hDr. Hyderabad. The BR Ambedkar Vegetable Market Yard, or Bowen Palli Bazaar, has always been a hive of activity. However, recently, there is not only talk of different types of vegetables coming from near and far. The noise and bustle of customers and tractors moving goods with the whirring motors of the power plant through the dirt inside the market.
The anaerobic gas lift reactor-based plant was developed by CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), State Department of Marketing, and Ahuja Engineering Services at a cost of ₹3 crore.
It has the capacity to generate 800 to 1000 units of electricity per day by using 10 tons of waste.
Three or four tons of organic waste is produced daily in the market. This waste is first placed on a conveyor belt that takes it to the shredders. After shredding, the waste is turned into a slurry and poured into large containers or pits. These are reactors based on high-rate biomethanation technology.
The reactors start the anaerobic digestion process, where organic waste is converted into biofuel. The fuel is then put into a biogas generator that turns it into electricity.
The electricity generated from the plant runs more than 100 street lights, 170 stalls, an administrative building and the market’s water supply network, which saves the market committee significantly on electricity bills.
The plant produces biogas, which is being used to replace LPG cylinders in the canteen. Organic fertilizers produced as organic fertilizers are sold separately.
At present, 300 units of electricity and 60 kg of biogas are being produced daily from the plant.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
Circle of power: Bowenpally market generates three to four tonnes of organic waste every day, making the waste-to-power plant production a win-win situation.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
Right selection: Vegetable wholesalers separate rotten tomatoes from fresh tomatoes.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
Perennial operation: The huge vegetable market ensures round-the-clock flow of raw material from the waste to the power plant.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
Nothing goes to waste: Workers remove leaves from vegetables to sell at the Bowanpally market.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
New Objective: Throwing rotting vegetables from the wholesale market through the garbage into the power plant.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
Power supply: Workers feed stale vegetables on a conveyor belt from waste to a power plant.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
Safety check: Engineers monitor reactor from waste to power plant. Careful checks are made to prevent breakdowns.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
A thriving business: a market yard canteen powered by fuel and a waste-to-power plant.
Photo: Nagara Gopal
Self-sufficient: electricity from waste to power plant lights the market yard.
published – December 22, 2024 at 11:42 am IST