Biogas/Energy Production from waste (Municipal, Agricultural, Food)

The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi Banwari Lal, Ph.D

Waste!
Waste is the unwanted substance(s) arising from human or animal activities Rise in population, rapid urbanization, industrialization and changes in life style across the country led to massive increase in waste. In most cities and towns in India, urban waste is disposed of in an unregulated and unscientific manner in open dumps on the outskirt area. There is a need for efforts to manage and safely dispose these waste, in order to get rid of these environmental hazards.

Moreover, waste management is a significant environmental justice issue.

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Generation: Overview!

Approximately 55 million tones of MSW are generated in urban areas of India annually (1.5 lakh tonnes per day). It is estimated that the amount of waste generated in India will increase at a rate of approximately 1-1.33 % annually
(http://www.technologyreview.in)

Every year a total of 4400 million cubic meters of liquid waste (Sewage) are generated in urban areas of India The per capita of MSW generated daily, in India ranges from about 200 gm. in small towns to 600 gm. in cities (* Collection efficiency is around 70%,)

Municipal solid waste (MSW) includes household garbage and rubbish, street sweeping, construction and demolition debris, sanitation residues, trade and non-hazardous industrial refuse and treated bio-medical solid waste.
(Source; 2009-10 MNRE Annual Report , Kumar et al, IJES, 2010)

Total Municipal solid waste generation in major cities of India

S.No. Name of City MSW generation Tones Per Day (TPD)

1
2 3 4 5 6 7

Delhi
Chennai Kolkata Mumbai Bangalore Hyderabad Ahmedabad

7400*
3036 2653 5320 1669 2187 2187

Source: CPCB,2005, * State of Environment Report for Delhi, 2010

Average organic content of these MSW in India is around 50%

150 tones of organic waste have potential for production of 1 MW energy
(Based on the performance of WtoE projects operating in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Lucknow)

Municipal solid wastes component;

~50 % of organic waste, ~17% recyclables, ~12% hazardous, ~21% inert.

By 2047, MSW generation India expected to reach 300 MT per annum and land requirement for disposal of the same would be 169.6 Km2 Organic waste can be a renewable as well as cost efficient resource for energy production

Potential of waste based energy in India

There is a potential for generation of over 2600 MW of power from urban wastes in the country
The potential of energy from MSW is estimated to be 3650 and 5200 MW, by the end of 11th and 12th five year Plans, respectively Estimated energy recovery potential from solid and liquid waste from industrial sector is about 1300 MW

The energy recovery potential of industrial waste is expected to increase to about 1600 MW by 2012 and 2000 MW by the year 2017

(Source: 2009-10 MNRE annual report)

Agricultural and Food Waste Generation: Overview!

Around 180 million MT of fruits, vegetables and perishables (food stuffs),are produced per year in India However, storage capacity exists only for 23.6 million MT in 5,386 cold storages across the country, of which, 80 per cent is used only for potatoes, Around 25 to 30 % of fruits and vegetables and 5 to 7 per cent of food grains in India get wasted Estimated production of fruits and vegetables in India is 150 million tones and the total waste generated is 50 million tones (30%) per annum (Indian Agricultural Research Data Book, 2004)

(Source: Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion paper in FDI (Foreign Direct investment)

Potential Agricultural and Food wastes for Energy Generation

Urban wood waste

Forest Residues

Mill wastes

Manure and bio-solids

Crop Residues

Food wastes

The high moisture and organic content in these wastes are not suitable for incineration and composting but can very well utilized in biological treatment like anaerobic digestion

Objectives driving Waste to Energy sector!

