The Hindu 27.03.2013
Corporation plans power generation from waste
Rs. 1 crore biomethanation plant on the cards.
In a bid to bring down its electricity bill, the
Municipal Corporation has proposed to establish a biomethanation plant
to produce 400 kilowatt hour (kWh) of power from organic waste and waste
water.
The project, expected to ease the
short-staffed Corporation’s burden of disposing the mounting garbage in
the town, is to be implemented on an outlay of Rs. 1 crore.
According
to data available with the Corporation, 160 tonnes of solid waste are
generated every day in the urban local body, which does not reach the
garbage dumping yard at Ramaiyanpatti owing to manpower shortage.
Once
the biomethanation plant is established, the electricity generated can
be utilised for operating motor pumps and lighting streetlamps.
The
plant uses organic waste, human excreta and waste water to generate
biogas, an effective fuel for cooking or generation of
electricity.Biogas is a reliable means of operating an internal
combustion engine.
The spent matter is rich in nutrient and can be used as organic manure, and the odourless water for landscaping or gardening.
This plant will help prevent contamination of groundwater, and reduce pollution, a senior Corporation official claims.
Since
only organic waste is used, the Corporation plans to collect five
tonnes of waste from hotels, marriage halls,lodges, hospitals, slaughter
houses, vegetable markets, fish and mutton stalls on a daily basis to
keep the methanation plant running without interruption.
“While
a sizable portion of organic waste generated in the town can be used
for producing power, the urban local body, which will initially spend
Rs. 1 crore from its general fund, can get it back in the form of
subsidy from the government as waste is being converted into wealth,”
the official says.
