If all the waste coming to Chalai market can be converted into
biowaste and then to electricity, no one would need to look for another
power source to light up the LED streetlights.

 This is no
day-dream; for, a team of Barton Hill Mechanical Engineering students
has designed and built a 100-per cent biogas-powered engine. Ajesh C R,
Akhil B S, Aneesh M and Ojus Mohan developed the engine as part of their
final year project. They developed it under the guidance of Associate
Professor S Ramesh. Innovation eXperience, a city-based NGO, provided
external guidance and practical support for the project.

 ‘’If we
can convert the heaps of food and organic waste which are dumped on
roadsides into biogas and then again convert it to electricity, it can
act as a solution to two core problems faced by the state – Waste
Disposal and Power Shortage,’’ said Shyamkumar, technical director of
Innovation Experience.

 The biogas power generator system consists
of a biogas plant which can produce biogas from food waste. The biogas
is then compressed and sent to a filtering plant, where carbon dioxide
and hydrogen sulphide are separated. Then it is compressed again and is
used for running a Kinetic Honda engine.

 During the trial
session, the engine ran continuously for 15 minutes from the biogas
produced from a 0.6 m-cube biogas plant. This engine can even be used to
drive a power generator which can light street-lamps.

  ‘’Imagine
two or three such biogas generators in each residents’ association
which can manage waste, create energy and provide employment
opportunities to the local women,’’ said Shyam Kumar. Kudumbashree can
also take it up as part of the Oorja Sree project.

 Successful
testing of this machine made the students more confident and they are
trying to build a bigger power generator in the near future. The entire
project was financially supported by Kerala State Council for Science
Technology and Environment.