Tura waste conversion plant to be inaugurated tomorrow
The Refuse Derived Fuel or Waste to Fuel Plant at Tura is finally set to become a reality. This ambitious and futuristic venture will be inaugurated on May 17 by Chief
A CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: The Refuse Derived Fuel or Waste to Fuel Plant at Tura is finally set to become a reality. This ambitious and futuristic venture will be inaugurated on May 17 by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma in the presence of Chang Jae-Bok, Ambassador of South Korea to India.
This pilot project between Government of Meghalaya, Tura Municipal Board and Chamhana GK, South Korea was finalized in a meeting between Chief Minister of Meghalaya and his team with senior officials of Chamhana Institute of Technology, South Korea led by Dongmin Choi, Chairman, at Shillong on March 13,2019.
The Chief Minister and team, convinced by the potential of the technology, after a detailed presentation agreed in principle to a PPP mode approach, to set up a small scale plant, on pilot project mode, with no cost to Government of Meghalaya.
Sangma laid stress that this approach was primarily to assess practical viability of the concept before deciding on introduction in treating much larger volumes of daily waste generated in Shillong and other major towns.
Accordingly, an agreement was reached to set up a small 35 MT installed capacity plant at Tura, in the existing dump yard site, with the management and maintenance of the plant and training of local resources to be done by Chamhana GK, which will have the rights to market the fuel briquettes generated from conversion of the waste, to recover its capital investment.
The project, which was to come up in 2020, was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The plant and equipment were finally shipped to India and thereafter by road to Tura in February this year.
The current project in Tura has been envisioned as a working model demonstration project (Proof of Concept), to manage the daily incoming municipal garbage of Tura and its adjoining areas.
The core of Chamhana's waste-to-fuel technology lies in the manufacturing of a catalyst - WASTEF - with the addition of a special patented enzyme. Organic Waste (Biomass) and all non-recyclables including plastic waste are the primary ingredients used to manufacture WASTEF. All waste, except for recyclables like metals, glass, wood, e-waste, construction waste etc., first goes through a crusher for rupture and thereafter mixed with the prefabricated WASTEF and enzyme, followed by the consolidation and moulding process with simultaneous moisture control by dryer machine to finally produce clean, green, odourless and smokeless fuel blocks.
The entire process flow is completed through an automated and integrated mechanism, free of manual handling.
The Chief Minister, who has invested a lot of confidence and hope on the project, is positive that if the technology succeeds, replication of the same will go a long way in resolving the rising challenge of waste management faced in Shillong, Jowai and other major towns of Meghalaya.
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