This post is a part of BioBiz’s Bio-CNG Perspectives.
BioBiz, a division of EAI, is a leading market intelligence & strategic consulting firm for the Indian bio-based sectors.
This blog post uses the terms bio-CNG and renewable natural gas (RNG) interchangeably.
Bio-CNG or bio-compressed natural gas, also known as sustainable natural gas or biomethane, is a biogas which has been upgraded to a quality similar to fossil natural gas and having a methane concentration of 90% or greater. As the gas is derived from natural and renewable sources, it is also termed renewable natural gas (RNG).
Introduction
Bio-CNG is an emerging market in India. With the industry expected to have several industry stakeholders in the near future, it is essential for businesses to have the right technology and partnership with leading solution providers for innovations and competitive advantage.
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View full playlistThis blog post provides details on leading bio-CNG technology providers in India.
Prominent bio-CNG solution providers
Following is the list of major technology providers and their solutions.
- B-Sustain
- Kankyo Cleantech
- Organic Recycling Systems
- Primove Engineering
- GPS Renewables
- SLPP Re-New LLP
- Quantum Green
- Ahuja Engineering
- FOV Biogas
- Carbon Masters
- Atmos Power
- Radix Lifespaces
1. B-Sustain
B-SUSTAIN is specialized in biogas generation, purification, bottling and gasification. As an integrated technology company, B-Sustain has expertise in design, manufacturing and installation of biogas plants starting from small homes to large industries for varying applications ranging from household cooking to industrial thermal purposes, power generation, transportation fuel replacing LPG, Petrol, Diesel, CNG and all kinds of fossil fuels.
The company offers fixed type digester technology. Approximate capital cost for the plant is Rs. 15 crores for a 100 TPD plant. Area required for B-Sustain technology is 150 m2 for a 2 TPD plant. The technology is flexible for all types of feedstocks – commercial, industrial and agrowastes.
Website: http://www.bsustain.in/
2. Kankyo Group of Companies
Kankyo Group of Companies is an established waste management solution provider worldwide for Water & wastewater Treatment, Bioremediation, Waste to Energy, Air Pollution Control and Solid Waste Management. In the bio-CNG sector, the company offers containerized solutions upto 3 TPD capacity. These plants could be arranged in modules for 12-15 TPD bio-CNG plants. The company also offers solutions for medium and large scale RNG plants of 50 and 100 TPD capacities. For RNG plants using agro waste as a feedstock, the company offers proprietary pre-treatment solution called semi-aerobic hydrolysis process which aids in increased gas yield.
The company offers CSTR based technology for large scale plants. Approximate area required for a 100 TPD plant using agrowaste is about 4-5 acres (2 acres required for storage of agro wastes). The technology is flexible for all types of feedstock. Kankyo also offers advanced membrane type purification technologies for enhanced bio-CNG yield.
Website: http://kankyocleantech.com/
3. Organic Recycling Systems
Organic recycling systems pvt ltd is a Mumbai based firm providing sustainable waste management solutions in India since 2008. Incorporated by technocrats, the company focuses on developing robust, cost effective & environment friendly technologies that are simple to operate.
ORS is a technology focused company in the domain of Scientific Treatment of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). The company has developed its patented DRYAD™ – Anaerobic Digester Technology based on the principles of Thermophilic biomethanation.
The technology involves two phases – the segregation system that has been developed with the purview of the India’s MSW waste characterization and enhancement in its anaerobic digester treatment. With this segregation system, the plant recovers almost 80-85% of organic content from the unsegregated waste which is then transferred to a homogenization chamber for thermophilic treatment and then to the bio-digester tanks for biomethenation.
While the technology could be more suitable for municipal solid waste, it is also flexible for other feedstocks such as starch and cellulose based. Capital cost for production of biogas from a plant of 2 TPD capacity is about Rs. 60 lakhs. Total area required for a 5 TPD plant is ~500 m2. The technology is ideal for plants with a minimum scale of 15 TPD.
Website: https://organicrecycling.co.in/
4. Primove Engineering
Incorporated in 2008, Primove Engineering Pvt. Ltd. (PEPL) is a nationally recognized EPC Company in the domain of gaseous fuels and energy. Our 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. Primove is a subsidiary of VJ Coresoft Pvt. Ltd.
