The Hindu : Kerala News : District panchayat plan to generate power from waste

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Wednesday, Oct 25, 2006
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Kerala

District panchayat plan to generate power from waste

Renu Ramanath

To be implemented in six panchayats

KOCHI: Even as the civic authorities struggle to find a solution to the waste management crisis in the city, the Ernakulam district panchayat is going ahead with its Decentralised Solid Waste Management Scheme to generate power from waste.

In the first phase of the scheme, a project of the Biotech Centre for Development of Biogas Technology and Other Conventional Energy Sources based in Thiruvananthapuram, six grama panchayats in the district will get power generated from the solid and liquid waste in the area.

The first grama panchayat to get the waste-operated power plant in the district will be Piravom.

The others included in the scheme are Kalady, Nedumbassery, Amballur, Varappuzha and Rayamangalam.

The scheme will be implemented in all the six panchayats this financial year itself.

Developed by Biotech

The plant was developed by Biotech as a solution to the problem of solid and liquid waste disposal faced by the State, according to Sajidas, director of Biotech.

"Each unit of the plant will have a capacity to process 500 litres of solid and liquid waste per day. The special feature of this plant is that it can process both solid and liquid waste, in a 50:50 ratio," said Mr. Sajidas.

Up to 5 KW of electricity could be generated by each unit, which could be used to light 50 CFL lamps of 11 watts each. This was in the first phase.

The total cost of each unit would come to Rs.10 lakh. The project was now being implemented with the expense being shared between the district panchayat, Biotech and the corresponding grama panchayat.

Subsidy

A subsidy of Rs.1,20,000 would be given by Biotech for each unit.

The district panchayat would take the biggest share of Rs.5,80,000 for each unit and the grama panchayat would have to come up with the rest of the amount .

The plant would function with the power generated by it. The wages of the plant operator as well as the cost for collecting and transporting the garbage would be the only expense for running the plant. Even the water generated during processing would be used for the functioning of the plant.

The plant functions with the biomethanation technology, where easily degradable waste will be decomposed with the help of anaerobic bacteria. The waste will be made into manure and biogas. The manure will be in liquid form.

Special gas scrubbers will be used to clean the biogas generated in the plant, which will be used fuel for generators producing power.

"The plant takes up only two cents. As the waste is treated everyday, without any piling over, the problem of pollution or contamination does not occur," claimed Mr. Sajidas.

The plant was developed at Biotech adapting the international technology to serve local purposes, following a research process that started in 1994, Mr. Sajidas said.

It was tried for the first time in the State at the Pathanapuram grama panchayat in Kollam three years ago. "The project is running effectively even now," he said.

The work in all the six panchayats in Ernakulam district is expected to begin next month.

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