Petroleum Research 7 (2022) 409e418

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Petroleum Research
journal homepage: http://www.keaipublishing.com/en/journals/
petroleum-research/

Fundamentals and developments of compressed biogas in city gas

distribution network in India: A review
Kriti Yadav*, Anirbid Sircar
Centre of Excellence for Geothermal Energy, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Biogas is a significant renewable source as well as an alternative energy carrier provided by Anaerobic
Received 17 July 2021 Digestion (AD) of biodegradable food wastes and other organic materials. This paper describes some
Received in revised form major facts about biogas along with the barriers and adaptation of CBG in society, it also narrates the
3 December 2021
types of feedstocks available for biogas generation and what are the major sources in India. In this study,
Accepted 3 December 2021
different stages of anaerobic digestion are discussed such as hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and
Available online 6 December 2021
methanogenesis for biogas production. After its purification, the biogas can be used as a fuel for domestic
as well as transportation purposes. A glimpse of biogas like purification techniques like biological
Keywords:
Compressed biogas
desulphurization, iron chloride dosing, pressure swing adsorption, chemical scrubbing and water
Anaerobic digestion scrubbing is given, the major additions of national policy of biofuels in 2018 is also highlighted. It has
City gas distribution been found that in India, majorly pressure swing adsorption and water scrubbing methods are used for
Water scrubbing biogas purification, currently, the country has 12 commercial CBG plants with a total CBG output capacity
Pressure swing adsorption of 18,461.7 tonnes per year, which is just 0.06 percent of the total ability. The details of the plants along
with their CBG production capacity are described, and sustainable alternative towards affordable
transportation (SATAT) launched by MoPNG is introduced in this study, furthermore, the features and
types of models suggested by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) to introduce compressed
biogas (CBG) in city gas distribution (CGD) network are discussed.
© 2021 The Authors. Publishing services provided by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communication Co.
Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction An illustration of a biogas production facility is shown in Fig. 1.

The raw waste products will reach the digester via a feeder pipe
Waste or biomass sources like cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, connected to the biogas plant. The overflow line in an anaerobic
agricultural residue, municipal solid waste, and sewage treatment digestion system ensures that the pressure inside the digester stays
plant waste, etc. produce biogas through the process of anaerobic within safe levels. The final residue left behind the digestion pro-
decomposition (National Non-Food Crops Center, 2018; Srivastava, cess is collected into outlet or collection pipe. This residue is known
2020). The production of biogas is performed in four biochemical as “biofertiliser” or “biomanure” as it is rich in phosphorus and
and chemical stages namely hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis nitrogen, it is generally used as good fertilizer. The biogas system
and methanogensis reaction (Nallamothu et al., 2013). A digester is has a long-life span. A small-scale biogas production plant can have
a heart of biogas production system, it is an airtight container life span of up to 20 years and will require very less operational and
which behaves like human stomach. Raw materials are collected in maintenance cost in its life span.
digester where with the help of billions of bacteria, this waste is The biogas consists of impurities like carbon dioxide, hydrogen
digested and converted into biogas (Bharathiraja et al., 2018). The sulphide, moisture, etc. As per the ISO 16087:2016 specifications to
methane gas is produced and accumulated at the top of the convert it into compressed biogas, the impurities like hydrogen
digester. This accumulated methane gas is then sent to home sulphide (H2S), carbon dioxide, water vapour needs to be removed
cooking appliance by the means of a pipe. up to a certain extent (Sawyerr et al., 2019). The processes like
biological desulphurization, iron chloride dosing, water scrubbing,
activated carbon, etc. are used for removal of hydrogen sulphide
* Corresponding author. from the biogas. While processes like pressure swing adsorption,
E-mail address: Kriti.yphd15@spt.pdpu.ac.in (K. Yadav).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ptlrs.2021.12.003
2096-2495/© 2021 The Authors. Publishing services provided by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communication Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
K. Yadav and A. Sircar Petroleum Research 7 (2022) 409e418

Abbreviations MoPNG Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

NBCC National Biofuel Coordination Committee
AD Anaerobic Digestion NCT National Capital Territory
BPCL Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. NGV Natural Gas Vehicle
BSE Bombay Stock Exchange NSE National Stock Exchange
CBG Compressed Biogas OMC Oil Marketing Companies
CGD City Gas Distribution PNG Piped Natural Gas
CNG Compressed Natural Gas PNGRB Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board
FI Financial Institution SATAT Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable
GAIL Gas Authority of India Limited Transportation
GHG Green House Gas TS Total Solids
IGL Indraprastha Gas Limited VFA Volatile Fatty Acids
LCV Light Commercial Vehicles VS Volatile Solids
MDPE Medium Density Polyethylene

synthetic fertilizers. In Europe, production of the biogas is rapidly

Influent channel Biogas outlet Effluent channel
increasing. UK, France, and Denmark are experiencing the most
rapid growth of the biogas throughout the nation. The majority of
the biogas is used to generate electricity. Several crops, such as
forage crops, cereals, maize, sugar beet, and others, are ideal for the
biogas production. Variable cultivation will result in a more
balanced cultivation system with less pesticide use. Sweden is
among the nations that uses biogas as a transportation fuel.
Swedish plants currently produce 1.7 TWh biogas, which is
Anaerobic reactor volume equivalent to 190 million litres of gasoline. Germany has the
greatest number of biogas plants in Europe. Around 80 TWh of
biogas is generated annually by 10,000 plants (Kaygusuz and
Sludge Sediment Kaygusuz, 2002). Swedish plants currently produce 1.7 TWh
biogas, which is equivalent to 190 million litres of gasoline (Schuck,
2006).
Fig. 1. Biogas production plant (modified after Bharathiraja et al., 2018).

