The Koyambedu Market Biogas Project
The Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex was made by CDMA to decongest the central business district of Chennai city and to facilitate trading of perishables items like vegetables, fruits and flowers. It has developed over an area of 60 acres with good infrastructural facilities to attract traders and consumers.
This Market Complex being one of the largest in Asia generates large quantity of organic wastes.
This Market Complex being one of the largest in Asia generates large quantity of organic wastes.
Biomethanation plant in Koyambedu - Presently India has about 45,000 Petrol stations. But wouldnt it be great if we have 50,000 such plants?
Previously the waste generated was collected by a private agency and transferred to a transfer station within the market complex. From there, it is transported to the Kodungaiyur dumpsite by the Corporation of Chennai. Such organic waste dumps are a potential threat to the environment and the public health. Perishable nature of these wastes coupled with high moisture content promotes natural decomposition. This leads to emission of obnoxious odours and gases like methane, carbon dioxide which are potential greenhouse gases. The organic content of the wastes also provide an ideal medium for vector and pest breeding. As a result of this, there is always a risk of epidemic.
Equipped with a Cummins Westport ISL G engine, which can run on biogas or compressed natural gasand meets 2010 emission standards without the need for the complex emission-control technology (such as diesel particulate filters and selective catalytic reduction) required for diesel trucks.
The CMDA thereby started saving substantially amount of money just on the transport of waste to the Kodungaiyur dumping ground, possibly as much as Rs. 13,00,000 a year is the official estimate or Rs 1,08,000 a month . Plus this cost is the cost of the vehicle and its maintenance, driver' fee and profit for the transporting company. All together it should not be less than 20,00,000 per year.
Add to this the substantial savings on the cost of Electricity. Thus taken together the savings are huge.
Add to this the substantial savings on the cost of Electricity. Thus taken together the savings are huge.
The Wholesale Market Complex generates up to 100 tonnes of garbage a day of which 30 tonnes of garbage suitable for power generation is segregated. Just 1% each of flower, fruit and vegetable waste is required to provide non-fibrous green waste that could be disintegrated into smaller pieces. This would be ‘digested’ in a plant that would produce methane from the waste and the gas operates an engine to produce power.
Thus such whole sale markets, fish markets, butcheries make perfect sources for setting up waste treatment plant based on high rate biomethanation (Biogas) technology to generate electricity.
The plant was commissioned late in 2005. About 30 tonnes of green waste daily is sufficient to produce 250 kilowatts (KW) of power per hour (One KW per hour is one unit of electricity). Some 40 per cent of this power is used to keep the plant running and the remainder be exported to the TNEB.
Thus such whole sale markets, fish markets, butcheries make perfect sources for setting up waste treatment plant based on high rate biomethanation (Biogas) technology to generate electricity.
The plant was commissioned late in 2005. About 30 tonnes of green waste daily is sufficient to produce 250 kilowatts (KW) of power per hour (One KW per hour is one unit of electricity). Some 40 per cent of this power is used to keep the plant running and the remainder be exported to the TNEB.
There are about 3,200 licensed shops in the flower, vegetable and fruits wholesale market, spread over nearly 60 acres
WASTE ARRANGEMENT
The Market Authorities are presently having wastes collection arrangement through its sub-contractor and the vegetable wastes is delivered at the plant site. This is a serious flaw as while using transport to ferry the waste from place to another at present they have to depend on fuel like Diesel/petro which is expensive. Either they should have started the waste treatment plant adjacent to the market or utilized electric vehicle or the best of all biogas trucks which would be completely free of cost.
The biogas generated is used as fuel in gas engine and the excess power generated is exported to TNEB grid. About 10 tonnes (approx 10,000Kg) of dewatered cake is sold/used daily as manure by CMDA. They have not mentioned at what rate they sell the dewatered manure to the farmers.
The Market Authorities are presently having wastes collection arrangement through its sub-contractor and the vegetable wastes is delivered at the plant site. This is a serious flaw as while using transport to ferry the waste from place to another at present they have to depend on fuel like Diesel/petro which is expensive. Either they should have started the waste treatment plant adjacent to the market or utilized electric vehicle or the best of all biogas trucks which would be completely free of cost.
