GPS Renewables, a Bengaluru-based biofuels technology and EPC firm, has received a patent from Intellectual Property India for its Decentralised Distributed Biogas model (DISPRED model). This model stands for DIStributedPREDigestion is a 100% decentralized model. It enables the direct many-to-one or many-to-many mapping of Waste Generators to Bulk Energy Users in a completely B2B way.
GPS’ unique proprietary model bypasses the standard global approach of transporting food waste to a centralized location, processing it, and then bottling and delivering it to energy users. Transportation of waste accounts for 60-70 percent of waste management costs. By adopting the DISPRED Model, the cost of transportation as well as the distance of transport greatly reduces.
DISPRED Model includes:
Pre-digestor: The Pre-digestor is an ultra-compact Liquid Anaerobic Composter (LAC) that processes and converts food waste at the source into a stable pre-digestate, which does not release any biogas. It can be set up in basements or terraces of apartment communities and requires merely 200 sq ft of space for 1 ton waste. The LAC is located at the waste generator’s premises or other designated area near the waste generator. In waste management, about 60-70% of expenses are in the transportation of waste. But the slurry from the pre-digestor needs to be collected once in 4 - 5 days, thus reducing the transportation cost of transportation costs
Gas Generation Unit: The second component of the model is the Gas Generation Unit (GGU) that processes the pre-digestate (slurry) produced by Liquid Anaerobic Composter (LAC). The slurry, which is essentially fuel, can be easily transported in tankers, without creating a mess. Hence, the GGU can be set up anywhere, where there is space available and there's a need for large volumes of LPG/PNG.
Scheduler: A scheduler tracks every Liquid Anaerobic Composter and communicates the number of tons of pre-digestate to be picked up from each unit to the pre-digestate carrier. The collection can be done on a predetermined route increasing the overall efficiency.
Designed for apartment communities and housing societies, the DISPRED model is easy to manage and operate. The biogas generated from the ‘Gas Generation Unit’ can replace LPG/CNG, thus generating revenues. The DISPRED Model allows maximum resource utilization of the food waste and ensures segregation at the source.
Since the processing of food waste starts early, it has the highest possible biogas productivity potential. Furthermore, since the biogas is generated near the point of usage, no additional resources are wasted in bottling and transportation of biogas.
Commenting on this, Sreekrishna Sankar, COO and Co-Founder, GPS Renewables, said, “Rapid urbanization and a burgeoning population have led to an exponential increase in the generation of municipal solid waste (MSW). GPS Renewables’ DISPRED Model has been designed to remove all the challenges that are usually seen in the standard centralized model of waste collection and treatment.”
“There are no two ways about the fact that the future is all about sustainability and renewable energy. Biogas generation from food waste diverts the entire food waste from landfills. Thus, avoiding the harmful impact of poorly managed waste. Moreover, the biogas generated replaces usage of fossil fuel, thus further contributing to the mitigation of GreenHouse Gases.” he added.