1.2. Need of compressed biogas (CBG) and barriers in its adaptation

membrane separation, chemical scrubbing etc. are used for removal Following are some listed reasons why the compressed biogas is
of carbon dioxide gas (Caposciutti et al., 2020; Obileke et al., 2020). need of the time: (a) Climatic advantage: there is no carbon dioxide
Desulphurization needs to be done before the removal of carbon emission on burning of the biogas as it is already in circulation
dioxide from the biogas. After the purification of the biogas, it is above the ground surface. (b) Rising cost of energy import: as the
compressed as compressed biogas (CBG). This compressed biogas cost of fossil fuel and other energy source increase, the biogas can
has methane content of more than 90% with calorific value and be a great solution to this problem. (c) Rising energy subsidy for
other properties like natural gas and hence can be utilised as green fuels like kerosene for rural areas: as the compressed biogas is in a
renewable fuel for industrial, commercial, domestic, and automo- nascent stage, there is no specified subsidy for the same in India,
tive application. whereas for other fossil fuels, there are high subsidy prices in the
This study attempts to introduce the compressed biogas and country, due to this reason, it will be easy for the vendors and
their application in city gas distribution network. It gives a detailed buyers to sell and purchase it. (d) Abundant availability of raw
understanding of purification techniques for use of the biogas along materials for “biogas”: there is abundant availability of biomass in
with some facts about the biogas and why it is the need of the hour. India, like food waste, agricultural waste, animal waste, etc. (e) The
The major objective of this paper is to introduce sustainable alter- CBG is not under the purview of Petroleum and Natural Gas Reg-
native towards affordable transportation (SATAT) launched by ulatory Board (PNGRB): as the CBG is in a nascent stage, it is not
MoPNG to use the compressed biogas in city gas distribution for under the purview of any regulatory bodies, it has not been yet
piped natural gas (PNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) sectors. decided that which organization will act as the governing body for
CBG. (f) Methane- Major content: the composition of the CBG is
mainly methane, it consists of 90% methane, 4% carbon dioxide and
1.1. Facts about biogas 10% of nitrogen & oxygen. (g) The CBG stations can be set up in
areas with no pipeline connectivity: as the CBG station setup is still
In comparison to a petrol-driven engine, a car running on the in progress, it will be a great opportunity for vendors working in
biogas saves 2600 kilos of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per this sector to propose different ideas of CBG station types, the
annum. Each Terawatt-hour (TWh) of the biogas generated creates models proposed by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) has facilities of
at least 1000 jobs (Kaygusuz and Kaygusuz, 2002). The biogas can no pipeline connectivity which will be helpful for the remote lo-
be generated and used domestically, with no need for products to cations. (h) Can also be used for commercial cooking/power gen-
be shipped long distances or imported. Biomanure from biogas eration in remote areas through biogas engines: the CBG has
recycling is ideal for fertilizing farms and supplementing nutrients, multipurpose usage, it can be used in PNG and CNG segment both,
especially nitrogen and phosphorus. It also cuts down on the use of and it can be used for transportation as well as cooking purposes.
410
K. Yadav and A. Sircar Petroleum Research 7 (2022) 409e418

Table 1 represents several barriers and its solution which is 3. CBG production and purification
faced by the natural gas industry in adaptation of the compressed
biogas. 3.1. CBG production

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the mechanism of microorganisms

