The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) statistics show that annually India generates about 500 million tonnes of agricultural and agro-industrial leftovers. Numerous initiatives are now being taken to minimise and convert this agricultural waste into various types of products and services. As things are changing for the better, although at a slow pace, let’s take this up with a few industry insiders who can shine some light on this pressing issue.
Human endeavours have scaled new heights in all spheres of ‘civilisational’ comforts and scientific advancement, including growing resilient and high-yielding crops. Agricultural activity has reached the zenith of modern food cultivation potential. Yet, one common thread of these endeavours is the sheer volume of waste generated. Agriculture and allied industries, too, are bogged down by this. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) statistics show that annually India generates about 500 million tonnes of agricultural and agro-industrial leftovers. According to a recent media report, between 16 and 17 million metric tonnes (MMT) of grains are lost each year due to inefficient food management systems. Unscientific grain harvesting and storage practices are mostly to blame for this problem. The same holds true for the massive wastage of fresh fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy products every year due to antiquated storage, transport and distribution methods. However, numerous initiatives are now being taken to minimise and convert this agricultural waste into various types of products and services. As things are changing for the better, although at a slow pace, let’s take this up with a few industry insiders who can shine some light on this pressing issue.
According to projections made by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, this agri waste has the potential to generate more than 18,000 MW of electricity annually in addition to producing green fertiliser for agricultural use. When looking at just one crop, potatoes, Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) found that the global annual waste is over 12 MMT, with 2 MMT coming from India. The Government of India launched its flagship “Swachh Bharat Mission” in 2014, and in response, the ICAR issued a clarion appeal for serious work on agricultural waste and its conversion into products that are valuable for humans, animals, and farm land.
Commenting on this move, Suhas Baxi, Co-founder & CEO, BiofuelCircle said, “In an agrarian country like India, every year, there is a minimum of 235 MMT of surplus agri-residue available in the farms. This is equivalent to 125 MMT of coal or 600 million barrels of crude oil, which is nearly 25 per cent of India’s oil imports. 100 per cent utilisation of this surplus crop residue can potentially lead to providing 17 per cent of a country’s energy needs, creating additional sources of income for farmers and creation of jobs in rural and industrial sectors. The biomass opportunity in our country is big enough to potentially power a $40 billion economy. However, more than 70 per cent gets burnt or wasted due to a combination of reasons.”
To make the most of this chance, a comprehensive farm-to-fuel ecosystem should be set up. In light of the precarious nature of the link between rural and industrial areas, this would necessitate massive efforts to organise and empower all participants in the biomass supply chain.
Govt backing
The Indian government has designated this market as a high-priority sector for financial assistance. Several programmes have been established by the Oil and Natural Gas Ministry and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. It is believed that enterprises involved in the biomass supply chain, biomass aggregation, processing, and bio energy refining all require seed funding to get off the ground. Just supplying resources isn’t the whole point of this strategy. Here’s an area where public and private actors, as well as the government, are all working together to advance short- and long-term goals.
All viable technologies for recovering energy in the form of Biogas/BioCNG/Electricity from renewable sources like municipal solid wastes, vegetable and other market wastes, slaughterhouse waste, agricultural residues, and industrial/STP wastes & effluents are being actively promoted by the Ministry.
On converting biomass into energy, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) stated that Biogas is produced through the process of biomethanation, which is the anaerobic digestion of organic matter. Biogas produced through anaerobic digestion (AD) consists primarily of methane (60 per cent), carbon dioxide (40 per cent), and other gases; the process requires no free oxygen. Biomethanisation is advantageous in two ways. As a byproduct, you get biogas as well as manure.
Wastes from restaurants, canteens, institutions, hotels, slaughterhouses, and vegetable markets are only some of the organic wet wastes that can benefit from this technology’s decentralised use for biodegradation.
The biogas produced by the biomethanation process can be used to create electricity by being burned in a gas engine or by being used in a gas boiler/burner for thermal application industries and home use. Alternatively, carbon dioxide and other contaminants can be removed from the biogas before it is used to make BioCNG. This can be used as a fuel for cars or injected into the national gas system to replace natural gas.
About 25-29 kgs of cattle manure can be converted into one cubic metre of biogas via the biomethanation process, and that volume of biogas has the capacity to produce two units of electricity or 0.4 kg of BioCNG.
“We ourselves are working with MNRE to set up rural biomass enterprises as a part of our Local Markets mechanism for the biomass supply chain,” added Baxi.
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