Garbage to Be Processed to Light Up the Streets in Indian State

Methane obtained from processing garbage will light up the streets of Panaji, capital of Goa.

The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) will set up a second digestor tank to treat wet waste at its Anaerobic Digestor System (ADS) Plant at Patto.

The CCP hopes to generate methane, a by-product of the treatment process, in sufficient quantities to utilise for street-lighting at Patto. At the moment methane is burnt or it would have an adverse effect on the environment. Another by-product is compost, which is being stored and can be used as manure for agriculture, Times of India reports.

The capacity of the new digestor tank will be 10 tonne, same as the existing tank. In fact, CCP officials say that the plant was designed to treat 20 tonne of wet waste, but due to marshy soil conditions, it was not possible to install a single 20 tonne capacity tank.

"We had to go in for a smaller 10 tonne capacity tank and overcome the soft soil condition with rubble packing and a vibratory roller," said a CCP official.

The first digestor tank was commissioned around three months ago, with the provision of a conveyor belt to transfer wet waste into the pulveriser in order to reduce the manual work.

A few days back, the plant broke down due to a spoon which went into the motor. "That problem arose, because an old spoon which somebody threw out was not segregated at source and was put into the wet waste instead," the official said.

The CCP is still working on a synchronisation of the total process that includes garbage collection, segregation, pulverising and feeding the digestor. The process is under study by the Mumbai-based consultant for the project, Dr S R Maley.

The cost of installing the new tank will be around Rs 15 lakh, which will take the overall cost of the ADS plant to around 75 lakh, he added.

Panaji generates around 50 tonne of garbage, out of which dry and wet waste account for 25 tonne each.

Source-Medindia
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