E-Weekly-3/6
Green Earth Movement
An E-Newsletter for the cause of Environment, Peace, Harmony and Justice
Remember - “you and I can decide the future”
KITCHEN WASTE
TO
COOKING GAS
Every year, about 55 million tonnes
of municipal solid waste (MSW) and
38 billion liters of sewage are
generated in the urban areas of
India. In addition, large quantities
of solid and liquid wastes are
generated by industries. Waste generation in India is
expected to increase rapidly in the future. As more people
migrate to urban areas and as incomes increase,
consumption levels are likely to rise, as are rates of waste
generation. It is estimated that the amount of waste
generated in India will increase at a per capita rate of
approximately 1-1.33% annually. This has significant impacts
on the amount of land that is and will be needed for
disposal, economic costs of collecting and transporting waste,
and the environmental consequences of increased MSW
generation levels.
Most wastes that are generated, find their way into
land and water bodies without proper treatment,
causing severe water pollution. They also emit
greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide,
and add to air pollution. Any organic waste from
urban and rural areas and industries is a resource due
to its ability to get degraded, resulting in energy
generation.
The problems caused by solid and
liquid wastes can be significantly
mitigated through the adoption of
environment-friendly waste-to-energy
technologies that will allow treatment
and processing of wastes before their
disposal. These measures would reduce
The quantity of wastes, generate a
substantial quantity of energy from them, and greatly
reduce environmental pollution. India’s growing energy
deficit is making the government central and state
governments become keen on alternative and renewable
energy sources. Waste to energy is one of these, and it is
garnering increasing attention from both the central and
state governments.
VAST POTENTIAL
According to the Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE), there exists
A potential of about 1700 MW from
Urban waste (1500 from MSW and 225
MW from sewage) and about 1300 MW
from industrial waste. The ministry is also
actively promoting the generation of
energy from waste, by providing
subsidies and incentives for the projects.
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) estimates
indicate that India has so far realized only about 2% of its waste-toenergy potential. A market analysis from Frost and Sullivan predicts
that the Indian municipal solid waste to energy market could be
growing at a compound annual growth rate of 9.7% by 2013.
The following chart explains how community gains by opting for
Waste To Energy project.
Waste To Energy (WTE) Basics
Organic waste deposited in a landfill decomposes
over time, releasing a mixture of greenhouse gases
into the atmosphere. Gasification controls and
accelerates the natural decomposition process to
create synthesis gas (syngas), which is used to
generate power. This
technology is not new; in
the mid-1800’s many
Large cities used
gasification to produce
the gas used for street
Lighting.
Technologies for the Generation of Energy from
Waste
Biogas is produced when organic matter is broken
down by microorganisms in the absence of oxygen,
called anaerobic digestion. This process occurs
Naturally in many environments with limited
oxygen, for instance in marshes, rice fields
and in the stomach of ruminants. The gas can also be produced by
fermentation of bio-gradable materials.
In a gas plant the natural process is utilized by adding - or pump - organic
matter into a digester, which is a completely airtight container. In the
digester a raw biogas is formed plus a nutritious digestate which can be
used for fertilizer, which shall not be mixed up with sludge!
The gas content comprises mainly methane (55-70%) and carbon dioxide
(30-45%). It may have some small amounts of ammonia, nitrogen,
hydrogen sulphide, moisture and siloxanes.
WTE STEP-BY-STEP
All technologies that convert waste-to-energy
involve the same basic steps.
1. Waste pre-processing: Waste is delivered to the
facility and processed for the delivery to the gasifier.
2. Conveyance: Systems will generally include some
sort of conveyor to move the pre - processed waste to
the gasifier.
3. Gasifier: All technologies put the
waste into a chamber that is
essentially an organic waste pressure
cooker. While gasifiers are all
different in some way, using multiple
chambers or processing waste at
differing combinations of time,
temperature and pressure, all
essentially perform the same function
– the conversion of organic waste
into syngas. Gasification is not incineration; the oxygen
content is controlled during the process to ensure that
the waste is never combusted or burned.
4. Steam & Power Creation: Syngas moves
from the gasifier to a boiler
where the syngas is
combusted, with heat
creating steam that powers
turbines to generate power.
5. Treatment of Flue Gas:
Any flue gas is treated so
That system emissions meet
all applicable air quality systems.
The Gas Can Be Used For Different Purposes
• Heating purposes, such as cooking.
• Run generators and make electricity.
• Be compressed and used in
combustion engines.
• Waste recycling when waste matter
is a feedstock.
Biomethane is the generic term for gases
consisting mainly of methane and produced from biomass.
Biomethane is the name being referred to when biogas
has been cleaned and upgraded to the same standard as
natural gas (fossil gas).
When this upgrading is done the methane content is about
98%. Different pollutants are removed and the gas becomes
completely odorless.
Indian Government Support
for Waste to Energy
The Indian Government has recognized
waste to energy as a renewable
technology and supports it through
various subsidies and incentives. The Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy is actively promoting all the technology
options available for energy recovery from urban and industrial
wastes. MNRE is also promoting the research on waste to energy
by providing financial support for R&D projects on cost sharing
basis in accordance with the R&D Policy of the MNRE. In
addition to that, MNRE also provides financial support for
projects involving applied R&D and studies on resource
assessment, technology up-gradation and performance
evaluation.