2. CBG sources in India degrading organic matter in anaerobic environments (without light
and oxygen depleted conditions). The process is usually carried out
The diverse variety of substrate (the surface on which the or- in parallel in one or more digesters, which can be arranged in a line or
ganism start growing) availability is a significant factor in biomass parallel and operated at different temperatures (as shown in Fig. 3).
synthesis. Agricultural biomass wastes, such as animal manure, Biogas composition and characteristics vary depending on the
human excreta, organic fraction of MSW, livestock residues, and feedstock, digester configuration, and operating conditions. AD
food industry wastewater, will be the most suitable substrates. The systems exhibit a wide variety of configurations. They can be effec-
sustainability, energy, cultural, and economic values of the sub- tively heated to mesophilic or thermophilic levels, or they can run at
strate are the most important considerations when selecting it. room temperature with less efficiency. Active mixing increases the
Based on net energy production, biogas derived from these re- efficiency of the operation. Digestive technologies are categorized
sources has been stated to be much more competitive than alcohol- into three groups based on the characteristics of the feedstock: (1)
based liquid biofuels (Edelmann et al., 2000; Chynoweth et al., Wet continuous system: it is dependent on continuously stirred
2001). Furthermore, biomass containing carbohydrates, proteins, tanks, vessels, or lagoons, with low-solids (less than 20% dry matter
fats, cellulose and hemicellulose, is used as a biogas feedstock. content in the fermentation process e dry matter) (Carvajal-Munoz
Furthermore, adding co-substrates improves organic content and and Carmona-Garcia, 2012). (2) Dry continuous system: it is mainly
helps achieve higher gas yield. Organic wastes from agricultural focused on horizontal or vertical plug flow reactors, with dry matter
production sectors, food waste, and/or collected urban organic between 15% and 45% (Bernal et al., 2015). (3) Dry batch system: it is
waste from households are among the co-substrates. Carbohy- based on workshop and percolation processes, high solids with dry
drates and proteins are said to convert at a faster rate than fats, but mass between 28 and 50% (Bernal et al., 2015).
fats have a higher biogas yield. To prevent ammonia accumulation, This process can also be summarized by using the Equation (1)
the feedstock must also be pathogen-free and have a balanced C/N as follows:
ratio (Braun, 1982, 2007). Millions of tons of organic waste from
urban, commercial, and agricultural processes are now being used C6 H12 O6 / 3CO2 þ 3CH4 Equation (1)
to produce biogas in developed countries (Gunaseelan, 1997; The digesters can be set up to function in single or multiple
Chynoweth et al., 2001). In developed nations, on the other hand, a stages. As a final product, the digestate is processed in a tank which
massive amount of organic waste goes unused (Surendra et al., can be used as fertilizer. Hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis, and
2014). Animal waste as a raw material for AD has 75e92 percent methanogenesis are the four main stages used to transform organic
moisture levels and 72e93 percent volatile solids (VS) of total waste into biogas.
solids (TS) current, benefits arising capacity, and removes the step
of inoculating the digester, all of which lead to it being regarded as
an ideal substrate (Muller et al., 2004; Fujino et al., 2005), however, 3.1.1. Hydrolysis
due to the slow degradation and poisoning impacts of increased First step in the conversion process is hydrolysis. The hydrolysis
concentrations of NH4 produced on methanogens, animal manures is a chemical process in which complex organic materials including
are pushed back in the line (Kayhanian, 1999). Agricultural, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are broken into fatty acids, amino
municipal, and other operations generate large amounts of ligno- acids, and glucose molecules. Microbes can only transform organic
cellulosic waste. In general, the content of lignocellulose varies molecules once they are soluble (Dennis et al., 2016). Hydrolase, a
greatly between various sources due to a variety of factors such as microorganism-secreted enzyme, transforms insoluble poly-
substrate, origin, and season (Prassad et al., 2007; Bertero et al., saccharides into soluble molecules during the acid hydrolysis.
2012). Cellulose is a linear polymer with many b-1,4 glycosidic Polymer's materials, such as polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids,
bonds connecting it. It has parts with a crystalline structure and are large organic molecules. Monosaccharides, amino acids, and
parts with an amorphous arrangement in its structure. The crys- fatty acids are the equivalent monomers following hydrolysis that
tallic model is based on hydrogen linkages, which gives the mole- are also organic substances with a simplified chemical composition
cule more durability and solidity (Fengel and Wegener, 1984). and relatively low molecular mass (Yadvika et al., 2004).
In India, major source of the CBG are animal waste and agri-
cultural residue (Fig. 2). Cattle dung and chicken litter have the CBG 3.1.2. Acidogenesis
potential of 25 MMT, forest residue have 2 MMT CBG potential, After hydrolysis, bacteria transform glucose derivatives, fatty
Agriculture residue have 20 MMT CBG potential, press mud, spent acids, and amino acids into volatile fatty acids (VFA) and alcohols,
wash and bagasse have 10 MMT CBG potential, municipal solid acidogenesis occurs. The molecules from hydrolysis procedure
waste have 5 MMT CBG potential and prospective energy crops in permeate across the membranes into the cells of other bacteria and
barren, waste & single crop land consist of 30 MMT CBG potential. are further destroyed by microorganisms during the acidogenesis
In case of agri-residue surplus, a contribution of sugarcane and rice procedure. The results of this process are generally alcohol, CO2,
straw are maximum. The rice straw has a contribution of 24%, H2S, NH3, VFAs, H2, etc. (Deublein and Steinhauser, 2008). In the
sugarcane crop 23%, wheat 14% and rest are of 22% (maize, soya- acetogenesis mechanism, alcohols and brief chain of volatile acids
bean, gram, mustard, maize, groundnut, castor, and tur) respec- are further decomposed to acetic acid and hydrogen. Because the
tively in agri-residue surplus. Total biomass generated is 638 acid is the result of these two procedures, some studies point to
MMTPA on dry basis for major 11 crops. Surplus is 26% i.e., 178 them as the acidogenesis. Due to the rapidity of these two pro-
MMTPA can be utilised for 51 billion litres of bioethanol or alter- cedures, a pH decrease may occur, particularly if the reactor is
natively 20 MMTPA CBG. In India, the surplus is available in the overloaded. The situation is considerably worse anaerobic process
Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, of wasted food, which entails a high hydration rate, which means
Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Bihar, etc. that the acidogenisis microorganisms have more material to work
411
K. Yadav and A. Sircar Petroleum Research 7 (2022) 409e418

Table 1
Barriers and its solution in adaptation of Compressed Biogas.

Barriers Solutions

Barriers in developing the potential of biogas use in the transport sector

Limited financial support. The municipality or private entity in charge of the biogas fleet must make a critical
decision that carries some financial risk.
Drivers may visualise preconceived notions about new vehicle technologies. Periodic training regarding update of new technology and guidance should be
provided. New manpower should be created according to the need.
Barriers in establishment if biogas fuel market and way to overcome them
In many cases, decentralized biomass availability can result in either limited To achieve a minimum production capacity, regulations on biogas/bio methane
production capacities or high transportation costs. Both factors contribute to production and use must enable co-fermentation, especially of energy crops.
relatively high biomethane production costs. This is particularly true when the Therefore, a bio methane supply at reasonable production costs is feasible.
biogas is produced from animal by-products (Nevzorova and Kutcherov, 2019).
Under current conditions, the cost of supplying bio methane as a fuel is relatively In most cases, economic incentives are needed to stimulate the demand for biogas as
high as compared to fossil fuels. a vehicle fuel.
The lack of awareness about the benefits of biogas as an energy carrier makes it The following are advantages that should be considered and encouraged as a
difficult to obtain sufficient support from policymakers and the public. minimum which are- The ability to reduce GHG emissions as well as other emissions
such as NOx, fine dust, and noise when used as a vehicle fuel; the use and disposal of
waste and contaminants resulting in less environmental impact and the closing of
material cycles; organic fertilizer production and mineral fertilizer replacement;
import fuel substitution and reduction of import dependence; adding value at the
national, regional, and local levels (e.g. employment opportunities and local tax
income)
Changing and transient regulatory regimes often do not provide stakeholders with a Biogas plant operators need a 10- to 20-year planning period to recover their
solid foundation on which to invest in biogas projects. investment, so reliable regulation (including incentives) should be assured for at least
15 years.
There are no laws governing access to the gas grid. Concrete guidelines for gas grid access are required, and biogas should take
precedence over natural gas in terms of gas grid transport capacity.
Established processes and stakeholders in the waste industry often hinder new Public bodies should be open to any new waste management options and should
waste management technologies from being introduced. strongly support the establishment of a separate organic waste collection system.
Biogas usage as a fuel is difficult for individual transportation due to a lack of Natural To solve the chicken-and-egg issue, political support is needed, for example, through
Gas Vehicle (NGV) infrastructure (gas grid, filling stations, NGV). tax reductions or investment incentives for gas stations and/or NGVs.
Customers are often unaware of the financial benefits of NGV. At filling stations, transparent pricing (with comparable units) should be created

CH3 COOH / CO2 þ CH4 Equation (2)

