Biogas Production for Sustainable Energy Generation in Rural Himachal Pradesh Using One Stage Portable Digester

Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW), electronic waste, biomedical waste, and hazardous waste are different types of solid waste (SW). MSW is a major part of SW. A latest published report by central pollution control board (CPCB) reveals that urban population in India generates around 135,198 tonnes of MSW every day. Further, this is anticipated that generation of MSW is expected to escalate in future. According to a report from the CPCB, the number of cities and towns has increased from 5,161 to 7,936 from 2001 to 2011[1]. Along with the rapid economic growth, industrialization, population, living standard, and lifestyle of inhabitants of India have also improved and therefore, resulting in a gigantic amount MSW every day [2]. Proper disposal of MSW is a big challenge for almost all municipalities of the cities and towns due to a lack of awareness and funds. Dry or wet any kind of biodegradable substrate can be utilized via anaerobic digestion, it can occur either on the landfill or it can be performed in the anaerobic reactor generally known as an anaerobic reactor or biogas plant. Food Waste (FW) is a significant fraction of MSW and generally it constitutes approximately 35% of total MSW. During AD of FW apart from carbon dioxide (CO2), emission of methane (CH4), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and other gases take place. Alone CO2 and CH4 constitute approximately 90%. Both gases are greenhouse gases and CH4 has 31 times more global warming potential (GWP) when compared with CO2. FW also contributes substantially to GHG emissions if it is simply open dumped. An extensive literature reveals that, apart from sanitary landfills with landfill gas (LFG) mechanism, it can also be managed with the help of composting, combustion/incineration, and through AD in bio-reactors. Although, all the methods are capable of reducing the load on the landfills. AD in bioreactors has proven to be most efficient in terms of energy generation and curtailment of GHG emissions, capital investment (CI), and operation and maintenance costs (OandMC). newlineAD i