Economic viability of marketing bio-methane: a case study in India to promote circular economy.

Several Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) have been set up in India to tackle sewage. With the growing awareness that gas produced while treatment is a rich source of methane and can be used for heating purposes, these STPs are upgraded with bio-methane technology wherein methane is transformed into electricity to run the plant itself. However, most of these plants are running under-capacity due to a shortage of funds for operation and maintenance. This study aims to determine whether biofuel produced within STPs can be marketed as a cooking fuel (compressed bio-methane (CBM) gas) to fund these plants' revenue-generated operation to promote clean technology and circular economy. A SWOT analysis has been conducted, and the average willingness to pay for CBM equivalent to14.2 kg LPG in calorific value is INR 340 (USD 4.55), whereas its average variable cost is approximately INR 240 (USD 3.21). Moreover, since the net present value of marketing CBM is positive (INR 219 million/USD 2.93 million), and the internal rate of return is 33%, the study concludes that marketing CBM for cooking is economically viable. Through its findings, this study instigates further research to check the marketability of this biofuel as a cooking fuel in the case of other existing STPs with lesser treatment capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]