3.1.4. Methanogenesis
The final stage is methanogenesis, in which archaea (single-
celled organisms) transform hydrogen and acetic acid into methane
and carbon dioxide.
Elements of the methanogenesis stages are transformed into
methane and carbon dioxide by methanogenic microorganisms
during the methanogensis (Yadvika et al., 2004). The pH of
methanogens is extremely important. The optimal pH range for
methanogens has been discovered between 6.5 and 7.5 (Liu et al.,
2008). Methane production will be delayed or even stopped
outside of this range. Methanogenesis restriction to make hydrogen
gas has been extensively explored, and it appears to be extremely
promising (Liu et al., 2006). In the next sections, the methane
Fig. 2. CBG source in India with their percentage contribution (Surendra et al., 2014). generation mechanism will be briefly discussed. Details on the
creation of hydrogen gas could be obtained elsewhere (Liu et al.,
2008).
with. Whenever the frequency of acidogensis is too great and the
pH decrease is significant, methanogens are severely inhibited
3.2. CBG purification
(Amy and Comeau, 2008).
Hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide are two significant
3.1.3. Acetogenesis biogas pollutants that can destroy piping and equipment. Various
The acetogenesis mechanism converts the volatile fatty acids purification approaches must be used to determine the levels of
and alcohols into hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and ammonia. Because these compounds in biogas. However, in India, pressure swing
too much hydrogen prevents the synthesis of acetic acid, it's critical adsorption and water scrubbing method is used for biogas pro-
that the hydrogen generated is utilised by the methanogenic mi- duction and purification. Following are some of the methods used
croorganisms. Acetotrophic methanogens are responsible for over for purification of biogas:
70% of the methane generated (Gerardi 2003), and the procedure of
methane generation is shown in Equation (2) (Gerardi 2003). In a 3.2.1. Biological desulphurization
nutshell, acetotrophic methanogens transform acetic acid in the This method is applied to remove hydrogen sulphide from
feed to methane and CO2. biogas by using microorganisms. Almost all the micro-organisms
412
K. Yadav and A. Sircar Petroleum Research 7 (2022) 409e418

Fig. 3. Different stages of biogas production (modified after Dennis et al., 2016).

that oxidise sulphides belong to the Thiobacillus group (Kougias responds to the amine in the liquid. Not only is carbon dioxide
et al., 2017; Wu et al., 2017). For microbial sulphide oxidation, a absorbed into the liquid, it also chemically responds to the amine in
stoichiometric amount of oxygen must be added to the biofuels. the liquid (Zhou et al., 2017). The methane loss may be as low as
Dependent on the amount of hydrogen sulphide, this results in <0.1 percent because the chemical reaction is highly selective.
2e6% air in the biogas. The best desulphurization solution is to add
air directly to the digester or to a storage tank that also serves as a 3.2.5. Water scrubbing technology
fuel tank (Jurgensen et al., 2014). Since thiobacilli are so common, The activity of water scrubbing is based on the solubility of
systems do not require inoculation. They grow on a digestive sur- various gaseous components present in raw biogas. The water is
face that provides both necessary micro-aerophilic exterior and used as an absorbent in this process because CO2 has a far higher
essential nutrients (Singhal et al., 2017). They form sulphur clusters solubility in water than CH4, nearly 25e26 times higher at 25  C
that are yellow in colour. Depending on the temperature, the re- and atmospheric pressure. H2S can also be extracted at the same
action time, volume, and location of the air added to the hydrogen time because it is more soluble in the water than CO2. This tech-
sulphide concentration can be reduced by 95% to less than 50 ppm. nology uses a vertical column to enable water and pressurized gas
to flow counter-currently at pressures of around 9e10 bars. The
3.2.2. Iron chloride dosing water is supplied at the top of the column, while raw biogas is
To extract hydrogen sulphide from the biogas, the iron chloride permitted to pass freely from the bottom, as shown in Fig. 5. The
dosing is used. The iron chloride may be fed directly to the anaer- packaging materials are stuffed into the column to increase surface
obic digestion slurry or the feed surface in a pre-storage tank. The contact area and holding time. As a result, CO2 and H2S are absor-
iron chloride reacts with the hydrogen sulphide to form iron sul- bed by the water, while CH4 and traces of other gases, as well as
phide salt (particles). This method is very useful at reducing moisture, are removed from the purification column at the tip.
elevated hydrogen sulphide concentrations, but it is less effective in Impurities that are soluble in water, on the other hand, leave the
attaining low and stable hydrogen sulphide concentrations in the column at the bottom and are sent to the regeneration tank, where
range of vehicle fuel requirements. In this case, the dosing iron the water is depressurized, and CO2 is released. The processed
chloride into digester sludge can only be considered as a limited biogas is stored in a cylindrical tank, while the revived water is
removal procedure to avoid corrosion in the upgrade process's returned to the scrubbing column and CO2 is collected. Purified
remaining equipment. (Awe et al., 2017). The method must be biogas is compressed at about 200e240 bars in a high-pressure
accompanied by a final removal of around 10 parts per million. compressor to create CBG for vehicular use, which is then depos-
ited in a high-pressure cylindrical vessel like CNG. With less than
3.2.3. Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) 2% CH4 loss, the purification efficiency of this technology ranges
For large biogas systems in India, this technique is the most from 88.9% to 96 percent.
popular. With this process, by adsorption on a surface under higher
pressures, carbon dioxide is extracted from the biogas (Kohlheb 4. Compressed biogas plants in India
et al., 2020). A sequential reduction in pressure is regenerated by
the adsorbing material, normally activated carbon, or zeolite, until India is a major source of research into water scrubbing and
the column is reactivated again, thus the name of the procedure is PSA-based purification systems. Currently, the country has 12
known as pressure swing adsorption technique (Fig. 4). It is commercial CBG plants with a total CBG output capacity of 18,461.7
essential to remove hydrogen sulphide and water prior to the PSA tonnes per year, which is just 0.06 percent of the total ability.
column. In this phase, there is a substantial loss of methane (20e30 Table 2 lists the CBG plants and their characteristics.
per cent).
5. Role of CBG in CGD sector
3.2.4. Chemical scrubbing-monoethylammine (MEA) technology
It is one of the greatest biogas purification technologies with 5.1. Models for use of CBG in CGD sector
minimal methane loss, achieving 99.9 percent purity. The tech-
nology is being used widely for biogas purification in Germany. Not Sustainable alternative towards affordable transportation
only is carbon dioxide absorbed into the liquid, it also chemically (SATAT) is launched by MoPNG on 1-10-2018. The objective of this
413
K. Yadav and A. Sircar Petroleum Research 7 (2022) 409e418

