Made entirely from agricultural waste, AgroGaz® (2G CBG) is a renewable fuel that is identical in composition and equal or better in purity than fossil CNG. AgroGaz® is produced by extracting biogas from agricultural, factory, and farm waste products like Bagasse, Rice Straw, Napier, Maize Straw, Wheat Straw, and Soybean Thrash through a patented process.
The biogas is further purified to meet the standard IS 16087 : 2016, and compressed and stored under high pressure in cylinder cascades for use in transportation and industrial applications. AgroGaz® offers consumers the option to use a fuel that is equal or better in calorific value than fossil CNG, while reducing their footprint on the environment.
Burning Fossil Fuels, such as Fossil CNG, oil, and coal, releases greenhouse gases into the air that have been stored in the Earth’s crust for millions of years. Over the last few decades, humans have burned an enormous amount of Fossil Fuels for industry and transportation. Such a quick release of such a large volume of greenhouse gases is harmful to the environment, as Earth’s ecosystems cannot adapt quickly to this rapid release of gas that has been formed over millions of years.
AgroGaz® is an alternative to Fossil Fuels that can have a large and immediate green impact in the industrial and transportation sectors. Unlike Fossil Fuels, the agro residue used to make AgroGaz® comes from crops that only take a few months to grow. These crops absorb CO2 (a primary greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere when they are created, and the AgroGaz® created from them releases the same amount of CO2 when it is burned as a fuel. This cycle of absorb/release only takes a few months, as opposed to Fossil Fuels, where the cycle normally takes millions of years, making the AgroGaz® process clean, renewable, and environmentally friendly.
Farmers depend upon income from their annual or biannual crops. A single bad season with a poor crop yield can start a cycle of debt that is impossible to recover from. This has led to economic deprivation and poverty amongst farmers. Enabling farmers to generate income from their waste products gives them a sustainable secondary source of income, as the same amount of agro residue is generated during a good season as a bad season.
1500 lakh tonne agro waste is produced in India every year. This waste is either burnt or dumped, leading to pollution and disease. In the AgroGaz® model, we source agro residue directly from farms and fields. Imagine the number of farmers who could benefit by selling this agro waste, if the AgroGaz® model spreads nation-wide! AgroGaz® has the potential to give back in a huge way to those that feed our country.
India has been dependent on international suppliers to satisfy the ever-increasing demand of crude oil and other petroleum products. This demand has gone up by a whopping 270% in the last 20 years. Indian refiners imported 18.81 million metric tons (about 4.45 million barrels a day) of crude oil during the month of August 2016, a 9.1% increase over the same month last year. Price fluctuation of petroleum in the international markets has also been a direct cause of inflation in the country.
The AgroGaz® process provides a promising alternative to importing petroleum products. By indigenously converting agricultural waste into high-calorific value CBG, we can supply the industrial and transportation sectors with domestically produced fuel. As the Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Mr. Nitin Gadkari said, “We are going to develop this country where our import of petroleum will be zero. We are promoting alternative fuels like 2G CBG, ethanol, methanol…this will boost the rural and agriculture centre and create huge employment.”
Businesses in areas of food processing, wholesaling, horticulture, floriculture, fishery and other allied sectors churn out organic waste in the form of wasted food, rejected vegetables, grains, fruits, milk products which are normally just disposed. Through our patented process, these waste products can be transformed into usable CBG. By installing AgroGaz® plants in their premises, these businesses can both manage their waste and produce a clean fuel to power their operations and sell to consumers.
The food industry is currently valued at US$ 39.71 billion and is expected to grow at a rate of 11%. It contributes around 14 per cent of manufacturing Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 13 per cent of India’s exports and six per cent of total industrial investment. Proper utilization of waste through conversion to usable fuel will spur this industry to unforeseen levels of growth!