The biogas generated is used as fuel in gas engine and the excess power generated is exported to TNEB grid. About 10 tonnes (approx 10,000Kg) of dewatered cake is sold/used daily as manure by CMDA. They have not mentioned at what rate they sell the dewatered manure to the farmers.
The Wholesale Market Complex generates up to 100 tonnes of garbage a day of which 30 tonnes of garbage suitable for power generation
PROJECT COST
Total cost of the project is about Rs. 5.00 crore (Rs 50,000,000 or US$805,801).
BENEFITS ACHIEVED
Total cost of the project is about Rs. 5.00 crore (Rs 50,000,000 or US$805,801).
BENEFITS ACHIEVED
- Avoided expenses of Rs 13,00,000 to 20,00,000 per year which was wasted on fuel for the dumping vehicles, vehicle maintenance and driver salary.
- Offset 250 kilowatts (KW) of power per hour or in 8 hrs of operation 2,000 Kw of power (8hrsx250kw).
- This 2,000kw of power from the grid is spared for some others to use thus freeing up resources.
- The plants can solve the rising incidence of burning garbage in the cities .
- Reduction in Emission of Greenhouse Gases: Waste to Energy conversion plant has resulted into 80% reduction in CHG emissions by this quantity of waste, capturing of methane and its utilization for generation of electricity.
- Employment Generation and Benefits to Local Community/Industry: Employment for about 10 persons for operation and maintenance of the Plant.
- Waste Management / Cleanliness: Project is environment friendly and provides a means of keeping the premise clean.
Move away from the use of imported Oil. Jail the corrupt who oppose it. Revoke Education Certificates of Engineers who are unable to Build or Maintain Biogas Plants properly. After all they are bleeding the Country's foreign exchange.
How to deal with inefficiencies:
One may have the best plant in the world but if it is not maintained properly it will not work. Sadly this has been the case with all the Government implemented BioGas Programme. There have been major negligence obviously caused by corruption by not allowing the biogas plants to function properly. Many excuses are given but the reasons given are so lame. After all nothing has to be done, all that has to happen for the gas to be created is for the vegetables to decay inside the plant which is a natural process without letting in oxygen, not exactly rocket science??!!??. And as in most such cases the plant is lfet abandoned after all the contractors and the concerned government officials are paid off after a certain testing period. Somebody has to be pay for Crores of taxpayers money going down the drain. For long the government staff enjoyed the benefits of power without being responsible for any thing. THIS HAS TO STOP.
After all to maintain a Biogas Plant is so simple that illiterate grandmothers are maintaining it in million households all over the world. And if the very same cannot be maintained by qualified engineers working on salaries the government should cancel the degree certificates of all engineers (both Government's Engineers and Contractor's Engineers) involved in construction and maintainable of the plant. ASAP and ask them to reappear for their exams.
One may have the best plant in the world but if it is not maintained properly it will not work. Sadly this has been the case with all the Government implemented BioGas Programme. There have been major negligence obviously caused by corruption by not allowing the biogas plants to function properly. Many excuses are given but the reasons given are so lame. After all nothing has to be done, all that has to happen for the gas to be created is for the vegetables to decay inside the plant which is a natural process without letting in oxygen, not exactly rocket science??!!??. And as in most such cases the plant is lfet abandoned after all the contractors and the concerned government officials are paid off after a certain testing period. Somebody has to be pay for Crores of taxpayers money going down the drain. For long the government staff enjoyed the benefits of power without being responsible for any thing. THIS HAS TO STOP.
After all to maintain a Biogas Plant is so simple that illiterate grandmothers are maintaining it in million households all over the world. And if the very same cannot be maintained by qualified engineers working on salaries the government should cancel the degree certificates of all engineers (both Government's Engineers and Contractor's Engineers) involved in construction and maintainable of the plant. ASAP and ask them to reappear for their exams.
Plans in other areas of Chennai:
