Rural Bio-gas Technicians
The Biogas section is undertaking installation and supervision of biogas plants and also conducting mason training camps in various districts of Maharasitra. It has been doing research on the utilization of leafy and aquatic biomass for biogas generation, development low cost biogas plant, clay burners and better use of slurry in manure making.
CSV has conducted around 300 mason training campus and trained more than 5000 masons in biogas plant construction and maintenance. A total of 20000 women were trained in construction and maintenance of biogas plants by organizing 300 users training campus. It has instconstructed around 25000 biogas plants.
It has earned the credit of having trained 95 social workers associated with 51 voluntary agencies along with 150 private entrepreneurs as “Rural Biogas Technicians” all over Maharashtra.
Dewatering Slurry
Biogas slurry obtained from biogas plants, being fluid in nature is difficult to transport. Hence, a simple dewatering filtration unit is attached to the biogas plant where by the spent liquid slurry that comes out gets dehydrated without loss of any nutrient. This thickened slurry with the original consistency of cow dung can be transferred to the farm in a basket instead of a bucket.
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Bio-Dung
Experiments are on to substitute cow-dung in biogas plant with leafy and aquatic biomass so that families who do not cattle could also be benefited.
Red Clay Segments & Bamboo Bio-gas Plants
To reduce the construction cost of a biogas plant by 15 to 20 percent, alternative building materials like red clay segments and bamboo-cretes have been successfully tried. Red clay jar biogas plant is on trial with a view to cut down the construction cost by one-fourth. The bamboo cement (bamboo-crete) is working efficiently in the campus.
Red-Clay Biogas Burners
Bio-gas Clay Burners can well replace the steel burners with the thermal efficiency of 50 to 55 percent costing Rs. 75 i.e., one-fourth the cost of the steel burner, have been evolved and propagated by CSV.
Optimum Size and Type of Plant
The CSV team has worked out the optimum size of a bio-gas plant needed for a family unit of five to be 1.5 cubic metres and regarding the type of plant, the Fixed dome plant (Janta / Deenbandhu) is as efficient or sometimes even more so than the Floating dome biogas plant (KVIC pattern)
Diphasic Digestion
To increase the efficiency of the biogas feed digester, experiments on diaphasic digestion are in progress.
Anaerobic Filters
A novel experiment to reduce the digestion period of biogas feed by using anaerobic filters is going on which can result in reduction of the size of plants.
Instruction Manuals
A pocket book for masons with simple, easily understandable instructions regarding construction, an instruction manual for field supervisors, a user’s guide book and a technical booklet for experts have been brought out by the Renewable Energy team.
Smokeless Magan Chulhas
To increase the fuel efficiency and make it more convenient for women, the centre installed about 10,000 chulhas in 100 villages of Wardha district in the last ten years. Approximately 1900 rural women workers were trained in the construction of Magan Chulhas during the training camps conducted in these villages.
Bio Gas Plants
Deenbandhu and Batch Type Biogas Plants
/Animal waste (Dung) is fed in the biogas plant digester where it is partially digested by facultative anaerobic acidogenic bacteria i.e. Escherichiacoli, Clostridium, Actinomyces, Corynebacterium etc., and Methanogens or Methane producing anaerobic bacteri like Methanobacterium, Methanococcus, Methanosarcina, etc. to form methane (CH4) gas.
From an environmental point of view, the effect of greenhouse gas CH4 is 22 times more than CO2, hence use of biogas plants has twin benefits i.e. it gives renewable thermal energy and reduces the greenhouse gas (GHG) effect.
Biogas Plant and Electricity Generating Unit (LHS) and Lights illuminated by Electricity generated by Gen-Set.