Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has signed an agreement with Mumbai-based firm, Spectron Engineers Private Limited, for the commercialisation of a paddy straw-based biogas plant.
In a bid to curb environmental damage due to the burning of straw, PAU is set to expand the operations at the biogas plant at the organisation, which uses paddy as a raw product.
A S Dhatt, director of research, PAU, and representatives of the firm signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). As per the agreement, the university offers non-exclusive rights to the firm to make revenue from the biogas plant.
The plant is made up of mild steel sheet using above-the-ground technology and has been designed and developed under the scheme entitled All India Coordinated Research Project on Energy in Agriculture & Agro-based Industries (AICRP on EAAI), funded by the ICAR.
Explaining the working of the plant, experts said that the latest method through which anaerobic digestion ie dry fermentation of organic wastes is carried out requires little labour and produces biogas for three months.
The digested material produced from such anaerobic digestion is good quality manure ready for use in fields, they said.
They added that the life of the plant is 15 years as the whole plant is above the ground, and vacating the plant is very easy.
Usha Nara, plant breeder, TMIPRC, informed that PAU has signed 319 MoAs and commercialised 77 technologies.
She added that 8 MoAs of the paddy straw-based biogas plant made of mild steel sheet have been signed with different companies and firms.
Punjab Agricultural University partners with Mumbai firm for biogas plant commercialisation
