The Hindu 31.12.2014
Udupi CMC to go green in waste processing
A biomethanation plant will be set up at Beedinagudde
The Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) is giving
priority to harnessing green technology to process the garbage generated
by the city.
The civic body is setting up a
biomethanation plant on about 10 cents of land at Beedinagudde. This
plant will have a capacity to process two tonnes of biodegradable waste
per day.
Udupi city generates about 56 tonnes of
garbage per day on an average. Presently, this waste-load is being
processed at the Solid Waste Management Plant on 22 acres of land in
Alevoor village, about 8 km from Udupi.
The
biomethanation plant will be set up a cost of Rs. 35 lakh. “The tenders
for this plant have been floated. The work will begin soon and is
expected to be completed by June 2015. The plant will be fully
operational by October 2015,” said M.K. Subramanya, Environmental
Engineer of the CMC.
Biodegradable waste
The
plant would require 2,000 kg biodegradable waste in the form of food
and vegetable waste. Of the 58 tonnes of solid waste generated in the
city, the CMC estimates that 33 tonnes is biodegradable waste. “We will
get the food waste from the hotels, and expect to get vegetable waste
from the vegetable markets,” he said.
This two tonnes
of biodegradable waste would first be converted into slurry. This
slurry would then be fed into the digester of the biomethanation plant.
The waste would decompose in two days and start giving out methane. This
methane would be passed into a 15 kVA generator, which will produce 12
kWh of power every day.
A separate power line will be
drawn from this generator and the power generated would be used to
light 300 street lamps in the Beedinagudde area.
Manure production
In
addition, the plant will generate about 160 kg of manure daily. The
compost generated from this plant could also be sold. The CMC expects to
make about Rs. 2 lakh per year by selling the compost and also save on
electricity bill. The biogas generated from the plant can also be
supplied to nearby houses.
“Hotels and temples can
set up smaller biomethanation plants. By doing so, they can utilise
their food waste and use biogas produced for cooking. We will soon hold a
workshop for hoteliers on this issue. This will also reduce the burden
of the CMC,” Mr. Subramanya said.
“In addition to
utilising waste in an eco-friendly manner, we will use green technology
to promote a clean environment,” said CMC Commissioner Srikanth Rao.
Tenders have been floated for the plant that will be set up at a cost of Rs. 35 lakh
The work is expected to begin by June 2015 and the plant will be operational by October