Every year, a large amount of crop residue—particularly paddy straw—is burned across northern India, causing pollution and wasting a valuable resource. According to the Indian Biogas Association (IBA), if this agricultural waste is utilized correctly, it has the potential to become a major source of renewable energy for the country.
IBA estimates that farmers currently burn around 7.3 million tonnes of paddy straw annually. If this biomass is diverted to biogas plants instead of being set on fire, it could generate compressed biogas (CBG) worth nearly ₹270 crore every year. Modern anaerobic digestion technologies can efficiently convert this residue into CBG, offering a clean and sustainable alternative to imported natural gas.
Paddy straw also holds great promise for bioethanol manufacturing due to its high cellulose content (about 40%). IBA claims that using straw-based feedstock can help replace ethanol imports worth nearly ₹1,600 crore annually.
Furthermore, around 20% of the remaining lignin can be processed into high-value industrial materials such as:
These products can support various advanced manufacturing sectors and boost domestic value addition.
A Path to Saving Crores in Foreign Exchange:
According to IBA’s analysis, channeling all the currently burned straw into biogas projects could lead to:
This shift would significantly reduce India’s dependence on imported LNG, strengthen energy security, and save large amounts of foreign exchange.
Creating Valuable Resources, Not Pollution:
IBA Chairman Gaurav Kedia highlighted that India aims to achieve 1% blending of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in international flights by 2027—an ambitious step that will further expand the bioeconomy.
He noted that burning paddy straw is not only wasteful but also highly polluting. Each tonne of straw burned releases 1,460 kg of carbon dioxide, 60 kg of carbon monoxide, Around 3 kg of particulate matter.
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