programme is to use biogas in CGD sector (SATAT, 2019). The aim of which will be used for the CBG production are cow dung waste
this programme is to target 5000 CBG plants by 2023, 15 MMT of management from areas in Delhi to be addressed- Area of Nagli
CBG production and 50 MMT of Bio-Manure production. The major dairy, Goyla dairy, Bhalswa dairy whereas, the municipal solid
stakeholders of SATAT programme are Bharat Petroleum Corpora- waste management shell can be addressed from area serving as
tion Ltd. (BPCL), Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), Govt. of Mandi (vegetable market). The CBG produced and inducted in
National Capital Terrotory (NCT) of Delhi, Financial Institution (FI), MDPE shall cater to demand of industrial and commercial areas of
Mutual funds, Insurance companies, public and others. The shares Delhi reducing dependency on Furnace Oil and diesel as fuel source.
of the stakeholders for SATAT program are BPCL 22.5%, GAIL 22.5%, The aim of this project is to FRS consumption from upstream shall
Govt. of NCT of Delhi 5% and FI, Mutual funds, Insurance companies, be reduced by 10% daily once these plants run on full capacity for
public and others 50% respectively (SATAT, 2019). These companies MDPE network of IGL distributed about 11000 km across Delhi-
were listed under SATAT programme in December 2003 which NCR (SATAT, 2019).
were listed at Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Model No.2 proposed by IGL- This model is proposed mainly for
Exchange (NSE). Around 140 Cr of capital cost was invested and Steel Network. After the CBG is produced and purified and odor-
there total 120000 shareholders were involved in this program. ized, it will be compressed at ~25e30 Bars by the biogas plant
As per the specifications, the following shall be met the CBG operator and will be injected in steel pipeline of IGL which serves
formation criteria. (1) CBG must be liquid-free in the entire tem- large industrial customer along with online and mother CNG sta-
perature and pressure range experienced in the storage and tions. The pipeline will be laid by IGL at the premise of the biogas
dispensing device. (2) The CBG must be free of particulate matter Plant (SATAT, 2019).
such as soil, dust, and other contaminants, and the CBG must be Model No.3 proposed by IGL- This model is proposed for CNG
odorized to a degree close to that found in local distribution (ref. IS cascades. Here the CBG will be compressed at 16e19 bars by the
15319). biogas plant operator. The CBG will be compressed at 250 bars by
Table 3 defines the CBG criteria according to IS 16087:2016 and IGL and filled in Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) of IGL, which will
composition percentage. be further routed either to IGL CNG stations or domestic/industrial/
There are four different models proposed by Indraprastha Gas commercial customers (SATAT, 2019).
Limited (IGL) for use of compressed biogas in CGD sector. Each Model No. 4- CBG- The fourth CBG model is a business model.
model is defined based on their requirement and use (SATAT, 2019). The CBG will be sold in cascades to IGL's existing or new retail
The first model is dedicated for medium density polyethylene outlet/stand-alone selling point by producers/sellers (Party/Entre-
(MDPE) pipeline network, the second model is dedicated for steel preneur). IGL will mount and maintain the equipment for
pipeline network, the third model is dedicated cascades used in dispensing CBG at any current or new retail outlet/stand-alone sale
CNG sector while the fourth model describes the marketing stra- point. IGL or its registered service agent/dealer/representative shall
tegies of CBG. The characteristics of each model are as follows: operate the CBG nozzles. The point of sale for CBG will be the
Model No.1 proposed by IGL- This model will be applied in MDPE cascade outlet flange/compressor inlet flange at the retail outlet.
network available in near vicinity. Here CBG after purification and Before dispensing is possible, the cascade must stay attached to the
odorization will be compressed at ~5 Bars by the biogas plant compressor at the retail outlet (SATAT, 2019).
operator and will be inserted in MDPE pipeline of IGL. The pipeline Except all the four models described above, IGL has also planned
will be laid by IGL at the premise of the biogas plant. The sources about the CBG for feeding decompression skid for supply of PNG to

Fig. 4. Pressure swing adsorption technology (modified after Beil, 2016)

414
K. Yadav and A. Sircar Petroleum Research 7 (2022) 409e418

Fig. 5. Water scrubbing technology (modified after Kumar et al., 2019).

Table 2
Commercial CBG plants in India (Kumar et al., 2019).

Sr. Entity & Region Types of organic source for Capacity of Plant Biogas Purification Technology Compressed Biogas
No. biogas (m3 day1) production (kg day1)

1 Kolhapur (Maharashtra)- Spectrum Press mud (100 TPD) 20,000 For H2S removal-adsorbent bed, for CO2 8000
Renewable Energy Ltd. Kakodi removal-water scrubbing
2 Chennai (Tamil Nadu)- Mahindra Group's Food & Kitchen waste (8000 1000 400
Vehicles @ TPD)
Mahindra World City
3 Pune (Maharashtra)- Primove Engineering, Agricultural waste & plants Modified PSA 100 (Existing)
Pirangut, materials (AgroGasTM) 5000 (Target)
4 Anand (Gujarat)-Amul, Vadodara Dairy effluent 1000 Modified PSA
5 Jaipur (Rajasthan)- Brajdham Power Pvt. Ltd., Sludge from waste water 8400 LPSA 3780
Treatment plant (JMC)
6 Nagpur (Maharashtra)- Manas Agro Molasses sludge Planning to set-up the CBG dispensing unit within 8e9 months
Industries and Infrastructure Limited
7 Ludhiana (Punjab)- Tajpur Dairy Complex Cattle dung 12,000 4006
8 Ahmedabad (GJ)- M/s. Bharat Biogas Energy MSW 14,000 PSA 6538
Ltd.
9 Barnala, Punjab- M/s Arc Bio Fuel Pvt. Ltd. 5000 PSA 1842
10 Hanumangarh, Rajasthan- M/s. NRB Bio- Cattle Manure 2500 MPSA 1000
Energy,
11 Satara (MH)- M/s Green Elephant India Pvt. Distillery effluents 19,200 PSA 7920
Limited.
12 Pune- Noble Exchange Environment Solution Food waste (350 TPD) 17,000
Pvt. Ltd.,

