Team News Riveting
Tonnes of waste collected every day at the Bowenpally market in Hyderabad that was once worthless and ending up in landfills was now adding meaning to people’s lives.
The vegetable, fruit, and even flower waste collected at the market is now being used to generate around 500 units of electricity and 30 kg of biofuel. The electricity generated is consumed to light up over 100 streetlights, 170 stalls, an administrative building and the water supply network. Meanwhile, the generated biofuel is pumped into the canteen kitchen of the market.
The eco-friendly initiative of the market was appreciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the 73rd episode of his monthly radio programme on Sunday. “A local vegetable market — Bowenpally Sabzi Mandi — of Hyderabad, which is generating electricity from vegetable leftovers and turning waste into wealth,” Modi said.
“We have observed that in sabzi mandis, vegetables rot due to multiple reasons spreading unhygienic conditions. However, traders at Hyderabad’s Bowenpally Sabzi Mandi decided to produce electricity out of waste vegetables. This is the power of innovation,” he said. This is the journey of turning garbage into gold from almost 10 tonnes of waste collected in a plant every day. Also, 500 units of electricity is produced daily apart from about 30 kg biofuel,” he added.
The Bowenpally market requires around 800-900 units of electricity on a daily basis, of which 500 units are now being generated from the waste management plant.
The process of biomethanation starts with tonnes of vegetable waste first put on the conveyor belts that carry it to shredders. The shredded waste is then converted into a slurry and is put into large containers or pits to start the process of anaerobic digestion. Organic waste is eventually converted into biofuel, which has two major components, methane and carbon dioxide.
The fuel is then put into ‘100 per cent biogas generators’ that converts the fuel into electricity. Apart from generating electricity and biofuel, the plant is also generating organic manure that can be used in farming.
