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.