According to the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules in 2000, all the municipalities across India are required to adopt sustainable and environmentally sound ways of processing MSW In this regard, Waste to Energy (WtE) provides a solution towards complying with government regulations, achieving integrated solid waste management and is perceived as a means to dispose MSW, produce energy The major benefits of recovery of energy from wastes will be reduction in the quantity of waste, reduction in cost of waste treatment, cost of transportation of wastes to far-away landfill sites along with generation of substantial quantity of energy

Waste to Energy: Recommended Technologies

Combustion/Incineration Pyrolysis/Gasification Landfill Gas Recovery Anaerobic Digestion/ Biomethanation

Incineration is considered unsuitable due to high moisture content of waste, Incineration is 10 times more expensive than landfill disposal

Identifying appropriate technology for waste management

Pyrolysis/Gasification: MSW to Syngas for production of drop in Hydrocarbon fuels
Municipal Waste

Gasification

Impure Syngas

Gas Clean up

Pure Syngas

Power Generation

Pyrolysis
Biometha nation

Refining

Bio-oil
Fischer Tropsch (FT) synthesis (in presence of catalyst) Syngas to Chemicals (Succinic acid)

Drop in hydrocarbon fuels (jet fuel, diesel, gasoline)

Fischer-Tropsch process is a catalytic chemical reaction in which carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) in the syngas are converted into hydrocarbons of various molecular weights

Biomethanation, Fermentation: Agricultural and Food waste to Energy

Hydrogen
Agricultural & Food Waste Acid hydrolysis Gasification
Fermentation

Ethanol Drop in Fuel Bio-oil

Fischer Tropsch

Sewage Waste

Pyrolysis

Refining

Biomethanati Energy Plant on

Ligno-cellulosic biomass

Biorefinery

Energy Plant

Second Generation biofuel

Biomass Gasifier System: Indian scenario (lead)

In the recent decade, as a result of Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES) programs, there has been much interest in generating power through biomethanation of municipal solid waste 11 biomass co-generation (non-bagasse) projects with a total capacity of about 40 MW have been completed during the year 2009-10 up to Dec.2009. In addition to the above, 11 projects aggregating to 50 MW capacity are under implementation. six biomass gasifiers for thermal applications with a total capacity of about 4 MW have been installed in various industries such as bakeries, die casting and food processing units, etc during the year 2009-10 up to December 2009. 12 biomass gasifier systems for electrical applications with a total capacity of 2 MWeq have been installed in various industries. In addition to the above, 30 biomass gasifier systems with a total capacity of about 6 MWeq are under installation in various industries for heat / electrical applications.
TEAM , A waste treatment plant for biogas production with a capacity of about 50kg green leafy vegetables per day (at TERI GRAM, Gual pahari)

A 600 kW Thermal Gasifier System in a biscuit factory at Distt. Hoogly, West Bengal

Landfill Gas Recovery (LFG)

LFG is created with decomposition of solid waste in a landfill. LFG consists of about 50% methane (CH4), the primary component of natural gas, about 50% CO2, and a small amount of non-methane organic compounds.
LFG is extracted from landfills using a series of wells and a blower/flare (or vacuum) system that directs the collected gas to a central point where it can be processed and treated depending upon the ultimate use for the gas.

Overview of LFG capture and Use

Land Fill Gas recovery: Indian Scenario!

11 secure landfills exist in India and additional 74 sites are identified
Municipal Solid Waste is simply dumped without any treatment into land (depressions, ditches, soaked ponds) or on the outskirts of the city in an unscientific manner with no compliance to regulations LFG utilization in India is in its infancy A preliminary assessment of the potential for an LFG utilization project was performed for the Hyderabad Landfill (Landfill) in Hyderabad, India, based on information provided by the Landfill engineer and observations made during a site visit on February 19, 2007. A preliminary assessment of the potential for an LFG utilization or flaring only project was also performed for the Okhla Landfill in Delhi based on information provided by the City and observations made during a site visit on February 21, 2007.

