Biogas
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Context: Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for everyone at all ages is one of the key sustainable goals of the United Nation’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
Every year, India generates almost 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW), roughly half of which is organic in nature.
Air pollutions
- Pollution caused by burning wood, fossil fuels and other materials is one of the major roadblocks to improving health and quality of life for people.
- Pollutants emitted due to the burning of fossil fuels and biomass affect the health of people and are responsible for climate change.
- Disposing of organic wastes in landfills or burning trash is an environmental as well as health hazard.
- Unscientific waste disposal leads to diseases like dengue fever and malaria. of toxic substances from landfills contaminates the groundwater.
- Many chronic illnesses like asthma, emphysema, cancer and heart disease have also been linked to air pollution by numerous studies.
- Leaching Decomposing organic matter releases huge amounts of methane into the environment, causing air pollution and global warming as methane is a very potent GHG.
Biogas
- Biogas mainly consists of methane (about 60-75%), carbon dioxide (about 25-40%) besides small quantities of NH3 and H2S and has a Calorific Value of about 5000 kcal /m3.
- Biogas can be utilised either for cooking / heating applications, or for generating motive power or electricity through dual-fuel, gas engines, low pressure gas turbines or steam turbines.
Need for Biogas production
- Biogas solution can make cities clean and pollution-free.
- Installing large-scale municipal biogas systems can help cities handle organic waste efficiently to overcome the environmental and socio-economic challenges posed by overburdened landfills.
- Municipal waste can be fed into these plants to create clean and green fuel, along with biofertilisers.
- Over four million people die every year all over the world due to high levels of indoor air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels and biomass.
- The female members of a household are more affected by indoor pollution, switching to biogas could be good for these women because they won't be exposed to harmful smoke and pollution.
- Only 26.53 per cent of the total power generated in India is from renewable sources. The high dependence on non-renewable sources is the leading cause of the long-standing energy problems in the country.
Implications of Biogas production:
- It can help India to provide energy security to every citizen.
- Biogas can play a critical role in transforming the energy dependence of rural and agricultural communities, which majorly depends on burning wood, dung, charcoal, coal and other fossil fuels for their energy needs.
- Installing biogas plants at the micro- and macro-level can address the critical issues of handling livestock manure and agricultural wastes, deteriorating soil quality, water pollution and deforestation.
- A fully functional biogas digester, can reduce approximately 2.83 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in a year.
- Using biogas digesters to convert organic waste into clean energy can significantly contribute to countering challenges like pollution, climate change, livelihood inequalities and health in individual households as well as entire communities.
- Biogas production can provide energy inclusivity and reducing emissions.
- Biogas production can plays a crucial role in improving soil quality. The digestate, a by-product generated in the biogas plants, can be used as a biofertiliser as it is rich in organic content and revitalises the soil.
- Biogas can help in reducing gender inequalities and empowering women, which will improve the quality of lives.
- Biogas can significantly contribute to achieving several UN-mandated sustainable development goals (SDG) such as zero hunger; good health and wellbeing; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; sustainable, affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; and climate action.
- The biogas sector plays a critical role in aiding the government and communities to improve the quality of life of the citizens as well as achieve the health and well-being of everyone.
- Biogas can be one of the best available and feasible options for addressing India's socio-environmental issues. Converting organic wastes into biogas can help in the reduction of pollution, unemployment and poor living conditions.
- Biogas production can lower down the dependency on natural gas imports as India currently imports a little over half of its total consumption of natural gas.
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