Compressed Bio-Gas: Fuel From Waste

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Cattle dung and crop waste don’t sound like fuel. Compressed, purified, and refined the right way, they can run a car engine.

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IndEco0183

Compressed Bio-Gas

Turning cattle dung and crop waste into a fuel that runs cars, cleans rivers, and pays farmers.

1 October 2018

SATAT scheme launches

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launches SATAT, specifically to promote CBG as a transport fuel.

15 July 2026

MCD-NDDB MoU signed

Delhi’s Municipal Corporation and the National Dairy Development Board agree to build CBG plants processing cow dung. The goal is to help clean the Yamuna.

6 August 2026

GOBARdhan approved

The Union Cabinet approves a much larger national scheme, funding CBG-plant expansion across India.

December 2028

Zero dirty water target

Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s stated target: not a single litre of dirty water entering the Yamuna.

CBG isn’t raw biogas: raw biogas is only about 55-65% methane, fine for local cooking. CBG is purified and compressed to 92-98% methane, matching CNG closely enough to fuel vehicles — don’t treat the two as the same product.

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📑 Contents

1Must Know
2Good to Know
3Test Yourself
4Great to Know
5Current Affairs

⚖️ What CBG Is

The Fuel and Its Origins

CBG A purified, compressed form of biogas, chemically close to CNG, made mostly of methane. It is produced from organic waste through anaerobic digestion — cattle dung, agricultural residue, sugarcane press mud, and municipal solid waste.
Purity Raw biogas contains about 55-65% methane. After purification, CBG reaches about 92-98% methane, giving it a calorific value close to CNG itself.
SATAT The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched this scheme on 1 October 2018, specifically promoting CBG as a transport fuel through city gas distribution.
Delhi MoU On 15 July 2026, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the National Dairy Development Board signed an MoU to build CBG plants in Delhi, to properly process cow dung.
GOBARdhan On 6 August 2026, the Union Cabinet separately approved this National Circular Bioenergy Scheme, a much larger funding programme covering CBG plants nationwide.

⚖️ The Delhi Project and Beyond

Delhi’s CBG Push

Officials The Delhi MoU was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Delhi’s Chief Minister, its Lieutenant Governor, and the Union Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairying also attended.
Sites Cow-dung processing under the MoU will happen at three sites: Nangli, Ghoga-Goyla, and Ghazipur.
Farmer Pay Livestock farmers will be paid ₹1 per kilogram of cow dung supplied.
Goal The stated goal is to stop cow dung and sewage from entering the Yamuna River. The target is zero dirty water in the river by December 2028. Around 80 treatment plants for sewer and industrial waste are already under construction in Delhi.

Waste-to-Fuel Beyond CBG

Sustainable Aviation Fuel A parallel global waste-to-fuel push targets aviation instead of road transport. Recognised SAF feedstocks include agricultural residues, corn grain, wastewater treatment sludge, and wood mill waste. It draws on a wider range of waste streams than CBG uses, aimed at cutting aviation’s carbon footprint.

Test Yourself

🌟 Distinctions That Matter

CBG vs Raw Biogas, and Related Schemes

CBG and raw, unprocessed biogas are not the same fuel. Raw biogas, at about 55-65% methane, is used mostly for local cooking or heating. CBG is different: about 92-98% methane and compressed, refined enough to power vehicles, just like CNG.
See IndEco0118 — GOBARdhan for the newer, larger national scheme funding CBG-plant expansion. This article instead covers the technology itself, and SATAT’s own separate, earlier origin.
The Delhi MoU links two goals that don’t usually appear together: river pollution control and rural dairy-farmer income. A single circular-economy project can serve both an environmental and an economic policy target at once.

📰 Current Affairs

Delhi CBG-Yamuna Push, 15 July 2026

15 July 2026 MCD and NDDB signed an MoU for CBG plants processing cow dung from Delhi’s 1.25 lakh cattle. (Source: PIB)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah described the agreement as a model for other Indian cities. He said it would raise livestock farmers’ incomes, while also supporting organic farming. (Source: PIB)