Biomethane plants based on municipal solid waste and wastewater and its impact on vehicle sector in India — An Environmental-economic-resource assessment

Abstract

Advantages of biomethane production from large-scale biogas plants include savings of fossil fuels, better waste handling, job creation, odor, and greenhouse gas reduction. For these reasons, the government has launched and promoted various waste-to-energy schemes to install large-scale biogas plants in India. However, methane leaks from various plant sources are problematic as they contribute to global warming and compromise the environmental benefits. This paper assessed the significance of bio-compressed natural gas (bio-CNG) from large-scale biogas plants as a transportation fuel from an environmental and economic perspective. The results show that GHGs emissions of bio-CNG along its value chain (i.e., generation to utilization) are lower than other fuel options. If harnessed correctly, municipal solid waste and wastewater energy can replace 4053.47 tonnes of India’s diesel consumption per day. However, less than 2.5% of net bio-CNG potential is utilized in the current scenario. Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis shows a 0.32 and 0.08 probability that emissions from bio-CNG are greater than diesel and petrol, respectively. Furthermore, there is an 83.15% chance that the bio-CNG business will make a profit. Also, a 0.83 correlation coefficient was found between compressed biogas (CBG) price and net present value (NPV). This study indicates the massive scope of biogas in the transportation sector. Thus, to achieve the goal, setting up large-scale biogas plants is much needed.