The Times of India 25.11.2013
Corporation selects Pune firm to set up bio plant
COIMBATORE: The city municipal corporation has decided to tread cautiously in its ambitious project to set up bio methanation plants to generate biogas and power from organic and vegetable waste generated within city limits. The civic body has decided to rope in a Pune based private firm to set up the first bio methanation unit at the new vegetable market complex being set up at Kavundampalayam here in the city.
The construction and installation costs for a bio methanation unit with a five tonne capacity at Kavundampalayam market complex would be Rs89.75lakh. The operation and maintenance of the unit for the next seven years for processing 5 tonnes of organic waste is expected to be around Rs72.11 lakh. Additional bio methanation units would be set up in corporation limits based on the performance and utilisation of this unit to process organic waste to energy.
According to corporation sources, the civic body was initially planning to set up biomethanation units with a daily processing capacity ranging from three to 10 tonnes of organic waste materials to generate bio gas and power. The corporation had decided to set up the unit at the three major vegetable and grocery markets, Thyagi Kumaran market, Anna market and MGR whole sale vegetable markets.
"The bio gas plant would be set up at the proposed new market complex at Kavundampalayam where the old wholesale market is expected to be relocated in the coming weeks," said a corporation official.
The civic body had to cancel the first round of receiving online tenders for the project as only one firm participated in the process on July 18, 2013. The exercise was carried out again on September 18 and after scrutiny by the expert technical committee, a Pune based firm, Mailhem Engineers Private Limited, has been selected for the construction and maintenance of the project. The firm has already set up similar plants for various public sector and private institutions across the country including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bangalore. The municipal administration has already instructed various local bodies across the state including Coimbatore city corporation to opt for alternate methods like treating organic municipal waste to generating power or natural gas in the beginning of 2013 itself.
"It is being recommended to ease the daily burden of waste disposal on the municipal corporation. We should try to reduce the total quantity of garbage directed to the dump yard by adopting various sustainable methods of processing and recycling," a corporation official said. The bio gas generated from the unit is expected to be used as an effective substitute for LPG in community kitchen centres and also diverted to power up streetlights in the vicinity of bio gas plants.
