Bio Mel i Oration

8/12/2019 Bio Mel i Oration

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BiomeliorationLiving in Harmonywith Nature

Harnessing Bio-

Methanation forEnergy Generation &Environment

Protection.

Co-

Generat ion

of Organic

Waste

Bio

Reactor

Methane +

Soi l

Amendment Re-Mediated

Water


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Introduction: Most of the worlds public water has

become undrinkable due to sewage

infiltration into groundwater. Unlesssomething is done now to restorethe environment and curb pollution,

the future will be very challenged interms of meeting the worlds waterdemands


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Sewerage Statistics: It is estimated that a community of 10,000

people can generate 40-acre inches of

sewage effluent per day or an equivalent of 1

million gallons of wastewater. Sewage: 1 person = 100 gallons pd = 1.46

acre inches pa

25 persons = 2,500 gallons pd = 8 kWhrs pd

2.4 kWhrs = 1 x 100 W Bulb = 24 hrs


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Types of LiquidWaste

Rural Sewage

Municipal Liquid Waste

Agro-Industrial Effluent


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GOP


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Definitions: Environment:Encompasses the

Inorganic Biosphere that we inhabit; theinter-dependent Organic Life Forms and

the Life Supporting Ecological Systemsthat have evolved to work in harmony inorder to sustain Life.

Biological: Taken to mean all living

creatures be they zoological or botanical.

Bioenvironmental Management: Theattempt to minimize the impact on the

environment of Biological activity can be

termed as Bioenvironmental

Management.


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Biological amelioration/ remediation or usingBiological means to improve or rectify existing

harmful conditions. A more cost effective method ascompared to incineration or physical and chemicalremediation methods.

Biomelioration/Bioremediation:

The amelioration of our degraded environment is

best carried out by employing biological remedialmeasures that are low-cost and ecologically

sustainable. Solid and Liquid Waste is increasingly being

processed by Microbial Agents (Bioaugmentation)and Plants (Phytoremediation) to provide recycled

water for aqua, horti and agriculture. Disposal of

waste is more effective where there is partial

recovery of energy and salvageable material.


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History of Biogas 10th century BC - Used to heat water inAssyria

16th centuryUsed to heat water inPersia

17th century - Flammable gases found tobe emitted from decaying organic matter

1776-1778Methane discovered andisolated by Alessandro Volta.Relationshipbetween the amount of decaying organicmatter and the amount of flammable gasproduced


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History, contd. 1970s - Energy crisis renewed interest in

AD

1970s - 80s - Lack of understanding and

overconfidence resulted in numerous

failures

China, India and Thailand reported 50%

failure rates

Failures of farm digesters in U.S.

approached 80%


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Reasons for Failures

Inadequate operator training. Managemen t fai lures.

Benefits oversold.

Operations too small to justify digester.

High costs of Infrastructure.

Excessive operating costs.

Unreliable market for biogas.

Impurity of Gas produced.

Lack of appropriate microbial inoculation.

Prevailing Contractor System.


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Whats Different Now:

Improved designs and better understanding of O&M

requirements. Cogeneration to raise volume of Methane captured.

High prices for liquid fuel & natural gas.

Market evolving for biogas energy.

Microbe culture in Laboratories. Methods of scrubbing gas produced along-with

valuable by-products evolved.

Possibility of deploying Multi-Use, Integrated Plant to

address different problems simultaneously. Revolutionary new Low-cost, Low-carbon, Super-

Insulated, Disaster-proof Construction developed inPakistan.

System of CDM/ Carbon Credits created.


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Advantages. The odor potential of a well digested

waste is considerably reduced.

Further Treatment & Bioaugmentationcan eliminate foul odors.

Digested waste has slightly less fertilizer

value than non-digested waste, but it ismore readily available to plants. It is

simply converted to a more useful form.


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Disadvantages. A methane digester is large and

expensive. The expense stems from the

fact that it must be well-insulated, air-tightand supplied a source of heat. The size

of a conventional digester is equal to 15-

20 times the daily waste volumeproduced.


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A very high level of management is required.

A methane digester can be extremely sensitive toenvironmental changes, and a biological upset

may take months to correct. Methane generationceases or is very low during an upset.

Start-up--usually the most critical phase ofmethane generation-is difficult. Methane-

producing bacteria are very slow-growing, andseveral weeks are required to establish a largebacterial population.

Methane is difficult to store, since at normal

temperatures the gas can be compressed but notliquefied without special, very expensiveequipment.

Methane can form an explosive mixture if

exposed to air.


