Paddy Straw Based Dry Fermentation Biogas Plant Design of PAU Approved by MNRE, Govt. of India

The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on July 31 approved the design of biogas plant developed in the premier Punjab Agricultural University. Around six years ago, the design of this paddy straw based dry fermentation biogas plant was developed by Dr. Sarbjit Singh Sooch, Scientist at Department of Renewable Energy Engineering of PAU. Eight designs of different capacities (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20, and 25 cubic meters) in terms of biogas generation have been approved which shall be considered eligible for the benefits under the Biogas Programme of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

The technology involves dry fermentation which is conducted in batches, wherein the digester is loaded and activated, leading to the production of enough gas for three months. The installation of these biogas plants allows for the utilization of a significant amount of paddy straw to produce biogas. One remarkable feature of this plant is that there is no need for daily feeding of cattle dung, making it suitable for beneficiaries without cattle as well.

The biogas plant technology has been installed at 15 locations in different districts of Punjab and 4 others in Haryana. This biogas plant technology was commercialized over two years ago. Since then, ten firms have already signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with PAU. These agreements aim to promote and disseminate the technology on a large scale in various locations.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India notified the National Bioenergy Programme on November 02, 2022 with a budget outlay of Rs. 858 crores which includes Rs. 100 crores for setting up of small biogas plants (1 to 25 cubic meters) and medium biogas plants (25 to 2500 cubic meters per day) for corresponding power generation capacity range of 3 kW to 250 kW from biogas or raw biogas for thermal energy/cooling applications. The beneficiary should have their own land/space of about 50-60 square meter for installing small biogas plant (1 to 25 cubic meters) and cow dung/feedstock/paddy straw & regular power supply.