The company has also installed its own plant and produces bio-CNG under the brand name AgroGas. AgroGas® 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. The biogas is further purified to meet the standard IS 16087:2016, and compressed and stored under high pressure in cylinder cascades for use in transportation and industrial applications.
Primove’s technology is CSTR based with rotor blades. While agro waste digestion requires complex pre-treatments such as enzyme and hydrolysis, this technology involves simple pre-treatment techniques such as novel bacteria for digesting agrowaste. Total area required for a 100 TPD plant is about 3 acres except storage. The minimum scale of operation is 5 TPD and the technology is feasible for only agrowaste.
Website: http://www.primove.in/index.html
5. GPS Renewables
Founded in 2011, GPS Renewables is a waste-to-energy technology company that is pioneering the development of clean and low-cost technology for waste management solutions. Biourja is GPS Renewables’ key product and is said to be the first viable bio-waste to energy solution for urban establishments. GPS Renewables is dedicated to building innovative technology products and services to handle waste in the cleanest possible way while still providing excellent economic returns to its clients.
The technology is feasible for only food waste and capital cost comes to about Rs. 40 lakhs for a 1 TPD biogas plant. Area required is 150 m2 for a 2 TPD plant. The company offers pre-fabricated biogas plants.
Website: http://www.greenpowersystems.co.in/
6. SLPP Re-New LLP
SLPP Re-New is a Bangalore based firm engaged in the development, ownership, realization of biogas installations and production-sales of bio-CNG, bio-power and enriched bio-fertilizer. The company consists of a team of experienced engineers, biologists & agronomists who has more than 15 years experience in this sector.
The company has a unique and economically feasible technology in upgradation of biogas to bio-CNG with membrane technology and have in-house world class technologies for double membrane biogas holder, biological H2S scrubber for biogas and bio fertilizer.
The company offers modular, CSTR technology which is flexible for all types of organic wastes including mixed wastes. Capital cost for this technology is approximately Rs. 15 crores for a 100 TPD plant. Total land required for a 100 TPD plant is 4-5 acres. The technology is feasible at minimal scales of 20 TPD. The company uses advanced upgradation technology – hollow fibre membrane – which assists in enhancing the yield of the product.
Website: http://www.slppre-new.in/
7. Quantum Green
Quantum Green is a biogas and waste management company having pan India presence. They provide professional end to end solutions in waste management, waste to energy and energy distribution. They also install biogas digesters, sewage treatment plants (STPs). As an integrated technology company, Quantum Green has expertise in design, supply and installation of biogas plants for varying applications ranging from household cooking to industrial co-generation purposes including power generation and bio-CNG bottling plants.
Quantum Green offers fixed dome, CSTR type technology whose capital cost is about Rs. 15 crores for a 100 TPD plant. Total area required for a 100 TPD plant is 3-4 acres including storage. The technology is flexible for food and industrial wastes and the minimum scale of operation of 25 TPD.
Website: https://www.quantumgreen.in/
8. Ahuja Engineering
Ahuja Engineering Services is an engineering company which offers turnkey solutions for scientific waste disposal and energy recovery solutions at different scales.
AES provides advanced technologies and services that support the efficient design, supply and operation of waste-to-energy plants and biogas processes. Environmentally secure, turn-key solutions are provided to industries, commercial set-ups, institutes, hotels, hospitals and to process their organic waste in-house.
The company offers pre-fabricated, modular designs with a total capital cost of Rs. 40 lakhs for a bio-CNG plant of capacity 2 TPD. The technology is flexible for all organic wastes and is feasible even at smaller scales of 300 kg/day.
Website: http://www.aespl-india.com/index.html
9. FOV Biogas
FOV biogas India offers technical fabric based digesters for biogas generation. Since the 1960s, FOV Fabrics AB, Sweden has been a reputed hi-tech textile company supplying textiles for army applications, air bag fabrics, almelon textiles, smart textiles, concrete reinforcement textiles, etc. Over 7 years of research and development has led to the development of FOV digesters.
FOV Biogas offers digesters from 1 m3 up to 1000 m3 in size in single or multiple units. FOV Biogas has completed more than 20 installations in India and abroad using various organic feedstocks such as food waste, cow dung, night soil and multi feedstock based biogas plants. There are several factors which are carefully studied before designing a biogas reactor – the type of waste, location of the biogas plant, end usage of gas among other factors.