INDIA IS FAR BEHIND IN
BIO-GAS TECHNOLOGY!
Compared to the biogas programme
In China, where seven million
Household and community biogas
systems have been successfully
Installed. India has a long way to go
to realise the benefits of biogas
technology. China, through the
creation of effective institutions and by placing an emphasis
on training and education, has achieved widespread
dissemination of biogas technology (Ruchen, 1981, Daxiong et
al, 1990), though the social organisation may particularly
facilitate the spread of new, community-focused
technologies.
Most biogas plants which are currently in operation In India and
elsewhere are designed for animal manure as
Their main feedstock, and are therefore used in
rural areas. Whereas in cities, a majority of the
people use LPG or kerosene for cooking. The
immediate benefit from owning a compact
biogas system is the savings in cost as compared to the use of
kerosene or LPG for cooking. The up-front cost of a biogas system is
higher than for LPG, since an LPG bottle plus a two burner stove costs
only INR 5,000 (spprox. USD 100) whereas the compact biogas plan
plus a biogas stove costs about INR 10,000 (approx. USD 200).
However, the operational cost for biogas is only about INR 2 per day
if waste flour is used as feedstock, and can be zero if the plant uses
only food wastes. This is much cheaper than LPG, which costs about
INR 30 per day, even with the current subsidy of 50%. Biogas can
easily replace 50% of the LPG used by a family. Some families who
use a pressure cooker for cooking and collect food waste from their
neighbours have replaced all their LPG use.
Purchasing your own compact
biogas system: Cost & Payment
ARTI’s trained technicians install the biogas plants
using locally available plastic tanks (commonly used
For water storage) and a plumbing kit supplied by
Samuchit Enviro-Tech (SET) Pvt. Ltd., a company set
up by members of ARTI. SET also supplies a single
burned biogas stove made of cast iron, and a gas cock. This set,
consisting of the plumbing kit and a single burner biogas stove, costs
INR 2350 (M.R.P. inclusive of taxes and transport anywhere in India).
The total estimated cost of the compact biogas system for a typical
household (around 1000-1500 lit capacity) is about INR 10,000, but
the actual cost may vary based on local prices of plastic tanks and local
labour costs. For more information, please contact us at
arti_pune@vsnl.net .
SEE THE NEXT SLIDE FOR THE CONTACT DETAILS OF OTHER BIOGAS CONSULTANTS
WASTE TO ENERGY CONSULTANTS
(List not exhaustive - courtesy: Internet)
1] DELHI - Envo Projects, Mobile : 9899300371, email: saleemasraf@gmail.com, web:
http://saleemindia.blogspot.com
2] NEW DELHI - ASPES SOLAR ,# 532, NEW DELHI, CONTACT – 9899424681
3] MUMBAI - BHABHA ATOMIC RESEARCH CENTRE, Tel : 091-022-5505337/559389, Fax : 091022-5505151, Email : headttcd@barc.gov.in
4] PUNE – APPROPRIATE RURAL TECHNOLOGY INDIA, Email - arti_pune@vsnl.net
5] THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - BIOTECH CORPORATE OFFICE, Phone : +91-471-2331909,
2321909, 2332179, Fax :-91-471-2332179, Email – biotechindia@eth.net, Website :
www.biotech-india.org
6] KOCHI, e-mail is - svnot@ yahoo .com, Mobile 0 99 47 06 48 62
7] COCHIN - Synod Bioscience (P) Ltd, Ph: 0484 4070404, Mob: +919995994291, Email:
info@synod.in
8] KANYAKUMARI - Vivekananda Kendra, phone: 04652 246296 and 04652 -247126. cell.
9486942769 ; e-mail - vknardep@gmail.com
9] HYDERABABD - Renewable Energy and Environmental Service Enterprise(REESE), Email:
kartheek@getreese.com, Mobile: +91-99897 99892
10] CHENNAI - EAI - Energy Alternatives India, Tel. + 91 90435 39679, Email : madhavanv@eai.in
11] SALEM - Arjun Energy Corporation, Ph: +91 427 2417121/51/91. +91 94433 75577,
energyexperts1@gmail.com
12] BANGALURU - Scalene Greenergy Corporation Ltd, Tel: +91 (0)80 2546 77 88, Fax: +91 (0)80
2549 55 66, www.scalenegreenergy.com , info@scalenegreenergy.com
This PowerPoint Presentation is prepared by GEM (Green Earth Movement)
Team.
Other GEM PowerPoint Presentations are:
1. Zero Garbage
2. Solar Energy
3. Junk Food
4. Twenty Tips To Save Nature
5. Plastic – a boon or bane
6. Green Passion.
7. Think before your drink
These PPP CDs may be downloaded from our website:
www.stfrancisxavierpanvel.in – refer GEM section
Or contact : gemenewsletter@gmail.com, panvelchurch@gmail.com