Resource: A project that could likely boost self sufficiency in fuel is seeking funds to go full swing.

After a successful trial in June this year, the project for bottling biogas called Bio CNG for cooking and fuel for vehicles is ready to begin go commercial in a few months.

“We’ve applied to agencies to help us avail soft loans or some funds to begin,” the man behind the project, Tashi Choki Dorji said.

He added that the project is ready with the technology.

For better rate of combustion, the project purifies the methane using technology. “For ordinary biogas we need a separate stove, our product will be no different from the imported LPG gas for cooking,” Tashi Choki Dorji said.

The project used the livestock department’s 70 cubic metre biogas plant in Samtse for the trial. Livestock officials said that the bottling trial was perfect.

Tashi Choki Dorji is optimistic of gaining the government’s support and hopes to launch the project by December this year.

“It has vast potential in our country,” he said.

Unlike the biogas plants across the country today, the project will use a multi-digester using all biodegradable waste from human excreta to kitchen waste besides cattle dung.

“We’ve been working on this since 2013 and the technology is proven in other parts of the world including India, China, Malaysia and Germany,” he said.

The process will produce organic fertiliser or bio slurry for crops.

“Besides creating employment, reducing the waste problems and green house gas emissions, we could offer an alternative to imported fuel,” he said.

The National Statistics Bureau 2015 report states that fuel imports grew 9.19 percent between 2011 and 2014, 80 percent of which was diesel. The country imported 1.17 million kilolitres of fuel in 2014.

Research has shown the bottled gas is cheaper and gives more mileage than fossil fuel.

The vehicles have to install Bio CNG kits that cost Nu 50,000 for petrol engines and nearly Nu 100,000 for diesel engines.

“Such cars would switch between CNG and fuel automatically,” he said.

Meanwhile, India launched its first bio-CNG plant to produce automobile fuel in Pune yesterday. Primove Engineering Pvt Ltd, set up the plant as a Proof of Concept.

Tshering Palden