Kakasaheb Konde, Shuvashish Behera and Sangram Patil
Department of Alcohol Technology and Biofuels, Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI), Manjari (Bk.), Pune-412307, India; ks.konde@vsisugar.org.in
Increasing consumption of fossil fuels and environmental concerns have led to increased use of CBG (compressed biogas) in the transport sector. CBG can play an important role in the diversification of the sugar industry product portfolio, creating increasing employment and generating additional revenue for sugar mills in India. The sugar industry has resources that can be exploited to produce CBG; they are looking for economically viable alternatives for disposal of spent wash and utilization of press mud instead of bio-composting. An alternative to utilize spent wash and press mud to produce biogas through anaerobic digestion. During the production of CBG, fermented organic manure (FOM) is produced as a byproduct, which is a good source of carbon for the soil. Within a circular bio-economy, the production of value-added products such as CBG and FOM can be essential for the future economic sustainability of sugar industries. The techno-economics of CBG production in sugar and allied industries are evaluated. For a 5 t/day CBG production, the payback period is about 3 years with an annual profit of Rs.39.75 million.