Vizag startup makes CNG-like gas from wet waste

With higher calorific value, biogas can easily replace LPG, petrol, diesel and furnace oil. Few trials were already conducted in hotels in Visakhapatnam which yielded encouraging results. This gas is an ideal one for piped gas supply to residential complexes

Visakhapatnam: IN a classic instance of converting waste to energy, a city-based startup has made headway in producing compressed biogas equivalent to CNG, the cleanest fossil fuel to run vehicles.

The startup is also contemplating expanding capacity and acquiring additional land to meet its future needs after it signed MoU with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) for offtake of compressed biogas made by it.

The startup, which has at present a production capacity of 850 kg per day has the signed pact with IOCL for minimum supply of 2,000 kg per day for the next 15 years after completing the expansion. The startup was earlier allotted 2,000 square yards at Kapuluppada on the city outskirts for its plant by Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC). The company signed a contract with IOCL under Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) programme. Vyzag Bio Energy Fuel Private Ltd, the startup launched during 2018, with a mission towards waste management, signed an MoU with GVMC, to convert waste into compressed biogas.

First-of-its-kind in Andhra Pradesh using municipal waste and converting it into biogas, the product is as good as compressed natural gas (CNG). The firm has so far made an investment of about Rs 6.5 crore.

The startup gets about 30 tonnes of municipal wet waste, which is sourced from GVMC for a period of 10 years. The gas is bottled in 3,000-litre cylinder cascades and is being dispatched to IOCL outlets. The day is not far when Visakhapatnam will see CNG vehicles moving on the roads replacing petrol and diesel vehicles.

Biogas, known as future fuel, is a green gas containing more than 96 per cent methane. With higher calorific value, biogas can easily replace LPG, petrol, diesel and furnace oil. Few trials were already conducted in hotels in Visakhapatnam which yielded encouraging results. This gas is an ideal one for piped gas supply to residential complexes.

Wet Waste is ground to fine particles along with water and the slurry is fed to a digester, where in the absence of oxygen anaerobic reaction takes place and raw gas is produced. This gas is purified in a vacuum pressure adsorption process, where H2S and CO2 are eliminated. This improves the methane purity to 96 per cent.

In addition to the main product biogas, the plant also generates two by-products --organic manure both in liquid and in solid forms, thus ensuring zero emissions and zero discharges from the plant. The organic manure is meeting the standards set by Fertilizer Corporation Order (FCO).

The world is moving towards organic cultivation and Vyzag Bio Energy plant is ready with huge quantities of organic manure. "We will make it available in bulk quantities, which is a boon to farmers, Organic farmhouses, mango gardens, vegetable growers, maize and paddy cultivators will get the benefit," KS Raja, a CEO of the firm told Bizz Buzz on Wednesday.

A former executive of Tata Steel, he is confident of expanding his project. The venture is a dream project of Kotamraju L Bhavana, his daughter. Raja said "Ratan Tata is my inspiration and we are gearing up for expansion with positive response from GVMC officials for allotment of additional land and supply of waste."