domestic, commercial& industrial sectors. In this case, the CBG is integrated compressor for vehicles using CBG which are inducted in
first compressed up to 200þ bar in multiple stage after that it is MDPE pipelines are as follows: (1) minimum land requirment to
filled and transported by cascades mounted on LCV. The CBG at setup a CBG plant in 100 m2, (2) size of the compressor requiredd is
200 bar is decompressed and regulated to 4 bar to feed into MDPE 1200 SCMH (5.6  4.2 m2 reduced to 2.6  2.1 m2), (3) it can be
pipeline where gas supply from feeder line is not available. From installed at new geographical areas of IGL, (4) this system can be
this MDPE, the CBG is supplied to domestic, commercial and in- installed at parking lots, malls, townships, societies and other high
dustrial customers in the form of PNG. For the implementation of footfall areas with MDPE pipelines.

415
K. Yadav and A. Sircar Petroleum Research 7 (2022) 409e418

Table 3
CBG criteria according to IS 16087:2016 and composition percentage (SATAT, 2019).

Sr. No. IS 16087:2016 Characteristics Composition

1 Minimum Methane (CH4) content 90%

2 Minimum Carbon dioxide (CO2) þ Nitrogen (N2) þ Oxygen (O2) content 10%
3 Maximum Total sulphur (H2S) content 20 mg/m3
4 Maximum Moisture content 5 mg/m3

5.2. Proposed business model for CBG in India (5) Promoting biodiesel production from non-edible oilseeds,
used cooking oil, and fast-growing crops, as well as the
Independent entrepreneurs and oil marketing companies are extension of supply chain mechanisms.
authorised to set up a CBG plant. Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) (6) Focusing on biofuel feedstock production and advanced
will be the market bearers of this produced CBG under their conversion technologies from established feedstocks in
respective brand names. The enterprenuers producing CBG will be research and development.
allowed to deliver CBG to public sector oil marketing companies (7) Encouraging the use of intermediate (B- Molasses), sugar-
situated within 25 km distance by means of cascades. The facility cane juice, other sugar-containing materials, and degraded as
for despensing of CBG at production co public sector oil marketing well as surplus food grains as raw materials for ethanol
compnies will be provided by public sector oil marketing com- production.
panies itself, while the CBG nozzel should be operated by the retail (8) The National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC) and a
outlet dealers. The transportation and electricity cost of producer biofuel working group were formed under the Ministry of
company shall be taken care by the public oil marketing oprating Petroleum and Natural Gas.
companies who are bearing the costs. The cascade oultlet point and
compressors inlet point at the retail outlet will be the point of CBG
sale. According to the pricing of CBG suggested by IGL, its stats show
that it should be retailed through the oil marketing companies 6.2. Biogas future in a circular/green economy
which will be fixed for three years starting from October 1, 2018.
The price will be reviewd at the end of every 3 years. Table 4 shows Biomass is one of the most promissing resources as it has
the CBG pricing framwork according to IGL. continuous production and consumption cycle and negligible
Furthermore, OMC or APPLICANT who sets up infrastructure at amount of CO2 emission. In a constant cycle, plant waste grows, is
retail outlets will be paid Rs. 2 per kg of CBG towards the cost of converted and consumed, and then regenerates. During develop-
setting up infrastructure at retail outlets, such as booster com- ment of the main bio-resource, as much CO2 is collected from the
pressors, dispensing units, and so on, and Rs. 0.50 per kg of CBG environment as is emitted when the material is totally turned into
towards energy charges for the operation of booster compressors, energy. The outcome of removing CO2 and other minor ingredients
dispensing units, and so on. is a purified natural gas that really is virtually completely methane.
This biogas seems to have no carbon emissions and can be used to
substitute any supplemental natural gas. When natural renewable
6. Biofuel policy and future of biogas in India gas's zero-carbon footprint is paired with natural gas's ultra-low
“conventional” output, it creates a nearly perfect fuel. It can be
6.1. National policy of biofuels 2018 preserved, and have a high energy density that really is practically
emission-free, and it can be transferred easily over existing infra-
The national policy of biofuels released with an update in 2018. structure to meet any natural gas need. Landfills, wastewater
The following described are some of the salient features which treatment plants, and animal and agricultural garbage are just
were included in biofuels national policy in India (Porwal, 2019): some of the places where biogas can be found. Synthesis of organic
waste sources might offer enough energy to cover around 20% of
(1) Aiming for a 20 percent biodiesel blend in gasoline and a 5 current natural gas consumption if fully used. Biogas fuel can be
percent biodiesel blend in diesel by 2030 has been proposed. economically cultivated in the near future. Expansion of lower
(2) The policy proposes a Rs. 5000 crore viability gap funding power crops like algae as well as other species of plants that might
schemes for 2G ethanol bio refineries over the next six years, be grown on marginal soils and utilised to generate biogas is
with an emphasis on advanced biofuels, as well as additional currently in progress. Crops will have an almost limitless supply
tax benefits and a higher selling price than 1G biofuels. capacity. There are various important technological improvements
(3) Biofuels are divided into two categories: simple biofuels, in regards of bioenergy optimisation and complete anaerobic
such as first-generation (1G) bioethanol and biodiesel, and digestion procedure. The biogas is now utilised for heating and
advanced biofuels, such as second-generation (2G) ethanol, power, but it is projected to find further complex uses as a car fuel.
drop-in oils, and algae-based third generation (3G) biofuels. The advanced innovation should not be viewed as a threat to cur-
(4) Creating a national biomass repository is by assessing rent traditional energy sources, but rather as a supplement to them
biomass throughout the nation. and as part of the long nature conservation plan. Furthermore,

Table 4
Pricing framwork for CBG (SATAT, 2019).

