SATAT Initiative | 29 Sep 2018

Government is planning to launch SATAT initiative to promote Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) as an alternative, green transport fuel.

• Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) is an effort that would benefit both vehicle-users as well as farmers and entrepreneurs. Compressed Bio-Gas plants are proposed to be set up mainly through independent entrepreneurs.
• The programme will be funded under Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) component of Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) to benefit households in identified villages through Gram Panchayats.
• The initiative will help in efficient municipal solid waste management and in tackling the problem of polluted urban air due to farm stubble-burning and carbon emissions.
• Use of CBG will also help bring down dependency on crude oil imports and in enhancing farmers’ income, rural employment and entrepreneurship.
• Bio-gas is produced naturally through a process of anaerobic decomposition from waste /bio-mass sources like agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal solid waste, sewage treatment plant waste, etc.
• After purification, it is compressed and called CBG, which has pure methane content of over 95%.
• CBG is exactly similar to the commercially available natural gas in its composition and energy potential. It can be used as an alternative, renewable automotive fuel.
• Given the abundance of biomass in the country, Compressed Bio-Gas has the potential to replace CNG in automotive, industrial and commercial uses in the coming years.
• Compressed Bio-Gas networks can be integrated with city gas distribution (CGD) networks to boost supplies to domestic and retail users.
• The National Policy on Biofuels 2018 also emphasises active promotion of advanced bio-fuels, including CBG.
• Earlier, the Government of India had launched the GOBAR-DHAN (Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources) scheme to convert cattle dung and solid waste in farms to CBG and compost.