Research Projects

At present, the energy sector prominently relies on fossil fuels such as coal and conventional hydrocarbons to meet global energy requirements. Over the decades, energy transition from conventional to renewable sources for energy production has gathered considerable attention. In India, waste to energy sector implemented various programs such as ‘SATAT’, ‘BIOURJA’, ‘CBG-CGD’, etc. to create sustainable options for energy production. Presently, there are numerous compressed biogas (CBG) or bioCNG plants operating separately or in combination with bio-methanation plants. Production of liquified biomethane (LBM) or bio-liquid natural gas (bioLNG) would provide another dimension to waste to energy sector and fulfil the need of high-valued LNG for heavy transportation and commercial sectors. However, the production of bioLNG from biomethane has been energy intensive task which seeks urgent attention for its modification and incorporation of novel approaches for its economically viable production. The proposed project targets, bioLNG production through modified bio-methanation routes and energy efficient liquefaction of high-grade methane. In this proposed research, anaerobic digestion of organic wastes with implication of separate hydrolysis – membrane filtration – methanation is envisaged to increase the biomethane production, significantly. Moreover, prerequisite for efficient bioLNG production is to have highly pure biomethane with under increased pressure and prominently reduced temperature (-190oC) condition. Previously, researchers have explored fossil energy sources and various refrigeration agents for liquefaction of biomethane, making the process energy intensive and uneconomical. We proposed to use novel quasi-isothermal process reactor having partial implementation of liquid nitrogen and solar based cryogenic heat exchanger, which plausibly would reduce the cost in liquefaction significantly, without compromising the bioLNG yield. Furthermore, the proposal also includes novel combinations calcined biochar and ionic liquid-based cartridge for purification of biogas, which prospectively would eliminate gaseous impurities, thereby increasing the biomethane purity and enhance bioLNG potential. Solid-liquid-gas mass transfer is critical in biomethane production, thus sequential operational amendments will also be implemented in proposed AD process to further increase biomethane yield and supporting enhancement in bioLNG production. Finally, the feasibility analysis and techno-economic evaluation of bioLNG production in proposed pathways will be conducted to investigate its viability. Proposed research would involve rigorous experimental investigations, including bio-methanation, its efficiency improvement through aforementioned tactics and finally evaluate bioLNG production. The research would promote energy efficient paradigm for bioLNG production and prospectively support India’s goal to meet energy demand through renewable energy sector.