Item Unit Price (Rs./kg)

CBG meeting IS 16087: 2016 norm, compressed at 250 bar and supplied in cascades at OMC retail outlet. Rs./kg 46.00
GST at 5% Rs./kg 2.30
Total supply price (incl. GST) to be paid to party Rs./kg 48.30

416
K. Yadav and A. Sircar Petroleum Research 7 (2022) 409e418

more showcase facilities should be built to enhance renewables composition, fuel properties, feedstock and principles of anaerobic digestion.
Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 90, 570e582.
understanding (Schwecke, 2014). €rung Organischer Abfallstoffe. Springer, Wien.
Braun, R., 1982. Biogas-Methanga
Braun, R., 2007. Anaerobic digestion: a multi-faceted process for energy, environ-
7. Conclusions mental management and rural development. In: Ranalli, P. (Ed.), Improvement
of Crop Plants for Industrial End Uses. Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 335e415.
Caposciutti, G., Baccioli, A., Ferrari, L., Desideri, U., 2020. Biogas from anaerobic
The demand of CBG is increasing with time after it has been digestion: power generation or biomethane production? Energies. 13 (3), 1e15.
introduced in city gas distribution network for piped natural gas Carvajal-Munoz, J.S., Carmona-Garcia, C.E., 2012. Benefits and limitations of bio-
fertilization in agricultural practices. Livest. Res. Rural Dev. 24 (3), 1e8.
and compressed natural gas sectors. There are some important facts
Chynoweth, D.P., Owens, J.M., Legrand, R., 2001. Renewable methane from anaer-
about CBG which makes it more reliable source then other like a car obic digestion of biomass. Renew. Energy. 22, 1e8.
running on the biogas saves 2600 kilos of greenhouse emissions per Dennis, Y.C., Leung Jing, W., 2016. An overview on biogas generation from anaerobic
digestion of food waste. Int. J. Green Energy. 13 (2), 119e131.
annum, the biogas can be generated and used domestically, with no
Deublein, D., Steinhauser, A., 2008. Biogas from Waste and Renewable Resources: an
need for products to be shipped long distances or imported, etc. Introduction. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Weinheim, Germany.
CBG is need of the hour in current situation due to the factors like Edelmann, W., Schleiss, K., Joss, A., 2000. Ecological, energetic and economic
climate change, rising cost of fossil fuels, abundant availability of comparison of anaerobic digestion with different competing technologies to
treat biogenic wastes. Water Sci. Technol. 41, 263e273.
the raw biomass materials, etc. The barriers for CBG adaptation Fengel, D., Wegener, G., 1984. Wood: Chemistry, Ultrastructure, Reactions. De
include factors like limited production, lack of technology, eco- Gruyter, Berlin.
nomic incentives, awareness about biogas as an energy carrier, etc. Fujino, J., Morita, A., Matsuoka, Y., Sawayama, S., 2005. Vision for utilization of
livestock residue as bioenergy resource in Japan. Biomass Bioenergy. 29,
There are variety of feedstocks available for biogas production like 367e374.
human excreta, livestock residues, food industry wastewater, etc. Gerardi, M.H., 2003. The Microbiology of Anaerobic Digesters. John Wiley & Sons,
However, in India, the major source of biogas production are animal Inc., Canada.
Gunaseelan, V.N., 1997. Anaerobic digestion of biomass for methane production: a
waste and agricultural residue. Cattle dung and chicken litter have review. Biomass Bioenergy. 13, 83e114.
CBG potential of 41 MMT, forest residue have 22 MMT CBG po- Jurgensen, L., Ehimen, E.A., Born, J., Holm-Nielsen, J.B., 2014. Utilization of surplus
tential, agriculture residue have 18 MMT CBG potential, press mud, electricity from wind power for dynamic biogas upgrading: Northern Germany
case study. Biomass Bioenergy. 66, 126e132.
spent wash and bagasse have 14 MMT CBG potential, municipal
Kaygusuz, K., Kaygusuz, A., 2002. Renewable energy and sustainable development
solid waste have 3 MMT CBG potential and prospective energy in Turkey. Renew Energy. 25 (3), 431e453.
crops in barren, waste & single crop land consist of 23 MMT CBG Kayhanian, M., 1999. Ammonia inhibition in high-solids biogasification: an over-
view and practical solutions. Environ. Technol. 20, 355e365.
potential. Once these matters are converted into biogas through
Kohlheb, N., Wluka, M., Bezama, A., Thran, D., Aurich, A., 2020. Environmental-
anaerobic digestion technique, it need to be purified for further use. economic assessment of the pressure swing adsorption biogas upgrading
There are several purification models of biogas such as biological rechnology. BioEnergy Res. 1e9.
desulphurization, iron chloride dosing, pressure swing adsorption, Kougias, P.G., Treu, L., Benavente, D.P., Boe, K., Campanaro, S., Angelidak, I., 2017. Ex-
situ biogas upgrading and enhancement in different reactor systems. Bioresour.
chemical scrubbing and water scrubbing. In India, water scrubbing Technol. 225, 429e437.
technique and pressure swing adsorption technique are mainly Kumar, H., Vijay, V.K., Subbarao, P.M.V., Chnadra, R., 2019. Compressed biogas (CBG):
used for biogas purification. Currently, the country has 12 com- its potential as a source of green energy in India. Akshay Urja Renewable En-
ergy, MNRE. 12 (5), 44e47.
mercial CBG plants with a total CBG output capacity of 18,461.7 Liu, C.F., Yuan, X., Zeng, G., Li, W., Li, J., 2008. Prediction of methane yield at opti-
