Biogas engine generator developed

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FE Report
Electric generators powered by biogas fuel which is processed from animal and poultry waste, is gradually gaining ground in the cattle and poultry farms in Bangladesh.
To reduce the dependency on electricity in a country where the average difference between national demand and supply ranges between 1,000 to 1,500 megawatts, innovators have come up with a system which can generate electricity from animal wastes., i.e. poultry litter and cow-dung.
The biogas engine generator which costs Tk 400,000 to generate 10 kilowatt of electricity uses biogas, an output of organic wastes.
A team led by Sustainable Energy for Development (SED), a project of German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Senior Adviser Dr Engineer Khursheed-Ul-Islam has developed the 100 per cent biogas engine generator by using locally-produced biogas, air-mixed carburetor, retrofit to reduce hydrogen sulfide and water.
Electricity has been generated in small and medium scale sectors with a mixture of 30 per cent of diesel and 70 per cent of biogas which is not cost-effective because of high price of diesel, Khursheed-Ul-Islam said.
The team led by him developed the system that requires no diesel to produce biogas which can generate electricity. German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) provided technical assistance and initial financial assistance worth Tk 200,000.
The German development agency-supported project started on experimental basis to generate electricity from wastes-produced biogas at private-owned Raj Poultry Limited in Faridpur in early 2007, which continued without any problem for next two years.
Being inspired by the success, Advance Animal Science Company Limited has now made a commercial investment with a total of 20 kilowatt electricity generation system at its dairy and poultry farm located respectively in Latifpur and Sardaganj under Gazipur district, on the outskirts of the capital.
Officials said now the power generation system has become user-friendly and safe for the engine-generators. Above all, it has a zero fuel cost which is operable with biogas only.
This is techno-economically viable and commercially quite attractive. This can replace the nearest alternative to grid diesel-fuelled operation, they added.
Khursheed-Ul-Islam Saturday told reporters that the country's 150,000 poultry farms and 25,000 dairy farms produce adequate animal waste such as litters and cow-dung to commercially generate biogas.
"Every commercial poultry or dairy site can generate 6 to 700 cubic meter biogas by using the organic waste which can be used for cooking and generating electricity. Moreover, the available waste can produce high-powered biofertiliser."