STAFF REPORT IBD: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is working to make clean energy a reality for households in a rural region of Pakistan for which it has started a Rs two million project in Sanghar city, Sindh, to convert agricultural waste left in the fields into clean and sustainable energy.
Realizing that the district was a rich source of agricultural waste, UNEP’s International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC), worked with the Mehran UET to quantify the amount of agricultural waste in the district.
After a thorough study and careful analysis, a biogas plant was selected, as it had the twin benefits of being able to supply clean fuel (biogas) and produce a good supply of compost, which could be used as fertilizer.
Built at a cost of two million rupees, the biogas plant is producing 50 cubic meters of biogas a day, using 400 kilograms a day of agriculture waste. As well, it produces 200 kilograms a day of liquid fertilizer and 150 kilograms a day of solid fertilizer.