So far at present only one largest Sanitary Landfill site is planned in India at Gyaspur Ahmedabad

Sanitary landfill site facility at Gyaspur, Ahmedabad

Capacity 11.50 Lakhs Metric Tones (i.e. 1.15 million tones), where daily off load 500 metric tones of inert waste from waste processing plants for coming 6 years Total construction cost of this site is Rs. 13 Crore (i.e. Rs. 130 million / i.e. $ 2.796 million 1$=Rs. 46.50) 12.88 Hectares (32.8271 acres) of area used

Landfill Gas Recovery Potential in India

Greatest potential lies in research and development in predicting gas resources of landfill site in India Considering this fact more sanitary landfill sites should be facilitated in India

India could look into utilising the resulting high-purity LFG in added-value applications such as fuel cells
Fuel cell applications may represent an especially suitable LFG use in the Indian context Another area where India could usefully pursue R&D endeavours is in the design of landfills as bioreactors

Current landfill gas collection technology

Filling of Waste Covering with soil Drilling vertical well to Install gas wells to collect gas Adjusting the gas wells weekly to maximize methane content

Limitation with current methods

No soil cover waste placement is haphazard Poor gas quality due to air entrainment Lack of constant well adjustment due to insufficient staff Water logging of vertical well

Emerging Technology: Permeable layer to Improve LFG Collection!

IL&FS ECOSMART LTD initiated 3 projects in East Mumbai, India;

1. Mulund, Mumbai (with potential permeable layer
Placement of Permeable layer Over Waste

2. Kalyan Dombivali, Mumbai

Gas well installation

3. Ulhasnagar, Mumbai

Landfill site facility at Delhi

Municipal waste disposal site in Delhi
Existing landfill sites in Delhi

Two disposal sites have been identified for future disposal of MSW in Delhi, which are located at Jaitpur (26 acres) and Bawana (150 acres) Waste to Energy plant at Okhla site has potential for 16 MW of power processing, 450 TPD of RDF (Refuse-Derived Fuel) and 225 TPD of RDF (from 650 TPD of waste) processed at Timarpur site. Waste to Energy plant at Gazipur disposal site has a potential to produce 10 MW of power processing and 450 TPD of RDF from 1300 TPD waste.
(Source; State of Environment Report for Delhi, 2010)

Challenges!
Segregation at source Quality of waste: High moisture content, low calorific value Poor quality of landfill due to lack of adequate fund Development of new technology to improve LFG collection High HRT and high lag period of biomethanation process, Lack of information on substrate specific biocatalyst, which can reduce lag period Process Control Presence of Hydrogen sulphide Mixing inside the reactor Temperature control

Interventions Required!
Supplementation of inoculum (bacterial culture, methanogens in the reactor to reduce lag period of biomethanation

Isolate and select robust methanogen(s) to use as inoculum to enhance biomethanation rate and to reduce HRT
Recycling of leachate Development of technology for removal of hydrogen sulphide Introduction of robust acidogenic microbe(s) for control of biomethanation process (acidification) To explore for substrate specific biocatalyst to reduce lag period of biomethanation Temperature Control Supplementation of appropriate nutrient to the reactor to enhance biomethanation rate

Waste to Energy: Key Research institutes Of India

Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune Biotechnology Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur Bio-Energy Laboratory, School of Energy Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata Centre for the Application of Science and Technology to Rural Areas (ASTRA), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur

The Energy & Research Institute (TERI), New Delhi

Sardar Patel Renewable Energy Research Institute (SPRERI), Vallabh Vidyanagar Central Food Technological Research Institute, CFTRI, Mysore Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute, Saharanpur Combustion, Gasification & Propulsion Laboratory, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI), Pune AICRP on Renewable Energy Sources, Bhopal Appa Patwardhan Safai wa Paryavaran Tantraniketan, Pune

Opportunities to collaborate with Industries !

Timarpur-Okhla Waste management Company LTD. Energy developments Limited (EDL, India) IL&FS (Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited) ECOSMART LTD. Jeruz Energy Ltd. (formed by Indian origin with worldwide experience in high technology business)

Pyromex
TATA Chemicals Mahindra & Mahindra

Thank you !