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Renewable Natural Gas Technology (RenGas): Sustainable Solution

Technical Report · April 2020

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Renewable Natural Gas Technology (RenGas):

Sustainable Solution
Deepak Patil ,Sharad Laldas, Aamod Natu, Jitendra Akade, Dr. Shaileshkumar Sawale, Dr. Aarohi Kulkarni

Abstract
The world moves towards renewable energy based on agro-industry feedstocks as a key area of technology
development and deployment by leading energy players. With the mantra changing from a circular economy to a
circular sustainable bioeconomy, the sunrise industry of applied biotechnology braces for a bright future in the
fuel economy space. This article brings forth the development of RENGAS technology by Praj Industries Limited
in the space of renewable gas. It explores the dynamics and business scenario developing rapidly in the past 3-4
years with application of biogas to production of combined heat and power as well as to renewable natural gas.
The article touches upon the government policies that are key to driving the growth of this sector and highlights
a green model for production of renewable natural gas from the sugar industry by-products of press mud and
bagasse.

Introduction:

G
lobally, more than 88% of energy demand Government of India’s National Policy on Biofuels
is obtained from the non-renewable sources 2018 emphasized on promotion of compressed biogas
such as fossil fuels, especially coal. The United (CBG). Biogas in India is of strategic importance be-
Nations has however shifted focus on sustainable en- cause the central government - Ministry of petroleum
ergy whose usage is expected to increase up to 20% in & natural gas has been focusing on reducing crude im-
energy consumption and 10% in transport by 2020 in port bill and instead replace it with indigenously pro-
European Union. By 2050, renewable energy contribu- duced biofuels mainly CBG.Government has set a
tion is projected to increase by 55-75% of total ener- target of increasing the contribution of gas in India’s
gy consumption. Worldwide, many countries are fo- energy mix from existing 6.5% (global average is
cusing on Renewable Gas (RNG) i.ebiogas produced 23.5%) to 15% by 2022. Under the SATAT (Sustainable
from organic waste by the process of anaerobic diges- Alternative for Affordable Transportation) scheme an-
tion (AD).This renewable energy or biofuel gets used nounced on 1st October 2018, MoPNG gives INR 46/-
in number of application such as combined heat and per kg of CBG + GST as fixed procurement price to pro-
power (CHP), transportation, industrial energy, etc. ducers of CBG for 10 years. The price can be revised
Biogas is a mixture of gases such as methane; 50-60%, only upwards after 5 years as many times as necessary.
carbon dioxide;35-40%, nitrogen; 2-4%, oxygen; 0-0.5%, By this scheme, 15 Million MT of imported fos-
H2S; 0.1-4%, ammonia; 1-2% and moisture; 1-3%. The sil CNG will be replaced by indigenously produced
purified biogas i.e. biomethane can be sold to various CBG whichwould save Forex of USD 5 billion annu-
industries in the form of Renewable Gas (RNG) or as ally. This money gets circulated in the domestic farm-
compressed biogas (CBG).The recent form of purified ing economy for well-being of farmers, reduces emis-
biogas (RNG) is called Liquid Biogas (LBG), in which sions, and treats wastes in a gainful way for Swatch
the biogas produced from AD process is simultaneous- Bharat Dream. The organic manure produced from
ly liquefied in cryogenic process and purified to 99+ % CBG plants will replace urea as better fertilizer.It is go-
methane content. ing to be a key contributor to the Zero budget farming
Biogas helps minimize GHGs emission, water pol- policy promoted by the central government.Indian en-
lution & land pollution due to landfills. In this regards, trepreneurs are expected to build more than 5,000 CBG
government authorities of various countries are in- plants across nation in a phased manner by 2023 at an
creasinglylaying down policies, regulations and incen- investment of around Rs 1.5 lakh crore. It is expected to
tives to foster and enhance the project viability at any generate direct employment for 75,000 people and pro-
scale of operation. duce 50 million MT of Organic manure for crops.

