New bio-digesters ready for waste management

Field-level tests being conducted in Kerala apartments

April 01, 2017 12:21 am | Updated 07:38 am IST - RUDRARAM

Medak,Telangana,30/03/2017:IICT Chief Scientist Johny Joseph addressing the Students of Gitam in Sangareddy Dist. ----PHOTO: Mohd Arif

Medak,Telangana,30/03/2017:IICT Chief Scientist Johny Joseph addressing the Students of Gitam in Sangareddy Dist. ----PHOTO: Mohd Arif

In a move that will make the garbage disposal more easy, a new gadget has been designed and developed by Johny Joseph, Chief Scientist, at Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT).

The Modular High Rate Bio Digester designed by Mr. Johny Joseph was tested at field level and being used at Kochi in Kerala. About 20 apartments have been using them and the result is more than satisfactory.

The Bio-gas, a by-product that comes with treatment of garbage, can be used by the apartment watchman for cooking. The disposable garbage would be segregated at source and all the bio-disposables can be put into the CSIR-IICT digesters which can make the disposable easy at door step.

The apartments in Kerala have about 50 families and hence they were using 50 kilogram bio-disposable digesters whereas the apartments in Hyderabad typically have only about 25 apartments. A bio-digester with a capacity of 25 kg was enough to meet the requirement of many apartments in Hyderabad.

Addressing the TEDx programme held at Hyderabad campus of GITAM University here on Thursday, Mr. Johny Joseph said that the product was developed with the funding from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry of New Renewable Energy (MNRE), Department of Science and Technology (DST) and IICT.

So far about 20 digesters were established at Kerala after first one was tested and installed in 2014. Some agencies from Nagapur, Pune, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad had already approached Mr. Joseph seeking technology transfer. The defence department in Delhi is installing CSIR-IICT digesters at the naval base in Kochi on pilot basis.

“There are four types of garbage disposal practices including landfills, incineration, composting and anaerobic digestion. We are practising the anaerobic digestion.

Advanced engineering principles are applied to increase process efficiency and also to prevent operational difficulties,” said Mr. Johny Joseph.

Recently a bio-digester was installed at a restaurant near IICT and some of the local bodies were showing interest in the this technology, said the IICT scientist.

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