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REPORT ON OVERVIEW AND UTILITY OF

BIOGAS PLANT







Submitted by:
Aniket Babu
Tanuj Rawat
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction 3
2. Biogas And its composition 4
3. Advantages 4
4. Types of Biogas Plants 5
5. Comparisions 5
6. Study of Biogas Plant offer by Kirloskar 6
Advantages
Salient Features
Commericial
7. Sample Calculations of Biogas Plant for phase one Wave City 8
8. Criteria and descriptions for failures of biogas subsystems 9
9. Fault tree approach for technical assessment of biogas plant 11
10. Methods to improve biomethane production in biogas plant 14

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Introduction
The current use of fossil fuels is rapidly depleting the natural reserves. The natural
formation of coal and oil however is a very slow process which takes ages. Therefore, a
lot of research effort is put into finding renewable fuels nowadays to replace fossil fuels.
Also,due to scarcity of petroleum and coal it threatens supply of fuel throughout the
world, problem of their combustion leds to research in different corners to get access
the new sources of energy, like renewable energy resources. Solar energy, wind energy,
different thermal and hydro sources of energy, biogas are all renewable energy
resources. But, biogas is distinct from other renewable energies because of its
characterstics of using,controlling and collecting organic wastes and at the same time
producing fertilizer and water for use in agricultural irrigation. Biogas does not have any
geographical limitations nor does it requires advanced technology for producing energy,
also it is very simple to use and apply.
Kitchen waste is organic material having the high calorific value and nutritive value to
microbes, thats why efficiency of methane production can be increased by several
order of magnitude. Also in most of cities and places, kitchen waste is disposed in
landfill or discarded which causes the public health hazards and diseses like malaria,
cholera, typhoid. Inadequate management of wastes like uncontrolled dumping bears
several adverse consequences: It not only leads to polluting surface and groundwater
through leachate and further promotes the breeding of flies , mosquitoes, rats and
other disease bearing vectors. Also, it emits unpleasant odour & methane which is a
major greenhouse gas contributing to global warming.
Mankind can tackle this problem(threat) successfully with the help of methane ,
however till now we have not been benifited, because of ignorance of basic sciences
like output of work is dependent on energy available for doing that work. This fact can
be seen in current practices of using low calororific inputs like cattle dung, distillery
effluent, municipal solid waste (MSW) or seweage, in biogas plants, making methane
generation highly inefficient. We can make this system extremely efficient by using
kitchen waste/food wastes.

Therefore, the proposed model at Genesis School and Wave City will be highly eco-
friendly and cost effective for the students and people respectively.
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Biogas
Biogas typically refers to a mixture of gases produced by the breakdown of organic
matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas can be produced from regionally available raw
materials such as recycled waste. It is a renewable energy source and in many cases
exerts a very small carbon footprint.
It is produced by anaerobic digestion with anaerobic bacteria or fermentation of
biodegradable materials such as manure, sewage, municipal waste, green waste, plant
material, and crops.


Composition of Biogas
Component Concentration
Methane 55-60%
Carbon Dioxide 35-40%
Water 2-7%
Hydrogen Sulphide 2%
Table No-1

Advantages of Biogas
1. Provides a non-polluting and renewable source of energy.
2. Efficient way of energy conversion (saves fuelwood).
3. Saves women and children from drudgery of collection and carrying of firewood,
exposure to smoke in the kitchen, and time consumed for cooking and cleaning of
utensils.
4. Produces enriched organic manure, which can supplement or even replace chemical
fertilizers.
5. Leads to improvement in the environment, and sanitation and hygiene.
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6. Provides a source for decentralized power generation.
7. Leads to employment generation in the rural areas.
8. Household wastes and bio-wastes can be disposed of usefully and in a healthy
manner.
9. The technology is cheaper and much simpler than those for other bio-fuels, and it is
ideal for small scale application.
10. Dilute waste materials (2-10% solids) can be used as in feed materials.
11. Any biodegradable matter can be used as substrate.
12. Anaerobic digestion inactivates pathogens and parasites, and is quite effective in
reducing the incidence of water borne diseases.
13. Environmental benefits on a global scale: Biogas plants significantly lower the
greenhouse effects on the earths atmosphere. The plants lower methane emissions
Types of Biogas Plants
1. Fixed Dome type
2. Floating Gas Holder type
3. Skid Mounted