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Environmental Benefits

Reduces odor from

land application

Protects water

resources

Reduces pathogens

Weed seed reduction

Disease vector control

after digestion

Greenhouse Gas

reduction


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Biological treatment is the most

economical of waste treatments available

today. In biological systems, the dynamics are

biochemical as opposed to chemical, and

the active agents are living entities.

Where one would have to increase the

quantity of chemicals proportionally to

deal with a higher load of reactant, in abiological system the biological additive

can grow to help compensate for

increased loadings.


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NATURE NURTURES!

We must NurtureNature in order toensure that itcontinues tonurture US21stCenturyChallenges haveto be faced withlo-cost,innovative andeco friendly, Hi-Tech.Interventions.


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Carbohydrates

Fats

Proteins

Amino Acids

Fatty Acids

Sugars

Carbonic Acid

Alcohols

Hydrogen

Carbon Dioxide

Ammonia

Hydrogen

Acetic Acid

Carbon Dioxide

Methane

Carbon Dioxide

Hydrolysis Acidogenesis Acetogenesis Methanogenesis


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The septic system is abiological process. Like any living thing, it has certain

nutritional requirements to function

properly and functions best in a suitableenvironment.

However, the best first step in optimizing

the performance of a septic system is tohave a complete ecosystem of the

organisms required for the most

complete breakdown of the waste.


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Successful BioaugmentationTotal System Management If the microbiological population can be viewed

as a workforce, then the consultant or systemmanager is responsible for keeping the

workforce productive. He must maintain the integrity of the microbial

ecosystem.

The system manager must provide anacceptable work environment by controlling thekey system managers such as pH, temperatureand oxygen levels.


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He has to know when to lay off workers

through wasting to keep the population

young and vital. The successful system manager knows

when to hire new workers to provide

special skills not found in his workforce. Finally, he must compensate them with

nutrients to ensure good growth and a

healthy population. Bioaugmentation is the mechanism to

provide these skills workers.


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Tensegrity is a contraction of

tensional integrity structuring.Tensegrity describes a structural-relationship principle in which

structural shape is guaranteed by thefinitely closed, comprehensivelycontinuous, tensional behaviors of

the system and not by thediscontinuous and exclusively localcompressional member behaviors.


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The Mongol Tent was named Ger,

which gave rise to our Urdu word Ghar

and was adapted by the Turks as theYurt, the source of our language Urdu

arising from the plural Yurtu or group of

tents.


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Sizing a Plant:REQUIREMENTS

Small Large

Single

Chamber

Double

Chamber

Amount & Type

Of Raw

Material Used

Single

Stage

Double

Stage

Artificial

Heating &

Agitation

Multiple

Digesters

Artificial

Heating &

Agitation

Operating Cycle of

the Plant

Size of Digester

Availability of

Raw Material

Suitability of

R aw Material


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Benefits of Composting:Serves as the principal storehouse for anions such as nitrates, sulfates, borates,

molybdates and chlorides that are essential for plant growth.

Increases CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) of soil by a factor of 5 to 10 timesthat of clay.

Acts as a buffer against rapid changes caused by acidity; alkalinity; salinity;

pesticides and toxic heavy metals.

Supplies food for beneficial soil organisms like earthworms, symbiotic Nitrogen

fixing bacteria and mycorrihize (beneficial fungus).

Serves as recycling sink for organic waste and green manures (animal manure,

crop residues, household refuse and leguminous plants collected within and

outside the farm) and thus keeps environment clean and hygienic.

Softens the soil by introducing fibrous matter.

Increases soil water retention capacity.

Makes plants more resistant to pests and disease through improved nutrient

availability and uptake, resulting in healthier plants with strong

immune systems.

Prevents soil acidification.


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UK Estimate: If just 5.5 million tons of food waste was treated by

AD we could generate between 477 and 761 GWhof electricity each yearenough to meet the needs

of up to 164,000 households. Compared to

composting the same amount of food waste,

treating it with AD would save between 0.22 and

0.35 million tons of CO2 equivalent, assuming the

displaced source is gas-fired electricity generation.

But at the moment we only AD 50,000 tons of foodwaste each year - 0.4 per cent of the UKs food

waste.

ERM (2007), Carbon Balances and Energy Impacts of the Management of UK Waste Streams


33/34Moving Towards The Future?


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Conclusion: By now, I am sure that all will agree that the

discussed exercise is not only badly needed, it

is also highly desirable and affordable.

A CMD Project that commands carbon Credits

is the requirement of the day. In this manner, given seed money for initial

establishment, a recycling of Capital along with

Socially Generated Waste is made possible.

In this case we do not have to ask How much

will it cost, rather ask what will it cost not to

implement the Project?

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Bio Mel i Oration