Hyderabad’s Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Vegetable Market Yard, or Bowen pally market, has always been a hive of activity. But recently, the buzz was not just about the arrival of a variety of vegetables from near and far. The noise and bustle of customers and tractors moving goods blends with the whirring motors of a waste-to-power plant located within the market.
The anaerobic gas lift reactor-based plant was developed by the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), the State Department of Marketing, and Ahuja Engineering Services at a cost of ₹3 crore.
It has a capacity to produce up to 800-1,000 units of electricity a day using 10 tonnes of waste.
The market produces three or four tonnes of organic waste every day. This waste is first placed on conveyor belts which carry it to shredders. After shredding, the waste is converted into a slurry and is put into large containers or pits. These are high-rate biomethanation technology-based reactors.
The reactors start the process of anaerobic digestion, where organic waste is converted into biofuel. The fuel is then put into biogas generators that converts it into electricity.
The electricity generated from the plant powers more than 100 street lights, 170 stalls, an administrative building, and the market’s water supply network — giving the market committee substantial savings in power bills.
The plant produces biogas, which is being used to replace LPG cylinders in canteens. Bio manure generated is sold separately as organic fertilizer.
Currently, the plant produces 300 units of power and 60 kg of biogas every day.
Photo:
Nagara Gopal
Circle of power: The Bowenpally market produces three or four tonnes of organic waste every day, which drives production at the waste-to-power plant in a win-win situation.
Photo:
Nagara Gopal
Right pick: Vegetable wholesalers separate rotten tomatoes from fresh ones.
Photo:
Nagara Gopal
Perennial operation: The massive vegetable market ensures round-the-clock flow of raw materials to the waste-to-power plant.
Photo:
Nagara Gopal
Nothing goes waste: Workers remove leaves from vegetables to be sold at Bowenpally market.
Photo:
Nagara Gopal
New purpose: Rotten vegetables from the wholesale market being dumped at the waste-to-power plant.
Photo:
Nagara Gopal
Power supply: Workers feed stale vegetables into the conveyor belt at the waster-to-power plant.
Photo:
Nagara Gopal
Safety check: Engineers monitor a reactor at the waste-to-power plant. Careful checks are done to curb breakdowns.
Photo:
Nagara Gopal
Thriving business: A market yard canteen that is fuelled and powered by the waste-to-power plant.
Photo:
Nagara Gopal
Self-reliant: Electricity from the waste-to-power plant lights up a yard at the market.
Published – December 22, 2024 11:42 am IST
