PUNE: BPCL to get 12 acres land for 300 TPD bio-CNG plant

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to allot 12 acres of land at its Phursungi-Uruli Devachi garbage depot to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) for setting up a bio-CNG plant with a processing capacity of 300 metric tonnes (TPD) of wet waste.

The bio-CNG project is aimed at expanding Pune’s wet waste processing infrastructure and reducing the city’s dependence on farmers for handling large quantities of segregated organic waste.

Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram has informed that BPCL would bear the entire cost of construction, operation, maintenance and repairs of the bio-CNG facility. The civic body will provide the required land and basic infrastructure.

According to committee chairman Srinath Bhimale, the land is proposed to be leased to BPCL for 25 years, covering the project’s operation and maintenance period, at a nominal rent of Re 1 per acre per year.

Pune generates around 2,700-2,800 tonnes of solid waste every day, including nearly 1,000-1,100 tonnes of wet waste collected through the municipal system. Another 150 tonnes is treated through organic waste management and home composting.

However, the city currently has an installed wet waste processing capacity of only 595 TPD. Existing facilities include a 200 TPD plant at Hadapsar, a 100 TPD facility at the Katraj Transfer Centre, a 50 TPD facility at the Katraj Railway Museum and decentralised biogas projects with a combined capacity of 45 TPD.

The Nobel Exchange project at Sus has an installed capacity of 200 TPD, although the administration said it currently processes only 30-50 tonnes daily.

Around 600-700 tonnes of segregated wet waste is currently given to farmers for composting. The PMC has said expanded processing capacity is necessary to comply with waste management rules and ensure scientific disposal.

Based on 1,100 tonnes of daily wet waste generation and 80% operational efficiency, Pune requires at least 1,375 TPD of installed capacity. The proposed BPCL plant will help bridge part of this gap.

The PMC will transport segregated wet waste to the facility and provide basic infrastructure such as roads, water, electricity, sewerage and a boundary wall. BPCL will pay utility bills and retain ownership and sale rights over the products generated by the bio-CNG plant.

BPCL’s quest in biogas

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) plans to set up 26 compressed biogas (CBG) plants across India but the speed has been a disaster.

It has 150 TPD Brahmapuram plant in Kerala producing 5.6 tonnes of CBG and 28 tonnes of organic manure daily. It has partnered with GPS Renewables for 8–10 plants across five states, signed multiple CBG agreements in Uttar Pradesh, developed a waste-to-energy ecosystem in Madhya Pradesh (Satna), and entered MoUs for two 100–150 TPD municipal waste CBG plants in Chhattisgarh (Raipur and Bhilai).