ASIA’s BIGGEST BIO-CNG PLANT IN MP

TOPIC: Environment

Context- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated Asia’s biggest Bio-CNG plant in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore via video conferencing.

Concept-

About Bio-CNG Plant in Indore:

A typical bio-CNG station comprises a biogas purification unit, a compressor, and a high-pressure storage system.
The Bio-CNG plant in Indore has been set up based on the concept of waste-to-wealth innovation in India’s cleanest city.
The plant with 550 MT per day capacity is said to be the biggest of its kind in Asia. It will produce CNG with 96 percent pure methane
- For the fifth time in a row, Madhya Pradesh’s Indore has been ranked India’s cleanest city under the Centre’s annual cleanliness survey Swachh Survekshan 2021.
The Bio-CNG plant will be operated using 100 percent wet waste. It is estimated to produce 18,000 kg gas per day which will help in running around 400 buses in the city daily.
This plant has some unique features, like:
- Fully automated pre-treatment unit and separation hammer mill technology. This will prepare bio-slurry feed to run digesters.
- Anaerobic digesters, that have been mounted with agitators. They work on Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) principle.
- Use of ‘Pressure Swing Adsorption (VPSA) technology’, to ensure high-quality recovery of bio-CNG fuel from raw biogas.

Bio-CNG:

Bio-CNG is a purified form of biogas with over 95% pure methane gas
It is similar to natural gas in its composition (97% methane) and energy potential.
- While natural gas is a fossil fuel, bio-CNG is a renewable form of energy produced from agricultural and food waste.
- Bio-CNG is being looked at as an environment-friendly alternative to diesel.