Converting Urban Waste To Energy
Converting Urban Waste To Energy
Converting Urban Waste To Energy
By:DEEPAK SAINI
INDEX
TOPIC PAGE
3 ABSTRACT ..........................................................................................
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 4 ARGUMENTS AGAINST INCINERATION................................................... 5 BIOGAS PLANTS USING MSW............................................................ 6 POTENTIAL SITES IN DELHI...................................................................... 7 BENEFITS OF MEDIUM SCALE BIOGAS PLANTS........................................ 8 ROADBLOCKS.......................................................................................... 9 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................... 10 REFERENCES............................................................................................ 11
ABSTRACT
Energy recovery from Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) generated in New Delhi is studied. The two options available are recovery of Biogas and energy due to the firing (incineration) of MSW as fuel are reviewed. Earlier studies (1*) have proposed that continuous recovery of energy from the citys MSW through Biogas needs a lot of planning with respect to the design, construction, operation and maintenance of landfills & yield of Biogas with respect to the age of landfills is often a limitation for planning purposes. Electric power Generation (EPG) by firing MSW as fuel in the boiler-steam-turbine system (called Incineration) was also studied and it was found that the EPG is directly proportional to the calorific value of MSW fired, following an empirical relation. For encouraging results, it is suggested that, the combustible organic wastes be segregated from the MSW stream. However, incineration has been far less successful than expected and has caused a lot of pollution. In this report, the technical, social and economicprospects of setting up medium scale biogas plants for urban poor (those living in slums)and suburban people is considered. Considering the current boom in gas prices and the ever increasing quantity of MSW, this proposition seems more feasible.
INTRODUCTION
The quantity of municipal solid wastes generated in Delhi has been consistentlyrising over the years. This can be attributed to the rapid population growth, massmigration of population from rural to urban areas, increase in economic activities ingeneral in the city and the change in lifestyle of the people.Solid waste management is a part of the Public health and sanitation and falls within the purview of the powers of the State. The local Governments are therefore entrusted with the task of solid waste service delivery with their own staff, equipment and funds. A 2009 survey by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) estimated that Delhi produces 6,800 tonnes of solid waste a day,of which 94% goes to dumpinggrounds. The estimate is in accordance with the average per capita generation (PCG) of 0.5 Kg/day of MSW in the country (*2).A 2007 report by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), a nodal environmental body for the Capital, said that landfills were not a solution for the current Municipal Solid Waste crisis in the city.(*3) The population of Delhi is estimated to be about 1.68 Crore(*4). By the above PCG, the net MSW would be about 8,400 tonnes a day. It needs to be managed. At the same time the energy needs of the country are rising rapidly. Converting MSW into energy is an elegant solution. Energy can be recovered from MSW in the following forms:
ENERGY RECOVERY FROM MSW
Biogas plants:
Recovery of Biogas and utilizing its energy content
Incineration:
Usage of MSW as fuel, either as-discarded basis or processed (Refuse derived fuel or RDF), for generation of steam through boilers Incineration is the dominant practice today but has significant disadvantages. This report stresses on the fact that incineration must be discouraged and biogas plants must be used for energy generation. It also explores the possibility of using small scale biogas plants instead of large ones and providing this biogas to sub urban areas.
The Nehru Vihar Waste to Energy Plant, that was set up in North Delhi after purchasing everything from abroad (no names, for lack of a more irrational government) and installed in full glory to convert Delhis waste into electricity DID NOT WORK FOR EVEN A SINGLE DAY. Reason, figured after making all the payments to the seller country: Delhis waste does not have the required calorific value to burn and produce electricity.
Regarding the pollution from incineration plants, a news report (*5) said: The polluting potential of a plant using municipal solid waste as fuel is serious. Emissions include suspended particulate matter (SPM), sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), hydrogen chloride (HCl), and dioxins and furans, which are among the most toxic substances known to science. Dioxins and furans can cause cancer in humans, while SPMs, SOx and NOx are known to cause heart attacks and respiratory diseases, among other things. The fly ash and bottom ash generated during incineration contain high concentrations of heavy metals such as mercury and lead toxic substances known to affect the central nervous system. Running such plants in a city is a dangerous proposition. Furthermore, incineration cannot run only on kitchen waste. So these incineration plants burn cardboard, paper etc as these have higher calorific value. But paper and cardboard can be recycled can provides livelihood to about 10,000 rag pickers in Delhi.
Besides these, the slums and J.J.Colonies in Delhi are also good potential sites.
There are several villages in Delhi. Some of them are 1. ShahbadDaulatpur 2. Mongol Puri 3. Badli 4. PausangiPur 5. SamayPur 6. Chandrawali 7. Karawal Nagar 8. HumayunPur 9. Okhla 10. Tihar village 11. Munirka The cow dung and farm waste in these villages can be supplemented with the MSW of surrounding areas to generate biogas. Manure produced can be used by the farmers in these villages. Delhi shares borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. These are agrarian states and thus provide a huge market for the manure produced in Delhis biogas plants. Government institutions like MCD, NDMC, DCB and CPWD can buy this manure for the parks they maintain.
ROADBLOCKS
Despite its positives biogas has not caught up in urban and suburban areas even though India is a world leader in running biogas plants in rural areas. This is because rural biogas plants use farm produce which requires gasification technique which is quite developed in India while biogas plants working with MSW work on the basis of digestion process in which we are rather less proficient. But since the opening up of the Indian economy technology transfer has been expedited. Research work has also been done in India and some designs like Nisargruna Biogas plants have been developed. (*6) To become popularthis technology needs the backing of local government as well asNGOs, which has so far been negligible.
CONCLUSION
Energy recovery from MSW generated in NewDelhi is studied. The two options available are recovery of Biogas and energy due to firing (incineration) of MSWas fuel are reviewed. Delhis experiences with incineration have been negatives. Less calorific value of MSW, exorbitantly priced foreign technology, pollution from incineration plants and loss to recycle industry are the various reasons for this. There has been large scale public outcry against the already operational and proposed incineration plants in Delhi. Continuous recovery of energy from the citys MSW through Biogas needs a lot of planning with respect to the design, construction, operation and maintenance of landfills. The yield of Biogas with respect to the age of landfills is often a limitation for planning purposes. In Indian conditions, this is estimated as 7-10 years. The Pilot plant studies conducted in New Delhi in 1984 have also confirmed this aspect. The prospect of running medium scale biogas plants in suitable locations of Delhi has been considered. These areas have the potential to provide biogas to the suburban areas. The benefits of this approach are also considered.For encouraging results, it is recommended that, the combustible organic wastes be segregated from the MSW stream. It is also suggested that, the biogas available from MSW be utilized in pocketed areas in the city such as slums, suburban villages, dairies and fruits & vegetable markets where high amount of combustible organic wastes will be generated and their collection efficiency is also expected to be highe
REFERENCES
*1-ENERGY RECOVERY FROM URBAN SOLID WASTES A CASE STUDY V. Ramakrishna and B.V. Babu, Birla Institute of Technology & SciencePilani, Issued in 1998 *2-Urban Solid Waste Management A special reference to Delhi, Ramakrishna V, Project Report submittedto Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani. (1993). *3-By Toxics Link, New Delhi, 21/07/2007
*4-Jindal Group's upcoming waste-to-energy plant has Delhi fuming. News report by Sruthijith KK, ET Bureau Oct 6, 2011 *5-Bhide A.D. (1994).Methane emissions from landfills, Journal IAEM, Vol. 21, pp. 1-7. *6-http://www.green-ensys.org/site/Biogas_Plant.html . The design was developed by BARC, with help from other institutions.