Pau kutcha-pucca model of biogas plants in Punjab-a case study

Over the years, the design of the biogas plant has been changed from Floating drum type (KVIC model) to the Fixed dome type (Janta and Deenbandhu models). But the high cost of installation of a biogas plant, remains a deterrent to the wide spread adoption of this technology as it is diffcult for the poor farmers to install biogas plants despite the subsidy provided by the Government. Department of Civil Engineering, PAU, Ludhiana has been actively engaged in the cost reduction aspect of biogas plants. The department has evolved new inexpensive designs of biogas plants namely PAU drum type, PAU Janta model and PAU Deenbandhu model biogas plants. These models are cost effective than that of their counterparts. The basic difference between PAU model biogas plants and the conventional type biogas plants is the absence of brick lining in the digester i.e. the pit is kept as unlined (Kutcha).