Biogas Plant
Biogas
Biogas refers to a mixture of different gases produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas can be produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, plant material, sewage and food waste. It is a renewable energy source and in many cases exerts a very small carbon footprint.
Biogas is primarily methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), moisture and siloxanes.This energy release allows Biogas to be used as a fuel; it can be used for any heating purpose and cooking.
To build a family type Biogas plant, a 12 ft by 8 ft of land is required. Once constructed, the lifespan of a Biogas plant is approximately 25 years. Biogas plants are easy to use and the maintenance is quite simple. The minimum cost for building a Biogas plant is between Rs 20,000 to Rs 23,000/-. This amount may, however, vary from place to place. The Government also provides subsidies for building a Biogas plant.
A nutrient-rich natural manure is obtained from the slurry generated by the Biogas plant. The wet slurry waste can be directly used as manure in the fields. The slurry can be dried and powdered and stored for use later in the fields.
The Spoken Tutorial Effort for Biogas Plant series has being contributed by Dr. Bella Tony, Nancy Varkey, Saurabh Gadgil, Arthi Anbalagan and Shital Joshi from the Spoken Tutorial Project, IIT Bombay and Anupam Bhattacharjee, MTech Student, CTARA, IIT Bombay, Amogh Meshram Student, IIT Bombay, Rajani Bhonsale from Rural ICT Project, IIT Bombay. Summer interns Melroy Anthony and Shubham Rajput also contributed towards this work.
The content inputs and domain reviews were done by Bhagirath Rural Development Foundation Dist.- Sindhudurg and Faculty: Prof. Ganesh Ramakrishnan, Prof. Shivaram Kalyanakrishnan, and Prof. Kannan Moudgalya, IIT-Bombay.
Basic Level
1. Overview of Biogas
- The various benefits of using Biogas?
- The generation of Biogas using bio-waste available in the house and farms.
- The finance options available for the construction of a Biogas plant.
- Material required for constructing a family type Biogas plant?
- The construction of the various parts of a Biogas plant.
- How Biogas is actually generated?
- The amount of bio-waste to be fed into the Biogas plant.
- Common troubleshooting information.
- Periodic maintenance and repair tasks to be done on the Biogas plant.
2. Benefits of Biogas
- What is Biogas?
- How Biogas is produced?
- Usage of Biogas.
- How Biogas helps to minimize health hazards?
- Raw materials required to produce Biogas?
- Brief description of the Biogas plant.
- Space required to build a family type Biogas plant?
- Rough budget for building a Biogas plant.
- Banks loans and subsidies for Biogas plant construction.
- By-products of the Biogas?
- Testimonial of Biogas using family.
3. Generation of Biogas
- Right time to add raw material to the Biogas plant
- Quantity of raw material to be added to the Biogas plant?
- Time required for fermentation
- Use of slurry generated from the Biogas plant.
- Biogas burner and its connection process.
- Do’s and Don’ts for running a Biogas plant
- Testimonial of Biogas users
4. Finance options for Biogas plant
- How to apply for a loan to get a Biogas plant built?
- Pre-requisites required to avail the loan.
- List of documents to be attached with loan application form.
- Cost factors for building the plant.
- Approximate break-up of the budget.
- Subsidies provided by Government of India to build a Biogas plant.
Intermediate Level
5. Material required to construct a Biogas plant
- The various materials required to construct a Biogas plant.
- Where to procure the materials to construct a Biogas plant?
- Area required to build the plant.
- Site for the plant.
- Location of the plant.
- Total number of days required for construction of the plant.
- The best time of the year to construct the plant.
6. Laying the foundation
- How to construct a Biogas plant based on Deenbandhu model?
- The standard dimensions of these tanks
- Digging of the area for construction of the Biogas plant.
- Preparation of plaster mixture
- Laying foundation for the digester tank.
7. Construction of the Dome
- What is the dome of a Biogas plant?
- Material used for construction of the dome.
- Step-by-step procedure for constructing the dome.
8. Building the walls of the Slurry tank
- Building the walls of the slurry tank
- Position of the slurry tank with respect to the Biogas plant
- Shape of the slurry tank
- Total number of walls to be constructed for building the slurry tank
- Items used for building the walls of the slurry tank
9. Construction of the Mixing tank
- Significance of the mixing tank.
- Shape and height of the mixing tank.
- Material required to construct a mixing tank.
- Procedure to construct a mixing tank.
- Position of the hole at the base of the tank.
- Plastering of the outer wall.
- Plastering of the inner wall.
- Curing time
10. Assembly of the Biogas plant
- How to assemble the Digester tank with the dome, Mixing tank and Slurry tank?
- Placing the dome on the raised wall of the digester tank.
- Plastering of the dome.
- Attaching of the walls of the slurry tank with the dome.
- Connecting mixing tank to the digester tank via the Inlet pipe.
Advance Level
11. Maintenance and Repair of the Biogas plant
- Periodic partial and complete cleaning of the Biogas plant.
- Different techniques to maintain and repair- Biogas plant and the Biogas burner.
- Periodic inspection of the plant.
