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Punjab Agricultural University’s biogas plant design gets Centre’s nod
The technology was innovated by Dr Sarbjit Singh Sooch, principal scientist of renewable energy engineering, around six years ago under the All India Coordinated Research Project.
Ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has approved the design of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) dry fermentation (paddy straw based) biogas plants.
As a consequence of the approval of the design, it will be considered for the benefits under the biogas programme of MNRE, which is a nodal agency of Government of India for implementation of renewable energy technologies at the national level.
The technology was innovated by Dr Sarbjit Singh Sooch, principal scientist of renewable energy engineering, around six years ago under the All India Coordinated Research Project.
Vice-chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal, director of research AS Dhatt and dean of postgraduate studies PK Chhuneja, congratulated Sooch for MNRE approval of the design of the biogas plant.
Explaining the technology, Sooch said “This process of dry fermentation is a batch process; once the digester is loaded and activated, it would produce sufficient gas for a period of three months. With the installation of these biogas plants, a large quantity of paddy straw can be consumed for biogas production. The specialty of this biogas plant is that daily feeding of cattle dung is not required. So, the beneficiary having no cattle can install such biogas plant.”
Till date, 15 such biogas plants have been installed in different districts of Punjab and four plants are installed in Haryana state, he informed. The technology of this biogas plant was commercialised more than two years back and so far, 10 firms/ individuals have signed memorandum of agreement (MoA) with PAU for the dissemination of the technology at mass level at different locations, he said.
