Renewable energy comes in many forms - Solar, wind and hydro energy are just the most popular ones. Biogas is one form of renewable energy that can be very useful for both domestic and commercial consumers to generate cooking gas and (in larger installations) even electricity. The best part about biogas plants is: They just need organic (food, fruits, vegetable) waste that we generally throw into the dustbin, in order to generate cooking-gas/energy. They don't require any electricity for operation and they can even produce organic manure!
During the recent conference & expo on green energy/green living that I attended in Chennai, there was a stall with one large syntax-tank kind of a unit that made me curious. It was directly connected to a single-flame burner through a pipe. I approached them and asked them what it was, and they told me that it was a domestic biogas plant. Well, that's something I have never seen before!
So, this biogas plant has an inlet which lets you to drop food/vegetable/organic waste, as they are generated, and they get deposited in the bottom of the tank. Due to anaerobic digestion (I guess), this organic waste is converted into biogas that rises up and exits out of the pipe on the top. This biogas can directly be connected to a gas-stove and be used for cooking. There is also a side-outlet from where the decomposed food materials can be collected and used as organic manure.
It seems they have biogas plant models with different capacities. A few are given below,
- 0.5m(cube) Model --- 2 to 4 Kg Food Waste (Holding capacity) --- Generates 1 Hour of cooking gas (burning-time).
- 1m(cube) Model --- 6 to 10 Kg Food Waste (Holding capacity) --- Generates 2 Hours of cooking gas (burning-time).
- 4m(cube) Model --- 30 to 35 Kg Food Waste (Holding capacity) --- Generates 8 hours of cooking gas (burning-time).
- Etc.
As you can see, this kind of a plant can be used anywhere cooking is required. Homes can buy the basic model; eateries, hotels, canteens, etc. can buy larger models as they generate more organic waste. These biogas plants can complement and reduce the usage of LPG gas stoves. Have a look at this page for further information on their domestic/small-scale biogas plants.
Large vegetable markets, restaurants, sewage disposal centers, etc. can think of setting up commercial biogas plants that can handle a large amount of waste and can generate considerable amount of cooking gas and electricity, just by using the organic waste that will otherwise be disposed off. Some waste items that can be used in these plants include: Food waste, vegetable/fruit waste, animal dung, poultry litter, fiber waste, cane-juice waste, municipal sewage, etc. Have a look at this page for further information on their commercial biogas plants.
Disclaimer: Please note that this article has been written for informational purpose only and I have no affiliation with the aforesaid vendor. Also, I have not used this system myself or I don't know anyone who has used it, and hence I don't know how well they work/quality of their systems. All the information given here is based on what has been presented on the vendor's website and what I gathered during the expo. Hence, readers are requested to double-check all info before deciding to buy anything.
