteria. The raw biogas, which consists of Methane, Carbon Dioxide, Moisture, Hydrogen Sulfide and Volatile Organic Compounds etc, is fed to a Purification system. After the purification, the resultant gas has more than 95% Methane in it. This gas is compressed and sent to filling stations or hotels.

The digestate which comes out of the digester is rich in micro and macronutrients. This digestate is further separated into Solid and Liquid for the ease of use to the farmers. The manure from biogas process is far more effective and safe than the chemical fertilizers.

LPG is considered as the main cooking fuel in India and due to the current rise in petroleum fuels, LPG is slowly becoming one of the costliest cooking fuels. For a country like India a renewable fuel such as CBG would be the best. With the advancements in Biogas technologies, CBG has become a potential competitor for LPG in many States.

Apart from the price difference, CBG has many more advantages than LPG. LPG, which is mainly Propane, is heavier than air and has a low auto ignition temperature, needs only a small spark to explode. While on the other hand CBG is lighter and has higher auto ignition temperature. So even if CBG leaks it just escapes from the vicinity.

The only hindrance to CBG is that it needs to be delivered in high pressure Cascades. So not all types of people or businesses can afford it. But in the recent times smaller cascades for small to medium sizes hotels have been developed and are being used successfully.

The future needs a fuel which is

• Renewable
• Affordable
• Safe
• Efficient and
• has higher Specific Energy than rest of the fuels.

CBG has ticked each and every box in that list. The Indian Union Govt and the State Govts are making sure that CBG is produced and utilized throughout the country. For this they have started City Gas Distribution (CDG) agencies which will lay pipelines to every house holds in the city. This will make CBG more affordable as transportation and storage costs will come down.

The future looks bright for India. Once CDG takes off, India's dependence on fossil fuels will be reduced and we will be free from global pressures.