Techno Economic Studies on the Effective Utilization of Non-Uniform Biowaste Generation for Biogas Production

Environmental effects from traditional energy sources and government regulations, necessitate the use of alternative energies like biogas for many uses including drying and refrigeration. Biowaste produced in educational institutions will not be uniform over the year. The non-uniform supply of biowastes, the absence of studies on bio digestion of likelihood biomass, the unreliability of energy from such conversion and the profitability of its usage in most applications are some of the factors to be considered while implementing this technology. In this regard, theoretical and experimental evaluations were carried out to accurately forecast biogas generation capabilities in educational campuses for obtaining biofuels with quantity and efficiency. It is observed that biogas generation with 52 to 58% methane content can be possible during an academic year. The quality of biogas shows that it is appropriate for almost any application. A broader analysis on different types of biogas digesters was conducted for their suitability in academic institutions. The economic benefits are analyzed for incorporating three biogas digesters namely KVIC, Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) type and JANATA. There are some encouraging results to confirm the economic feasibility of biogas plants including positive net present value. Biogas generation with digesters of capacities varying between 25 and 450 cubic meter shows payback periods varies from 3.18 to 7.59 years, which confirms that it is profitable to use digesters in this range of capacities.