Comparision

Table No-2
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Comparision between Skid Mounted And Dome Type
Parameter Skid Mounted Dome type
Space requirement Less area Large area required
Aeration tanks Pre-Fabricated Civil tank (mostly underground)
Portability Easy for relocating to
other places
Fixed construction and can not be
moved
Operation Easy operation Not so easy and skilled labor
needed
Maintenance cost Low maintenance cost More Maintenance cost
Technology Latest Old
Table No-3

Study of Proposal for Skid Mounted Biogas Plant for 500kg/day
Kitchen Waste

Some advantages of the proposed Skid Mounted Biogas Plant are as
follows:

1. Low water requirement (would be max. @ 500 lit during the commissioning time and
max. @ 300 lit per day for regular operation). About 200 lit per day is recycled back in to
the digester.
2. The digester works at total solid (TS) content of about 12% with a hydraulic retention
time of @ 20 days. The digester wall has special coating to provide heat insulation for
better performance during cold days.
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3. Our design incorporates a Solid Liquid Separator at the slurry outlet of the biogas
plant to facilitate slurry handling and liquid recycling. This allows for desired water
recirculation and the process equipment is compact.
4. This compact design is configured into a multi-layered system to reduce the total foot
print of the biogas plant
5. The biogas plant is designed so as to have minimum manual intervention. The
intervention would be for segregation of inorganic and other non-digestible material as
well as for replacing container / trolley at the manure collection point. The total system
is integrated with controls and interlocks.
6. The total area required for the plant including the area for manure collection trolley
will be 420 sq. ft.
7. Depending on the site conditions, it may involve some small civil work like
foundations for the main skid of the Biogas Plant.
Salient Features
a) Storage Capacity : 12 cubic meter
b) Pressurized System
c) Automated Flare
d) Minimal Area Required : 420 sq.ft
e) Gas Storage Indicator
f) pH meter
g) Temperature Meter
h) Totalizer
i) Total Biogas : 40cubic meter/day
j) LPG Replacement : @16kg/day
k) Manure Generation : @30kg/day
l) Solid Liquid Seperator
1. 300 lt/day will be treated in ETP.
2. 200 lt/day will be recycled.
3. 30% manure is collected in bin.
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Commercials
Supply, Installation and Commissioning of Skid Mounted Biogas Plant
will cost Rs.2,550,000.



Sample Calculations for BIOGAS PLANT for PHASE-1, Wave City
( by taking reference from the proposal of Kirloskar Integrated Technologies Ltd )

1. Assumption of waste generated per person per day: 250 gm/day.
2. Approximate number of people living in seven different sectors of phase
one of Wave City, Ghaziabad are 9,50,000.
3. Total waste generation based on above assumption: 250gm * 9,50,000
persons=237.5 tonne/day + additional quantity due to functions/different
waste patterns =350 tonne.
4. Size of the biogas plant : Designed to process 350 tonne/Day segregated
kitchen waste
5. Area required for the construction of plant:
6. Biogas generated: 28,000 cubic meter/day.
7. LPG replacement per day: 11.2 tonne/day



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Criteria and Descriptions for failures of Biogas Subsystems


Sub System
Failure Criteria
Failure Assessing
Method






STRUCTURAL
COMPONENTS

1. Inconvenient position of plant components
Relative positioning of plant components are
not appropriate, e.g., plant is too far from
animal shed; inlet tank is too high for feeding;
outlet tank is too remote to be reached.

2. Unsuitable inlet pipe slope Cleaning the inlet
pipe with a long stick is impossible when the
inlet pipe is blocked during feeding because the
long stick will be hindered by the wall.

3. Broken/missing mixing device In such case,
the dilution of raw materials is difficult,
therefore feeding is difficult.

4. Cracks in structural components Big crack(s)
on the wall of the inlet tank or outlet chamber
because the construction quality is poor or the
chamber is damaged by natural disasters such
as floods.









Visual inspection, testing
with a long stick




Biogas
utilization
equipment


1. Malfunction of biogas stove Flame pedestal
is broken; gas tap is broken; air injection ring is
rusty or broken; air injection hole is blocked or
too big to adjust gas consumption or flame.

2. Inoperative biogas lamp Almost no
household uses biogas lamps anymore. This
criterion will not be considered as a failure in
the fault tree analysis.





Visual inspection, checking
with tools, lighting the
stove to observe the
flame.



Piping system

1. Leakage of piping system Pipe is connected
unprofessionally. The valve is out of function or
defective. The valve is a water valve instead of
a gas valve. The connections between the valve
and the pipe, or between the pipe and the
nipple, are not fixed. The gas pipeline is
corroded after a long time. The clamp for fixing

Visual inspection; checking
leakage with soapy water;
measuring
with scale; inflating
pressure into pipe.

