Main features of the projectNo monetary investment from the corporation other than providing of landNo toxins, odours or harmful sulphur emissions released to atmosphere
Resultant product and residue of biomass sanitised, ready for re-processingEligible for carbon credits by achieving EU and national targets
Requires only little energy inputBy Sanju Soman
Much has been said about waste management in Thrissur and in the state as a whole. Last Wednesday, a team of experts from RCR Power (RCRP) in England had visited the corporation authorities to explain a new system of waste management. The British team visited Kerala on the initiative of Vijay Hari, Chairman, KPCC Vichar Vibhag, Thrissur.Vijay Hari spoke to City Journal on the details of the project which offers a total solution in terms of 'waste to energy'.
Hari says, "RCRP has combined the existing and new technologies to produce the complete package, which not only rids the district of its waste, but also recycles all the unsorted household waste to create a green fuel bi-ethanol.""The project will work on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) contract. The company will finance the complete project in return for a guarantee of the delivery of all the household waste to RCRP for a period of 25 years," said Hari. The company only requires the corporation to provide eight acres of land for construction purposes. "The land will continue to remain in the corporation's control," assures Hari.
The process involves loading the waste into a shredder which breaks down the unsorted household waste into small pieces. The shredded waste is then fed into a large waste processor which injects steam at temperatures up to 160oc. This process helps in sanitising the waste and creates a biomass as byproduct. This biomass then undergoes an odour-removal process in a patented odour removal system which ensures that no toxins or fumes are emitted to theatmosphere.
During the steaming process, plastics, metals, cloth and bio-waste get separated. After sorting, degradable biomass is converted into ethanol. Ethanol is produced within 72 hours of input of biomass into the treatment plant."RCRP will use all the waste to produce ethanol, which can be used to power vehicles and planes as well as run jet turbine engines to generate electricity. This is the profit the company will gain out of the project," said Hari. Another advantage is that RCRP is ready to take up waste from households by paying some amount of money since their plant requires huge amounts of waste for smooth functioning, he added.
Currently, the corporation generates only around 100 tonnes of waste per day but the plant designed by the company requires 250 tonnes for functioning. It is a concern for the authorities. Hari says, "We have already discussed RCRP plant redesigning according to our requirements."The project is certainly beneficial for the state considering that it is a zero investment project, says Hari. "At the same time, we can also generate revenue by achieving carbon credits as per the European Union standards for being an eco-friendly and green project," he added.
"RCRP is certainly a feasible project if properly studied and worked upon. Waste through adopting the RCRP solution probably provides the greenest renewable energy currently available with a low or zero cost advantage and will certainly provide a solution to the waste management issue in our state," said Hari. 
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