Fabric based digesters are ideal for wet waste including industrial wastes, poultry litter, cow dung etc. This technology is not feasible for food waste alone. In addition to fabric digesters, the company in collaboration with German solution providers also offers dry type CSTR reactors which uses dry organic wastes with less moisture content as the feedstock. This technology does not require addition of water, thereby reduced challenges with waste water treatment and management of liquid digestate.
In the case of fabric based digesters, the capital cost for a 10 TPD plant is Rs. 1 crore and total land requirement is 0.4 acres.
Website: http://www.fovbiogas.in/
10. Carbon Masters
Carbon Masters is carbon management company that spun out of the University Of Edinburgh, Scotland, and has offices in the UK, India and Ecuador. Carbon Masters’ proprietary technology is called Carbonlites-In-A-Box.
This is a fully functioning biogas plant housed inside refurbished shipping containers.
It’s completely customizable and can process organic waste streams from 500kgs to 5 tons and produce up to 250 kgs of Carbonlites (equivalent to its weight in LPG) per day. It could also produce 10,000 litres of liquid fertilizer. It requires only one-third of the space occupied by a conventional biogas plant.
The technology is flexible for all organic wastes.
Website: https://carbonlites.com/index.html
11. Atmos Power
Atmos Power is a gas plant manufacturing company. It is a prominent firm in the domestic as well as international market for its design engineering and usage of quality equipment. Along with manufacturing, Atmos Power is also involved in commissioning of plants, which guarantees the safety and efficiency of its systems.
The large variety of gas plants offered by Atmos Power include: Biogas purification plants, biogas upgradation plants, biogas to bio-CNG plants, compressed biogas plants, and more.
The company offers hydrolysis technology for the pre-treatment of agro waste. The capital cost of this technology is about Rs. 15 crores for a 100 TPD plant.
Website: https://www.atmospower.net/
12. Radix Lifespaces
The company is a Bangalore based firm offering technology solutions for bio-CNG for different types of feedstock. It offers fibre reinforced plastic based proprietary technology including purification and upgradation. The company has also tied up with entrepreneurs in North India to set up bio-CNG plants using paddy straw with their innovative pre-treatment technology.
The technology is flexible for all organic wastes and requires an area of about 1-1.5 acres for a 50 TPD plant.
Inferences on technology evaluation
- Technology: Modular, plug and play digester models are ideal for a large scale RNG plant
- Extent of maturity: While technically complex pre-treatment methods such as enzymatic is critical for suitability of lignocellulosic feedstock use in anaerobic digester, recent innovations by technology providers have eliminated these complex pre-treatment steps by introducing novel bacteria and simple hydrolysis techniques
- Capital cost: The capital cost for setting up a co-digestion based RNG plant could be approximately Rs. 15 crores, while for an agro waste based plant, it could cost around Rs. 23-25 crores.
- Operational cost: Conversion costs (power + consumables + labour) is in the range of Rs. 15-17/kg of RNG. Of the total conversion costs, 35-40% goes in the production of RNG, while the rest goes for biogas production. About Rs. 7-9/kg RNG goes for power generation. Compression process is found to consume the maximum amount of electricity. Total power requirement for a 100 TPD plant is 78000 kWh/day, with a connected load of 300 kVA.
- Area requirement: Area required for setting up a 100 TPD co-digestion RNG plant comes to about 3 acres while for plants using increased quantities of agrowaste and press mud, it could come to about 4-5 acres owing to feedstock storage requirements.
- Minimum scale of operation: For better return on investment, the minimum scale of plant should be in the range of 15-25 TPD
- Feedstock flexibility: Most of the commercially available technologies are flexible for any type of feedstock – starch and cellulosic and hence mixed feedstock could be suitable for better yield compared to 100% starch or cellulosic feedstock
- Manpower requirement: Most of the currently available technologies are automated and hence require only about 3-4 people – 1 shift operator, 2 tractor drivers, 1 microbiologist
- Avenues to increase yield: Use of novel purification technologies such as membrane type purification, innovative microbes and mixed feedstock could be some of the possible avenues to increase RNG yield
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