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the connection is missing

2. Blockage of piping system A risk of blockage
in the piping system exists. If the biogas
pipeline is too long or overhanging, and if no
water traps is available, then water may be
condensed within the pipe.











Biogas production

When daily biogas production is less than half
of the designed
standard capacity, failure is taken into
consideration

1. Leakage of biogas in digester Gas tightness
of biogas digester is not good in the presence
of pressure inside the digester. Gas leakage is
possible when biogas is produced and stored.

2. Thick scum layer on the surface prevents
biogas from escaping.

3. Breakdown of anaerobic digestion process
Several parameters affect normal anaerobic
digestion process, such as unbalanced carbon
to nitrogen ratio, too-high or too-low pH value,
low temperature, less feedstock, and existence
of inhibitor.

4. Not enough feedstock Farmers reduce the
number of animals, animal manure is no longer
enough, or farmers do not feed the animals
regularly.








Inflating more pressure
into digester and checking;
testing
parameters; interviews;
installing a gas flow meter
for measuring
gas volume; scum
measurement through the
gas outlet pipe





Effluent disposal
system


1. No effluent from the outlet chamber The
outlet pipe is blocked. When the feedstock is
unsuitable, e.g., sawdust is added, or when the
feedstock is too much, then the slurry inside
the outlet chamber may be thick, and
sometimes, like a solid

2. Unsuitable effluent disposal The slurry is
only stored as waste without being reuse as
organic fertilizer. Slurry is applied onto
farmlands directly without composting or
stabilization.





Visual inspection

Table No-4
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Fault tree approach for technical assessment of biogas plant

The objective of Fault Tree Approach is to assist in identifying potential risks, thereby
adopting relative improvement approaches to avoid failures. FTA is applied and fault
trees with respect to Biogas Plant are structured. These trees visualize operation faults
from a technical point of view.

Biogas plant failure happens because of events occurring in one or more of the five
subsystems (structural components, biogas utilization equipment, piping system, biogas
production, and effluent disposal system). As such, any failure in a subsystem (called
first-level contributors) can result in the abnormal operation of biogas plant.

The top event of the fault tree is the abnormal operation of SBS. The global Biogas fault
tree is an OR gate that includes the faults of the five subsystems, namely structural
components, biogas utilization equipment, piping system, biogas production, and
effluent disposal system. Figs. 16 present the five fault trees for the subsystems.
Each type of fault is broken down from one cause to another until the basic events
responsible for the undesirable event are obtained. Each event is numbered from B1 to
B5 for first-level contributors, from C1 to C15 for second-level contributors, from D1 to
D31 for third-level contributors, and from E1 to E4 for fourth-level contributors,
respectively, to analyze the events clearly.



Fig. 1. Global fault tree for biogas plant
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Fig. 2. Fault tree of structural components



Fig. 3. Fault tree of biogas utilization systems
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Fig. 4. Fault tree of the piping system.



Fig. 5. Fault tree of biogas production.
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Fig. 6. Fault tree of the effluent disposal system.


Methods To Improve Biomethane Production In Biogas Plant
1. The economic feasibility of such facilities can be improved through reduction of
transport costs and increasing the digester efficiency. Thus there are considerable
advantages to reducing the water content of slurries through separation into a fibrous
fraction (high in nutrient and in solids content) and a liquid fraction. Technologies
available include for these separation are : mechanical screen separators, filter presses,
sedimentation, centrifugation, biological treatment and reverse osmosis.

2. Making separate digester for different type of waste increases the efficiency of
digester as retention time for each of them is different.

3. The methane potential of organic particulate matter increases with decreasing
particle size because of increase in surface area. So the feed must be prepared.

4. Carbon lost to the effluent must be checked.

5. The imported feedstock (containing sugary & starchy material) should be used to
increase the biogas production per unit of feedstock.
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6. Chemicals could be used to breakdown carbon in to more reduce form.

7. Using co-substrates like maize silage, grass silage etc. in biogas plants will increase the
volumetric methane productivity in case where biogas plant uses slurry of single type.

8. Provision for separate waste collection must be made and residents must be made
aware of this.

9. Pre-treatment of waste by separation produces a solid fraction with significantly
higher methane potential per unit of volume. The economic cost of such technology
may be offset by reduced transportation costs.