Holistic Approach for Biogas Technology Implementation to Improve Sustainability

The sustainability of a technology can be improved by using a holistic approach. In this study, one such approach of implementation is demonstrated using the example of biogas technology. This case study is presented based on implementation experience of biogas technology in an academic campus located in a rural area in India. Though this is a well-known technology, it has not yet become sustainable due to various issues. Components of biogas technology can be categorized into three subgroups as preprocessing, main digester and post-processing. In the preprocessing phase, it is important to consider easily available feeds and their preprocessing to improve the performance of the anaerobic process. The improved design of a preprocessor helps in adopting various types of feeds available resulting into solid waste management. The performance of anaerobic process in the main digester is governed by the design of the digester, standard operating practices and maintenance processes. The appropriate consideration and implementation of these three parameters help in improving the gas production rate and fault tolerance. In the postprocessing phase, biogas and biogas manure need to be processed effectively for economic benefits from the biogas plant. These three processes of biogas technology are considered through holistic approach to improve collective performance and acceptability of the plant. The approach looks into modifications in the existing processes to serve other purposes like solid waste management, improvement in usage of biogas and manure along with inclusion of allied technologies to improve acceptability. Further, design modifications in the main digester are carried out through CFD analysis to improve velocity patterns in the digester with the objective of minimizing the biological faults and maximizing the mixing performance. This study shows how the holistic approach can bring together various interdependent components of a technology for simultaneous modifications.