The Golden Rock Railway Workshop here has decided to generate power from its newly commissioned biogas plant.
The eco-friendly measure has been put in place following sanction given by the Southern Railway Environment and Housekeeping Management Wing.
Established outside the workshop, the biogas plant would capture methane generated from the collection well of the sewage treatment plant.
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The captured methane would be stored in a biogas balloon installed nearby and converted into electricity using biogas generator, a workshop official said. This would prevent emission of methane.
The facility would prevent emission of 25 cubic metres of biogas from the collection well. The collection well which remained open all these years since its installation 15 years ago has now been covered using a fibre reinforced plastic dome, the official added.
The biogas plant was inaugurated by the workshop’s Chief Workshop Manager P.N. Jha as part of World Environment Day celebrations on Thursday in the presence of senior officials and those from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.
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The new plant has begun to capture methane in the biogas balloon which would be in a position to hold two cubic metres of methane. A 5 KVA biogenerator would be installed soon to produce power from biogas.
This is the first time that a biogas plant connected with sewage treatment plant had been established at the workshop which is engaged in the task of overhauling broad gauge diesel locomotives and passenger coaches besides carrying out periodic overhaul of locomotives operated in the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and manufacture of container wagons, the official said.
Power generated from the biogas plant would be used for pumping water and lighting facility at the plant. Besides this, a phytoremediation facility has been installed at the sewage treatment plant to recycle waste water to the extent of 25 kilolitre per day.
The biogas plant and phytoremediation facility has been created at a cost of ₹33 lakh.
The treated water would be utilised for gardening and at places where vegetables were being raised.
The workshop has already created an artificial pond to store rainwater; besides installing a solar power plant as part of its eco initiatives.