Mumbai Cowdung and kitchen wastes will turn into cooking gas everyday at the Bombay Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Hospital, which has installed a biogas plant on its Lower Parel premises.
The organic conversion will involve no extra energy or electricity. What
Biogas represents an alternative source of energy, derived mainly from organic wastes. In India, the use of biogas derived from animal waste, primarily cow dung, has been promoted for over three decades now. According to the 1997 Livestock Census, the cattle population in the country is about 290 million.
About 450 biogas units, based on dung of buffaloes and cows have been installed in the country, which will fulfil the needs of an average family of up to eight members in far-flung rural areas of the country.
Use of food crops such as corn, rapeseed, sugarcane etc for production of biofuels by developed countries might endanger the food security of the world. Therefore attempts have been made to use the no edible oil yielding plants, such as Jatropha for generating substitute of diesel.
Biomass based power generation is one of the promising renewable options. This article reviews the status and potential of biomass based power for India.
A research team at the University of Minnesota in USA found antibiotics in plants. The root of the problem was in the soil: manure from animals that were administered antibiotics. The plants
Both government and voluntary agencies are helping to spread biogas technology, which can provide clean fuel and enriched manure as well as improve sanitation standards.
