BENGALURU: Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is set to transform sewage sludge into a revenue source for the board. By upgrading raw biogas generated across five of its major sewage treatment plants (STPs) into high-value Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG), the board will unlock an estimated additional revenue of Rs 120 crore over the next two decades, the water board said a press release on Sunday, adding that it will be the first and biggest project of its kind in the country.
While similar initiatives in India, such as a plant in Surat utilizes merely 120 MLD of water, BWSSB’s project will utilize 550MLD of sewerage water. To maximize this potential, the BWSSB chairman has issued instructions to expand and install this cutting-edge project wherever bio-digesters are currently present at STPs across the city, BWSSB said.
Currently, most biogas at these STPs is used for in-situ power generation, while one facility simply flares the gas. The project proposes to upgrade this raw biogas into CBG, meeting national standards for injection into the city’s gas distribution network or use as a clean transport fuel. By shifting from electricity offsetting to revenue-generating biogas conversion, about Rs 120 crore is the estimated additional revenue potential for BWSSB.