40 Chemical Industry Digest. March 2020

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Praj Industries Limited, one of the Global Indian cess. Biogas plant from press mud (85%) and bagasse
company working towards this vision and has in- (15%) mix generates multiproduct revenue stream
troduced a new advanced technology - “Renewable viz; BioCNG, biomethanated solids and liquid fertil-
Natural Gas Technology (RENGAS) to produce izer. Table No. 1 provides the compositional analysis
Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) from agro-industri- of press mud. The total volatile component compris-
al waste such as sugar mill press mud, distillery spent es of sugars, sugar polymers, proteins, fats, organic ac-
wash as well as agricultural residue such as bagasse, ids like lactic and acetic acid, recalcitrant organics etc.
rice straw, corn cob, etc. Praj unveiled its roadmap for Table No 1: Press mud composition on as is basis
commercialization of CBG technology and reaffirmed
its readiness to execute multiple CBG plants with ad- Sr. No. Pressmud composition Unit Range
vanced technology and designs. Praj’s RENGAS tech- 1 Moisture %w/w 68 -73
nology is a major step in its commitment towards the 2 Total Solids %w/w 27 - 32
circular sustainable bio-economy.RENGAS byproduct, Total Solids Contains
fertilizer, has also received the approval and certificate
Total Volatile Solids %w/w 18 - 25
from the Natural Organic Certification Association
Inorganic Ash %w/w 6 - 8.6
(NOCA) as per set standards.
3 Butyric acid PPM 100 - 500
RenGas production using press mud and bagasse: 4 C/N Ratio Ratio 14 - 16
Sugar cane is an important crop from which sug-
ar and ethanol are produced commercially with ba- Praj Industries Limited has developed technology
gasse, molasses and press mud as byproducts. Press for press mud biomethanation which can yield biogas
mud is obtained after filtration of suspended materi- up to 120-130 M3/MTof pressmud orabout 140 to 150
als from the cane juice. It is soft, spongy, amorphous, M3/MTof press mud and bagasse together. Additional
dark brown solid with 60-85% moisture, sugar, inor- benefit can be accrued through the sale of fertilizer.
ganic salts and mineral elements. The chemical com-
position of press mud varies depending on cane vari- The ideal sugar mill attached RENGAS model:
ety, soil condition, nutrients applied in the field, pro- A sugar mill of 1000-ton sugar cane crushing ca-
cess of clarification adopted and other environmen- pacity per day produces about 40 ton/daypress mud
tal factors. It is rich in convertible total volatile solids (Figure 1). Press mud is sold as such or after bio-com-
that produce biogas by anaerobic digestion (AD) pro- posting at cheaper rate. Praj provides a better solution
where obtained biogas can be used for
CHP or CNG purpose. BioCNG of 1.6-
Deepak Patil is an Associate Jitendra Akade is currently
1.7 ton/day can be obtained after puri-
Staff Technologist at Praj working as the ‘Chief Manager’
fication. Additionally, solid (14-17 MT/
Industries Ltd, R&D center since Bio-product Business in RMIC day) and liquid fertilizer (25-30 M3/
last 11 years. He has a Master’s division at Praj Industries Ltd. day) can be obtained. The obtained sol-
degree in Biotechnology and PG He is a post graduate in agri- id and liquid by-product can be sold at
Diploma in Industrial Fermentation and Alcohol cultural science from M.PK.V. Rahuri. high selling price as anorganic fertiliz-
Technology. er.
Dr. Aarohi Kulkarni is work- Dr. Shaileshkumar Sawale is Press mud along with bagasse is
ing as Principal Technologist working as Staff Technologist at added to anaerobic digester in a con-
and BioCNG Program Leader in Praj Industries Ltd. He has com- trolled manner. A multi-phase bio-
Praj Matrix, R&D Center of Praj pleted his PhD and M. Tech in methanation reaction occurs in the AD
Industries Ltd. She is a qualified “Bioprocess Technology” from to produce biogas that can be purified
microbiologist with PhD in Biotechnology from University Institute of Chemical Technology to CHP or CNG. Solid/ liquid separa-
National Chemical Laboratory. (UICT), Mumbai. B. Pharmacy from Y. B. Chavan tion of results in to a liquid that is recy-