tonnes per year, which is just 0.06 percent of the total ability. In mum pH for anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste.
India the companies who are working in the field of CBG are Bioresour. Technol. 99, 882e888.
Liu, D., Liu, D., Zeng, R.J., Angelidaki, I., 2006. Hydrogen and methane production
Spectrum Renewable Energy Ltd. (capacity 20,000 m3 day1), from household solid waste in the two-stage fermentation process. Water Res.
Mahindra Group's Vehicles @ Mahindra World City (capacity 40, 2230e2236.
1000 m3 day1), Amul (capacity 1000 m3 day1), Brajdham Power Muller, J.A., Winter, A., Strunkmann, G., 2004. Investigation and assessment of
sludge pretreatment processes. Water Sci. Technol. 49, 97e104.
Pvt. Ltd. (capacity 8400 m3 day-1), Tajpur Dairy Complex (capacity
Nallamothu, R.B., Teferra, A., Rao, B.V.A., 2013. Biogas purification, compression and
12,000 m3 day1), etc. According to the SATAT model of IGL the bottling. Global J. Eng. Des. Technol. 2 (6), 34e38.
ideal CBG should have minimum methane content of 90% with 10% Nevzorova, T., Kutcherov, V., 2019. Barriers to the wider implementation of biogas
as a source of energy: a state-of-the-art review. Energy Strat. Rev. 26, 1e12.
of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and oxygen content. The total Sulphur
National Non-Food Crops Center (NNFCC), 2018. Renewable Fuels and Energy,
content in CBG should be 20 mg/m3 along with 5 mg/m3 of mois- Anaerobic Digestion Factsheet. http://www.nnfcc.co.uk/publications/nnfcc-
ture content. SATAT has proposed 4 models for CBG out of that one renewable-fuel-and-energy-factsheet-anaer obi-digestion.
is for MDPE network, other is for steel network and rest is for CNG Obileke, K., Mamphweli, S., Meyer, E.L., Makaka, G., Nwokolo, N., Onyeaka, H., 2020.
Comparative study on the performance of aboveground and underground
network. The proposed SATAT model for CBG is being highly fixed-dome biogas digesters. Chem. Eng. Technol. 43 (1), 68e74.
adapted in India. Porwal, A., 2019. National Policy on Biofuels 2018: A Laudable Effort to Promote
Greener Fuels, 20 Dec 2019. https://www.mondaq.com/india/renewables/
877658/national-policy-on-biofuels-2018-a-laudable-effort-to-promote-
References greener-fuels.
Prassad, S., Singh, A., Joshi, H.C., 2007. Ethanol as an alternative fuel from agricul-
Amy, G., Comeau, Y., 2008. Biological Wastewater Treatment Principles, Modelling tural, industrial and urban residues. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 50, 1e39.
and Design. IWA, London. Sustainable Alternative towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT), 2019. GAIL In-
Awe, O.W., Zhao, Y., Nzihou, A., Minh, D.P., Lyczko, N., 2017. A review of biogas dia Limited, Expression of Interest. Supply for Compressed Bio Gas. https://
utilisation, purification and upgrading Technologies. Waste and Biomass Val- gailonline.com/pdf/others/Invite%20for%20EOI_2.pdf.
orisation. 8, 267e283. Sawyerr, N., Trois, C., Workneh, T., Okudoh, V., 2019. An overview of biogas pro-
Bernal, M.P., Bescos, B., Bonmatí, A., Burgos, L., Bustamante, M.A., Clemente, R., duction: fundamentals, application and future research. Int. J. Energy Econ. Pol.
Fabbr, C., Flotats, X., García-Gonz alez, M.C., Herrero, E., Mattachini, G., 9 (2), 105e116.
Moscatelli, G., Noguerol, J., Palatsi, J., Piccinini, S., Proniewicz, M., Provolo, G., Schuck, S., 2006. Biomass as an energy source. Inet. J. Environ. Stud. 63 (6),
Riano, B., Riau, V., Saez, J.A., Teresa, M., Tey, L., Torrellas, M., Valli, L., Ward, A.J., 823e835.
Wisniewska, H., 2015. Evaluation of Manure Management Systems in Europe. Schwecke, R., 2014. The Future of Biogas. http://www.energycentral.com/c/um/
Final Report LIFE þ MANEV. No. LIFE09 ENV/ES/000453. future-biogas.
Bertero, M., Puente, G., Sedran, U., 2012. Fuels from biooils: bio-oil production from Singhal, S., Agarwal, S., Arora, S., Sharma, P., Singhal, N., 2017. Upgrading techniques
different residual sources, characterization and thermal conditioning. Fuel. 95, for transformation of biogas to bio-CNG: a review. Int. J. Energy Res. 41,
263e271. 1657e1669.
Bharathiraja, B., Sudarshana, T., Jayamuthunagai, J., Praveenkumar, R., Srivastava, S.K., 2020. Advancement in biogas production from the solid waste by
Chozhavendhan, S., Iyyappan, J., 2018. Biogas productionda review on optimizing the anaerobic digestion. Waste Dispos. Sustain. Energy. 2, 85e103.

417
K. Yadav and A. Sircar Petroleum Research 7 (2022) 409e418

Surendra, K.C., Devin, T., Hashimoto, A.G., Kumar, S.K., 2014. Biogas as a sustainable Yadvika, S., Sreekrishnan, T.R., Kohli, S., Rana, V., 2004. Enhancement of biogas
energy source for developing countries: opportunities and challenges. Renew. production from solid substrates using different techniques-A review. Bio-
Sustain. Energy Rev. 31, 846e859. resour. Technol. 95 (1), 1e10.
Wu, M., Zhang, W., Ji, Y., Yi, X., Ma, J., Wu, H., Jiang, M., 2017. Coupled CO2 fixation Zhou, K., Chaemchuen, S., Verpoort, F., 2017. Alternative materials in technologies
from ethylene oxide off-gas with bio-based succinic acid production by engi- for biogas upgrading via CO2 capture. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 79,
neered recombinant Escherichia coli. Biochem. Eng. J. 117, 1e6. 1414e1441.

418