Promoting renewable energy through Bio-gas units in tribal villages of Nilgiri biosphere reserve.
Nilgiris is one of the largest tribal areas in the state of Tamilnadu, India. The most common tribes are Paniya, Kurumbas & Kattunayaka. The quality of life for these tribal communities still remains to be a challenge, as they have a “limited access” into the various schemes benefitting them. The efforts are continuously made by a range of stakeholders, including the Government of India (GOI) to mainstream the tribal and marginalized communities and ensure their involvement and benefit from the programs.
All the different partners, MoEF, GOI, GEF, UNDP, Raleigh, CTRD, Airbus Corporate Foundation, SGP, Local Communities through small self help groups (SHG) and CEE joined hands in the project sharing and synergizing in terms of roles and responsibilities and sharing costs and decisions. Simple and easy to understand methods to implement the project have been mutually agreed between the partners.
Bio-gas Plant
A plant consists of a masonry digester and a metallic dome which functions as gas holder. The plant operates at a constant gas pressure i.e. the gas produced is delivered at the point of use at a pre determined pressure. The gas holder acts as the lid of the digester. When gas is produced in the digester, it exerts upward pressure on the metal dome which moves up along the central guide pipe fitted in a frame which is fixed in the masonry. Once this gas is taken out through the pipeline, the gas holder moves down and rests on a ledge constructed in the digester. Thus a constant pressure is maintained in the system at all times. There is always sufficient slurry liquid in the annulus which acts as a real seal and prevents the gas from escaping through the bottom of the gas holder.