College of Pharmacy, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. cled in the anaerobic digestion section
India. while the solid residue qualifies as or-
ganic fertilizer.
Sharad Laldas is a Staff Technologist Aamod Natu is a Staff Technologist
at Praj Industries Ltd, R&D center The obtained biogas is subjected to
at Praj Industries Ltd, R&D center further purification using H2S, CO2
since last 9 years. He has a Masters since last 9 years. He has a Masters and moisture removal systems depend-
degree in Microbiology. degree in Microbiology. ing upon the end application.
Chemical Industry Digest. March 2020 41
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Figure 1: Press mud and bagasse mix to BioCNG schematic centration. Praj has done extensive research and com-
process flow diagram pared engineering designs of Continuous Stirred Tank
Reactor (CSTR) and Dual Mixed Plug Flow Reactor
(DMPFR). For liquid streamsUASB &CSTR reactor de-
signs are preferred while for solid biomethanation PFR
offer greater value. Modified PFRs developed over
years offer options for agitation with recirculation of
bio gas in process to get proper mixing of slurry re-
sulting in higher conversion and biogas yield. In mod-
ified PFR operational problems such as solid settling,
scum formation are avoided and therefore higher op-
erational periods with least down time are achievable.
Selection of the right technology is a function of the
feed characteristics, mixing kinetics combined with
rheology, temperature and pH of bio-digester.
Praj in its uniquely developed RENGAS Technology
The USP’s of Praj RENGAS technology are as follow: offers a range of Process Technology advances with the
1. Unique microbial press mud stabilization. best digester design and plant configuration for max-
2. Higher biogas yield (120 to 130 M3/ton of press imizing the biogas yields. The unique robust technol-
mud and bagasse) ogy developed at Praj Matrix, The R&D Center of Praj
3. Economical and robust gas cleaning for high qual- Industries thus brings forth sustainable solutions con-
ity of BioCNG. tributing to the circular bioeconomy through renew-
able gas.
4. NOCA certified solid and liquid fertilizer co-prod-
ucts. About Praj Matrix-R&D Center:
Praj Matrix - R&D Center (division of Praj Industries)
Figure No. 2: Press mud+Bagasse to BioCNG plant schematic is designed along the principles of sustainability and
process flow diagram innovation with the goal of providing environmental-
ly friendly Technology solutions for clean green and-
sustainable Bio-mobility applications. Praj Matrix is
equipped with multi-disciplinary experience and ex-
pertise, world class laboratory, pilot and scale up facil-
ities to undertake the development of bio-based tech-
nologies. Praj Matrix has over 16 patents. Whereas
Praj has filed 63 Indian and Foreign Patents in the re-
newable fuel and chemicals space. Praj Matrix is cer-
tified by DSIR as an In-House R&D laboratory unit.
The R&D Campus has received status of Private Sector
BioTech Park by the Government of Maharashtra.
About Praj Industries Limited: Praj is a leading pro-
cess solutions companyin the Bio-mobility business,
with expertise in integrated offerings for bio-energy,
Praj offers RENGAS Plants on EPC basiswith tech- high purity water solutions and engineering led busi-
nologylicenseand O&M service. The plant capacities nesses namely zero liquid discharge solutions, critical
range between CBG output from 5 to 15 MT / day with- process equipment & systems and brewery plants.
high IRR and low payback periods.
Sustainability is at the core of Praj’s solutions. Over
Praj offers proprietary process package comprising three decades, Praj has been a trusted partner with
PM-Stab preservation technology and RC (Rumen cul- over 750 references across 75 countries. Led by an able
ture) based biomethanation along with patented Dual leadership, Praj is a socially responsible corporate cit-
Plug Flow Reactor system (in collaboration with a USA izen. Praj is headquartered in Pune, India and is listed
based company). This plant provides rich returns from on BSE and NSE.
solids to biogas projects operating at high solids con-

Chemical Industry Digest. March 2020 43

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