Feasibility analysis of biogas plant for the northern plains of India

Abstract

Growing organic waste in India is posing a challenge in its effective management. Open degradation of this organic waste pollutes environment, as well as causes a slew of diseases. Situation may be handled effectively using biogas plants employing anaerobic digestion process. However, performance of these plants is dependent upon various environmental factors and feed types. In this paper, the feasibility analysis of a biogas plant for the northern plains of India has been conducted. A new modified anaerobic digestion model (MAD1) has been designed for the analysis. It is evident from the analysis that the northern plains of India have a large potential for biogas production as they generate a large amount of organic waste. Furthermore, analysis reveals that, if the biogas plant is operated at a thermophilic temperature ranging from 44 °C to 55 °C, the profit can be maximised. However, if the biogas plant is operated at 37 °C, the significant profit will begin after 3–4 years, depending on the type of feedstock. Complete analysis has been conducted in MATLAB Simulink environment.