Bio-CNG
Biogas consists mainly of methane and carbon dioxide and the calorific value of biogas is
~19500 KJ/Kg
The presence of water vapor, H2S, and CO2 make biogas very corrosive and unsuitable to
be used as fuel
Biogas upgrading or purification is the process by which contaminants in the raw biogas
stream are absorbed or scrubbed, leaving more methane per unit volume of gas This final
product is called biomethane. Biomethane can also be compressed and bottled into
cylinders and it is called Bio-Compressed Natural Gas (Bio-CNG) or simply Compressed
Bio-Gas (CBG).
Why Bio-CNG? •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.
•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 fertilizer.
CHALLENGES • The capital cost for installing a Bio-CNG is
expensive
• Preliminary processes like collection,
transportation, and segregation may also
limit the adaptation
• It can be installed only where waste
generation is abundant
• The production process requires skilled
technicians
• There are no specific standards existing in
India for installation, operation, and
maintenance of these plants
Status of Bio- • In India, Bio-CNG is estimated to replace two-thirds of India’s
CNG in India 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 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)
As per IS 16087:2016 specifications
CBG shall be free from liquids over the entire range of temperature and pressure encountered in
storage and dispensing system
The CBG shall be free from particulate matter such as dirt, dust, etc
CBG delivered shall be odorized similar to a level found in local distribution
The CBG is to be compressed at 250 Bar and supplied through Cascades to the Oil Company
Retail Outlets as mentioned in the EOI document
BIOGAS UPGRADING & BOTTLING
AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE COMPRESSED BIOGAS COMPOSITION MAY VARY FROM THE COMPRESSED BIOGAS CAN BE USED FOR
BIOGAS SUPPLY CHAIN IS THE BOOSTER SUBSTRATE TO SUBSTRATE, FEED STOCK INJECTION INTO CNG GRID, FUEL FOR
COMPRESSOR THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR THE COMPOSITION FED INTO REACTOR FOR VEHICLES, HOUSEHOLD AND INDUSTRIAL
COMPRESSION AND BOTTLING OF THE DEGRADATION OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS APPLICATION OF BIOGAS
UPGRADED BIOGAS
Process Flow
Pressure Swing
Membrane Cryogenic Amine
Adsorption Water Scrubber
Separation Separation Scrubbers
(PSA)
Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) :
An adsorption technology operated under pressure of 3-10 bar to remove Moisture, CO 2, and H2S from raw
biogas.
Water Scrubber: In a Water Scrubber, CO2 & H2S is separated from
the raw biogas and dissolved into the water in the absorption column
by using high pressure, normally 6-10 bar.
Membrane Separation: A membrane technology for Upgradation of
biogas and operated at high pressure of 5-20 bar.
•Cryogenic Separation:
Here, Methane and Carbon dioxide are separated by gradually cooling down the raw biogas. All compounds
with higher condensation temperature than methane, such as water, hydrogen sulphide, siloxanes and
nitrogen, can be separated in this process.
•Amine Scrubbers:
The upgrading unit essentially consists of two columns (K1 & K2). The heart of the upgrading process is the
absorber column K1. In this column, the raw gas is washed with a water-amine combination. In this process,
the amine absorbs the CO2 and H2S and thereby cleans the gas. The water-amine solution is transferred to a
stripper-column K2, where the CO2 and H2S are stripped from the solution to ensure the reuse of the
solution.
Biogas, like Liquefied
Petroleum Gas (LPG) cannot be It liquefies at a pressure of
converted into liquid state under about 47.4 Kg/cm2 at a critical
normal temperature and temperature of -82.10C.
pressure.
Removing carbon dioxide,
Hydrogen Sulphide, moisture
and compressing it into Also raw biogas can be
cylinders makes it easily usable compressed and bottled for
for transport applications as fuel remote applications of biogas.
for vehicles & also for
stationary applications.
The compressed biogas can be
used for injection into CNG It creates revenue when
Grid, Fuel for Vehicles, generated and sold for remote
household and industrial applications.
application of biogas.
Companies
involved in Bio-
CNG production
1. Green Elephant
Green Elephant is a Pune based firm producing
bio-CNG as well as a technology provider.
Green Elephant has built in 2010 (Phase 1) and 2015 (Phase 2)
India’s largest biogas upgradation plant utilising up to 600
m3/day of spent wash and producing upto 7920 kg of RNG.
The offered CBG contains a 97% methane
content and fulfills all Indian standards.
2. Spectrum SREL, a Haryana based firm is dedicated to the
development of innovative biogas projects in rural
Renewable Energy markets that capture renewable energy from organic
waste products, while increasing agricultural profitability
Limited and sustainability through environmentally responsible
practices
The company has set up a large scale
bio-CNG production plant at Kolhapur
with a capacity of 100 TPD using press
mud from the Warana sugar factory
The plant uses CSTR based
technology and produces 8000 kg of
bio-CNG per day
3. Carbon Masters • Carbon Masters, a Bangalore based firm is a carbon management
company that spun out of the University Of Edinburgh, Scotland
and has offices in UK, India and Ecuador
• The company has installed its own bio-CNG plant of capacity 40
TPD using wet waste such as food waste, cow dung and poultry
litter
• As part of this solution, the company offers bio-CNG technology –
Carbonlites-In-A-Box – a containerized bio-CNG technology
solution for IT parks, apartment blocks, temples, colleges and large
manufacturing sites which generate food waste in large quantities.
• It’s can process organic waste streams from 500kgs to 5 tons and
produce up to 250kgs of bio-CNG (equivalent to its weight in LPG)
per day. It could also produce 10,000 litres of liquid fertilizer. It
does all this in just a one-third of the space occupied by a
conventional biogas plant.
4. Primove Engineering
• Primove Engineering Pvt. Ltd. (PEPL) is a nationally recognized EPC Company in the
domain of gaseous fuels and energy
• Their initiatives in the field of renewable energy have led to the development of novel
technologies for the conversion of agro-residue and waste into Bio-CNG for
transportation and industrial applications
• The company has also set up its own bio-CNG plant at Pune of capacity 100 kg/day
using rice straw and Bajra.
• Branded under the name AgroGas, the bio-CNG is produced by extracting biogas from
agricultural, factory, and farm waste products like Bagasse, Rice Straw, Maize Straw,
Wheat Straw, and Soyabean Thrash through a patented process
5. Mahindra World
City Mahindra World City, Chennai has set up a bio-CNG plant at its campus as a joint CSR
initiative between Mahindra Research Valley and Mahindra World City Developers Limited
The Bio-CNG plant converts 100% of the eight tons of food and kitchen
waste generated daily in the city into 1000 m3 of raw biogas
This raw biogas is enriched to yield 400 kg/day of purified CNG
grade fuel which is equivalent to a 200 kW power plant.
The green energy is effectively used to replace CNG as an automotive fuel and LPG for
cooking purposes, as well as to power street lights at Mahindra World City, Chennai
6. Bharat Biogas The company is a Gujarat based firm
Energy Ltd involved in the production of bio-CNG
and other organic products for
agronomic applications
The company has set up a bio-CNG
plant using 153 TPD urban and 38 TPD
industrial waste to produce 6538 kg/day
of RNG
The RNG produced is supplied to
Amul
7. Radix Lifespaces
The company has setup its own plant of The company has also tied up with
The company is a Bangalore based firm
capacity 40 TPD using chicken litter, waste entrepreneurs in North India to set up bio-
offering technology solutions for bio-
from food manufacturing companies and CNG plants using paddy straw with their
CNG for different types of feedstock food waste innovative technology
