15 TPD in 15 Months
A Journey of Teamwork, Ownership, & Perseverance
Vineeth Sivaraj – SVP, O&M
The journey towards achieving 15 TPD of CBG from paddy straw began on October 18, 2023 – the day the first mole of gas was generated at the Barabanki plant. What followed was not just a scale-up of numbers, but transformation driven by people, discipline, and belief. As one of the first plants in the industry operating at this scale, entirely on paddy straw, the path ahead had unknowns, but those became our learning opportunities and benchmarks.
The Beginning: Laying the Groundwork
In line with client requirements, the plant initially operated on the alternate feedstock Press Mud Cake (PMC). Although the plant was not designed for PMC, the team on the ground demonstrated agility and problem-solving to stabilize operations. During peak winter of 2024, senior leadership remained closely engaged on-site, motivating teams and reinforcing their confidence.
By May 2024,CBG production touched 10 TPD. While this was a significant early milestone, it was achieved with PMC. This phase focused heavily on team alignment and system building. Clear reporting structures were established for seamless information flow and faster decision-making. Several foundational initiatives were also institutionalized:
- Hourly logbooks for operators across areas
- Clear area ownership and accountability
- Strong vendor connect for faster troubleshooting
- Shift-wise handover–takeover (HOTO) practices
- Senior leadership deployment in shifts during critical phases
- Identification of potential risks with structured mitigation plans
These efforts collectively laid the foundation for operational discipline and consistency.
The Ramp-Up Phase: Learning While Scaling
The next phase marked a decisive shift: the complete transition to paddy straw feeding from September 2024.
Scaling up paddy straw came with its own learning curve, from material handling to process stability and equipment performance. Rather than setbacks, these experiences strengthened the team’s understanding of processes, reinforcing the need for precision and discipline.
Key learnings led to process optimization and design interventions, executed by the EPC and O&M teams. These included:
- Augmentation of shredding capacity with additional hammer mills
- Replacement and strengthening of solid–liquid separation systems
- Addition of feeding lines, recirculation systems, and digester enhancements
- Process flow improvements to enhance slurry preparation and stability
These upgrades were completed by July 2025, alongside a major planned shutdown of Digester-1 in September 2025. All this executed with strong coordination and ownership.
The Differentiator: Discipline in Operations
Parallel to physical upgrades, the O&M team strengthened operational discipline through structured routines and monitoring. The focus remained on stability, safety, and consistency:
- Daily muster meetings with client on priorities
- Rack-up meets daily with the central team to track progress
- Hourly checklists that were shared transparently to ensure target adherence
- Continuous monitoring of critical process parameters, such as temperature stability, feeding consistency, and digester health
- Dedicated daily maintenance reviews for spares and reliability actions
- Regular operator trainings
- Weekly HSE reviews for safe operations
Repetitive breakdowns were approached as learning loops, with each iteration improving our response time, standardization, and discipline.
Over time, this mindset translated into predictable performance and growing confidence.
The Final Frontier: Hitting 15 TPD
With the commissioning of the extruder line, feeding capacity was further strengthened. This enabled consistent feeding of 125 TPD of paddy straw.
Gas generation steadily increased, culminating in a defining moment.
On October 19, 2025, exactly two years after the first gas generation, the plant achieved 15 TPD of CBG for the first time. This milestone was further validated through a 72-hour continuous demonstration from October 28 to 30, 2025.
The Barabanki project created history by becoming one of the first in the industry to consistently feed 125 TPD of paddy straw and produce 15 TPD of CBG.
Conclusion
Achieving 15 TPD in 15 months is not a statistic but a story of month-on-month ramp-up through teamwork, ownership, and perseverance.
It demonstrates what becomes possible when operations, maintenance, engineering, and leadership move forward as one team, united by purpose and driven by learning.
This journey stands as a testament to the power of disciplined execution, resilient teams, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.