Production of Bio-fertilizer for Sustainable Agriculture with Green Energy Generation using Green Wastes at Cryophilic Conditions
Bibhuti Bhusan Nayak*, Om Prakash Sharma and Yesupaga Raj Kiran
Mechanical Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology Sikkim, India
*Corresponding Author: Bibhuti Bhusan Nayak, National Institute of Technology Sikkim, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ravangla, Sikkim, India.
Published: September 11, 2024
Abstract
Energy is crucial to the overall growth of any nation, as urbanization and industrialization increase, so does the rate at which fossil fuels are consumed. Refuse poses a serious challenge to developing nations and undermines the goal of sustainable development that most nations aspire to. Due to inadequate management systems these causes negative effects on the environment and population health, are another significant issue. Converting them to sustainable energy is an economically viable and environmentally advantageous alternative, especially in light of the fast-rising expenses connected with trash management and energy supply. This paper is based on current developments in the process of producing green energy from refuses of Institute Canteen, with the attention to production of bio fertilizers required for sustainable agriculture. In our institute there are two Boys’ hostels and one Girls’ hostel and all having their own individual mess, where daily a large amount of canteen waste is obtained which can be utilized for variety of functions, such as heating, cooking, and lighting. Wastes were collected and mixed with cow dung in various proportions kept for 90 days for production of bio energy under Cryophilic condition i.e. at very low temperature as the climate is very cold in this hilly region (5-18 °C) which is very challenging for the researchers. It is observed from the study that approximately 4 nos. of cylinder can be saved in 90 days, biogas produced from a 1 m3 digester tank with 2 hours daily consumption. The digestate produced after gas production which is treated as excellent fertilizer for the growth of flower plants in the campus and in the farms of the nearby villages. Different flames are being observed with batch wise feeding of the raw materials to the chamber. With increasing the Hydraulic retention time (HRT), the intensity, color and temperature of the flames changes. The color of the flame observed during the combustion of biogas from organic waste varies from blue color to reddish yellow mixture.
Keywords: Greenhouse gas (GHG); Biogas Digester; Organic wastes; Anaerobic digestion; digestate; Cryophilic condition; flames; fertilizers
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