The new mobile incinerator has started functioning on a trial basis behind the Palayam market. (The functioning started on Sunday).
Officials of the Suchitwa Mission assessed the equipment’s efficiency and determined whether it met the design parameters they had specified.
The fears regarding emission had been allayed as the figures displayed by the truck-mounted garbage disposal system was far below the limit set by the Pollution Control Board (PCB), they said.
“Since it is still the trial period, we have not yet determined a fixed schedule regarding how long it will lie here and where it will be moved to next. Also, considering that so much garbage has accumulated behind the fish market here, the machine will tend to it first,” Suchitwa Mission Executive Director George Chakacherry said.
In due course, people will grow less suspicious of the contraption and would not protest its presence in their wards once the system was proved effective, he said.
The machine was purchased by the Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO) from the Ahmedabad-based Chintan Sales which manufactured the machine.
Nitin Shah, chief executive officer of the company, said the components of the machine were tuned to ensured that emission norms were abided by and energy was conserved best.
“The release of gases is over five times less that the prescribed limit. While the burning chambers and cyclone separators deal with the waste put in, we have also installed separate sections such as quench systems and scrubbers which would ensure that the emission of gases such as sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide will remain well below the maximum value,” Mr. Shah said.
The machine deals with both bio-degradable and plastic wastes.
However, doubts had been raised on the economic viability of the machine, in terms of the fuel required and the amount of garbage it can treat per hour. “On an average, the machine requires 70 litres of diesel to both burn the waste and produce electricity to run the other components of the machine,” Mr. Shah said.
There were variables at play such as moisture content and the calorific value of the waste being put into the machine, he said.
More moisture meant more fuel requirement. Higher calorific value would mean less diesel, he said.
“The amount of waste that can be treated could be between 500 kg and one tonne per hour,” he said.
The machine performed without glitches during the trials but a committee constituted by the government was closely monitoring the performance, Mr. Chakacherry said.
“The committee included representatives of Suchitwa Mission, Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO), PCB, a mechanical expert from the Public Works Department, and the Corporation Engineer,” he said.
The ash collected from the incinerator by the Corporation would be tested for quality and supplied to brick- and cement-making units, he said.
