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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

A solution to the vexed issue of garbage disposal at Kovalam, near here, is in sight with the government giving the green signal for setting up a five-tonne innovative biogas plant developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
The Rs.1.18-crore Nisargruna biogas plant, developed by the Technology Transfer and Collaboration Division of BARC, Trombay, for effective management of solid waste, will be set up on 50 cents owned by Kerala Tourism at Mayakunnu behind the popular Light House beach.
Official sources told The Hindu that the government had issued orders for setting up the biogas plant after the Working Group on Tourism cleared a proposal recommended by the Suchitwa Mission.
The plant will be set up by Kerala Tourism within a year. The funds have been made available from the current year's budget.
The biogas plant, which works on bio-methonisation technology developed by BARC, will be able to handle five tonnes of waste daily. It is estimated that hotels at the tourist destination generate 5,000 kg of biodegradable waste daily. The capital-based Socio Economic Unit Foundation (SEUF), the nodal agency that holds the patent for the BARC model, will provide technical support for installing the plant.

Advantages

Unlike conventional biogas plants, the BARC plant ensures increased production of biogas for every tonne of waste, reduces waste processing time, and provides for separate treatment of slurry.
The plant can process kitchen waste, paper waste, grass, leaf litter, remains from abattoirs, hospital waste, green plant waste, crop residues, and water hyacinth. The material to be processed should be brought to the plant site every day and sorted.
The main drawback of the conventional plants is the unscientific management of slurry, which is allowed to ooze out into open surfaces, polluting groundwater and soil. Under the BARC technology, the slurry will get filtered in separate compartments. While the liquid part will be recycled in the operation of the plant, the solid particles will be dried and used for making fertilizer.

Biogas

The BARC model ensures production of 32 kg biogas for a tonne of waste, compared to 20 to 22 kg produced by conventional plants. The methane content in the biogas produced by the BARC plant is 10 per cent more than the methane content produced by the other plants.
Official sources said the gas generated from the biogas plant at Kovalam would either be used for running biogas engines for electricity generation or partially meeting the fuel requirement for cooking without causing environmental problems.
Since the BARC model preserved an optimum temperature of 55 degree Celsius inside the plant, it would help cut down the waste processing time. The processing time would be almost halved from 35 days, as was the case in conventional plants, they said.
A committee with officials of the Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation, Tourism and Local Self-government Departments, Suchitwa Mission, and Kerala State Pollution Control Board will be set up to oversee the implementation of the project.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Sunday, January 1, 2012

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The picturesque Kariavattom campus of the Kerala University that houses more than 30 departments would soon put an end to its garbage problems. And so will the Kerala University Palayam office, which too has a large campus.
At both places, biogas plants would come up shortly to treat waste; the Kerala University Syndicate meeting has given the go-ahead for this.   The Kariavattom university campus and its premises are eyed by many as a convenient place to dump garbage. The campus itself houses departments, quarters, labs and, above all, a huge number of trees, resulting in biowaste and plant waste respectively. So far, the University has been either burning the garbage inside the campus or making pits on the compound. But the new developments over the garbage issue in Thiruvananthapuram have forced the University to think in the lines of setting up biowaste plants. The plant would come to the help of the residents of the quarters. The fact that it is some 15 km out of the city centre has not kept it any safe from garbage. A bustling IT industry nearby, the sprouting flats in the area and the growing population on the outskirts have added to the garbage heaps on the University premises.  In Palayam, the University campus is visited by hundreds on a daily basis, while a large number of employees are also staffed there. The staff here is in favour of a proper solid waste management mechanism. It is in this context that a mini plant was recommended for the Palayam office too, a University official said. Steps would soon be taken to install the plants, the official said.