Transforming Sri Lanka’s daily garbage to bio (fuel) gas
Estimates show that 60 per cent of the 7000 metric tonnes of waste material collected daily from across the country come from urban areas in the Western Province, according to a survey conducted by the Waste Management Authority.Its Director Nalin Mannapperuma told a media briefing of the International Workshop on Small and Medium Scale Biogas held in Colombo recently that a 5-year Master Plan has been created for the Western Province for the management of waste material disposal.
“Today when we look at waste matter disposal the bulk of it is dumped in the open and only 6 per cent of it is made into compost for bio-gas production. Only 4 per cent of the waste material is used for re-cycling purposes. According to the Master Plan 12 per cent of the waste will be recycled to turn into energy,” he said. The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Power and Energy of the government of Sri Lanka, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the delegation of the European Union.
Mr. Manappperuma said that several problems have plagued the development of the bio gas sector as it has had to be done with care while dealing with micro organism cells. “We have provided assistance to hospitals and other institution to develop biogas technology. There are already about 20 institutions in the Western Province that use biogas technology. This method is being practised widely in India,” he said.
A national policy on the use of biogas and re-cycling technology was needed to develop this method countrywide, he noted, adding “we also provide financial assistance to develop bio-gas technology”.
CEO of Janathakshan GTE, Ranga Pallawala said that biogas was introduced in Sri Lanka way back in 1974 and there has been a significant progress in Sri Lanka over the years. But there is less awareness on the use of biogas owing to technological knowhow. However the use of biogas is now being spearheaded by working with the Provincial Councils and state institutions. Commercial Banks and development banks too have commenced loans for projects associated with bio-gas technology for preservation of the environment. Bio-gas technology is also used in many tourist hotels in the country to manage their solid waste disposal.
When asked about the progress of the bio-gas sector in Sri Lanka over the years, he said initially it was confined to the animal husbandry sector where cow dung was used to generate bio-gas at household level but now it covers waste management and water treatment areas. Although the bio-gas sector was dormant in Sri Lanka with global climate change issues people looked for alternate energy sources. “We need to create awareness among people to develop bio-gas technology with regulatory framework from Municipalities, Provincial Councils and other local bodies,” he added.
Senior Strategy Officer for Renewable Energy, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, Wim J. Van Nes, responding to a question, said that bio gas is excellent for cooking when small quantities of bio gas are produced. But to produce electricity on a larger scale with bio-gas more advanced techniques were required like in countries such as China and India and in Vietnam where such technology was used. Sri Lanka too has a niche market for developing such technology with different applications.Regional Coordinator for Asia Peter Drbohlav, replying to a question, said “What we have seen in Sri Lanka is that bio gas is promoted at provincial level in the Southern North, Eastern and Central Provinces where many programmes have been created”. He said waste management is an important component in Sri Lanka for the manufacture of bio gas.