Waste to Wealth’: India’s biogas potential to offset gas imports.
The Waste to Wealth Mission brings scientific processing of waste to the forefront to build a zero landfill and zero waste nation.
India has the potential to significantly reduce its dependence on imported natural gas by ramping up biogas projects, according to a recent report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
Rising incomes, rapidly growing but unplanned urbanization, and changing lifestyles have resulted in increased volumes and changing composition (increasing use of paper, plastic and other inorganic materials) of waste in India.
Improper waste management in India has numerous implications on the environment and health. Besides paying attention to ameliorate the immediate environmental and public health crises resulting from the current state of solid waste management, there is also a need for articulating a long term strategy to address the future challenges of solid waste management in Indian cities.
Due to waste generation and insufficient garbage collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal, India faces significant health, environmental, and economic concerns. To tackle the menace numerous initiatives have been taken out which waste to wealth a key one.
The study underlines the multi-faceted environmental benefits of biogas, citing its capacity to manage waste, diminish greenhouse gas emissions, and amplify
renewable energy output.
Biogas can substitute natural gas or other fossil fuels with high emissions. Removing carbon dioxide (CO2) and other impurities like hydrogen sulfide can also upgrade its methane content to 90%, making it equivalent to natural gas in calorific value. This upgraded biogas, also known as biomethane, is a pipeline-ready gas and can be injected into the gas grids as a non-fossil gas,” the report quoted Purva Jain, Energy Analyst at IEEFA.
A key step will be to ensure guaranteed offtake of CBG by different natural gas-using industries to expedite meeting decarbonisation goals. Introducing take-or-pay arrangements will be an important step in this direction.
Significance of waste to wealth
The ‘Waste-to-Energy’ and Waste Management market in India is set to be a $14bn opportunity by the year 2025. The population of 1.3 billion in India currently generates 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste per year.
And by 2027, India is set to become the world’s most populous country as per projections of the United Nations with 7 new megacities.
At this exponential population and urban growth rate, landfills almost 90% of the size of Bengaluru would be required for dumping if the waste remains untreated.
Though rapid urbanization presents a humungous challenge, with the right policy framework and action, this challenge can be turned into a golden opportunity.
