Josephites1

FUTURE CITIES

TURNING TRASH INTO CASH

A radical waste to energy scheme

Team Members:

1. Mohamed Zeeshan

2. Sachin Bhat

3. Subhash Saravanan

4. Vamsi Krishna

5. Vignesh Shekhar

Team Name: Josephites1

E-mail: [email protected]

Source: Central pollution control board 2010-2011

It is estimated that Urban India generates 55 million tonnes of

Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) annually.

MSW generation in top 10 cities

6800

6500

4500

4200

3700

3670

2300

1600

1300

1200

MSW

IN

TO

NS/D

AY

Key points

India is set to surpass China’s total population by 2025.

Volume of MSW generated will increase proportionally.

The waste is collected in large land fills without proper planning

Only 1.4% of the MSW collected is disposed of properly.

The waste presently dumped on open land causes a myriad of environmental, health and development problems.

Demand for electricity in urban areas far exceeds the availability.

All India generating capacity in MW

(31/07/2013)

153848

4780

3962327542

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

180000

Thermal Nuclear Hydro Renewable

Key points

India is the 4th largest energy consumer in the world

City dwellers face constant power outages

Industries, Hospitals, Schools and colleges affected

Significant impact on the income of daily wage workers

Only 12% of energy is derived from renewable sources

There is a need to supplement the existing systems with the means to supply for increasing demand

Source: Central Electricity Authority

Turning excess waste into usable energy is a step forward in mitigating

these issues

Waste to energy

Renewable source

Raw materials readily available

Zero pollution

Efficient waste reduction

Implementation

Waste to be collected door to door and from all other public places in an efficient manner

Collected waste to be pyrolised to create syngas

Burning syngas will create heat required to generate power

Advantages

Ensures the cleanliness in the city

Reduces the risk of leachates from landfills polluting groundwater

Supplements conventional energy generation

Residues left behind can be used in making roads, fertilizers etc.

The composition of MSW across urban India is consistent, hence Waste

to energy (WtE) is viable

Almost half of the solid waste generated

in urban India is organic

This high percentage of organic matter

hits the sweet spot for various WtE

schemes

WtE is similar to thermal energy

generation

Instead of fossil fuels it aims to take

advantage of the carbon present in the

organic matter

From the graph, it is observed that MSW in

India has a high moisture content

Segregation Collection Treatment Generation

A bird’s eye view of the solution proposed

• Segregation of the wastes

is the most essential stage

• It will be done in the

household level as well as

in public spaces

• It will employ colour coded

waste bins and bags

• The following colour code is

to be used

Organic Paper

Plastic Metal

Glass Hazardous

• Collection of the waste will

be on a door-to-door basis

• The collected trash will be

transported to the

treatment facility in closed

vehicles

• This system particularly

helps in formally employing

the rag pickers in the cities

• The collected waste is

transferred to the landfill

area

• The treatment facility will

be in-situ

• This stage requires

segregation of the

collected waste into

degradable, recyclable

and other inert wastes

• The organic waste is

converted chemically into

a gas which is used in

generationWill employ

3000+ workers

• Heat energy can be derive

by burning this gas (syngas)

• This heat energy is used to

generate electricity and/or

provide for heating systems

• According to the MNRE its is

estimated that WtE can

yield an approximate 1500

MW of power on a national

scale

Pyrolysis

Syngas

Energy

Wet waste

Dry waste

Treatment

Method

The waste is segregated into degradable, recyclable, and inert

wastes.

The wet degradable waste is dried using blowers.

This would result in reduction of the weight by half.

The dry waste is subject to PYROLYSIS.

Pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic

material at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen.

This results in the production of syngas which is a flammable

mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

The syngas is used to drive dynamos to generate electricity.

The generated power will vary with the quantity of waste.

Processing 300 tons per day will yield an average of 3 MW per

hour.Surplus energy

Impact of the proposed solution

Criteria to measure the impact

Total power generated

By-products of the process

Revenue generated

Generation of new jobs

Immediate impact

The proposed solution will seek to improve or resolve the intermittent power supply in urban centres

The by-products at the end of the process will aid in providing raw materials and/or additives for various products in different sectors

Selling of the segregated recyclables and residual matter will generate additional revenue

An estimated 500,000+ jobs to be created across urban India for technical graduates as well as for illiterates

Scalability

The initial phase incorporates MSW only

The technology is present to include sewage treatment as well which can be

incorporated in subsequent phases.

Deployment of digesters, incinerators and biogas generation plants in later phases will

increase overall efficiency.

The scaled up project not only helps the public sector but also manufacturing, transport

and agricultural sectors.

The mainstream deployment of the proposed system is shown below.

The challenges and risks involved

Concept Risks

• Financially, the initial investment cost is

high

• The technology used to implement the

plan has to be imported

Implementation challenges

• The general public may not comply to the

strict onsite garbage segregation norms

• A “No Littering” policy is difficult to

implement

Mitigation factors

These issues can be resolved by forming a

Public Private Partnership between the

Government and Private firms

Camps and movements to help raise

awareness and educate the public

should be initiated

References

2009-10 Annual Report the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)

The Hindu, “India's population to surpass China's by 2025”

"ALL INDIA REGIONWISE GENERATING INSTALLED CAPACITY OF POWER". Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power, Government of India.

The New York Times, “Drowning in a sea of garbage”.

The New York times, “A City That Turns Garbage Into Energy Copes With a Shortage”.

Greenearth

Wikipedia

Central pollution control board

The World Bank Data Bank