Waste lights up GIDC at Naroda

Firm converts waste from nearby units into methane; greenhouse gas is chanelled into generator to produce electricity. Yearly savings add up to Rs 2.07 lakh


Industrial waste is powering lights at the Naroda GIDC. Naroda Enviro Projects Ltd collects waste from agro-based industries in the estate to generate electricity that lights up its premises. The firm is not just getting the best out of waste, it is creating wealth out of waste, too.

The no-profit company generates 130 units of power every day. As one unit of electricity costs Rs 6. In a day, electricity worth Rs 780 is produced here. In a year, the savings add up to Rs 2.07 lakh.

The green idea germinated after the Gujarat High Court in 1995 ordered factory owners to clean up their act and stop dumping hazardous industrial waste into the Sabarmati.

 

The HC directive prompted the state government to transform existing industrial estates in Gujarat into Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs). Under the eco-networking concept designed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the University  of Kaiserslautern in Germany, waste from one industry will be used as raw material for another.

The pilot project was introduced at Naroda Industrial Estate, which contains 900 industries. The estate approached the Centre for Environment Education for help.

Former CEE Programme Director Dr R Gopichandran said, “As  biodegradable waste could not be dumped, the idea was to convert it into an energy source. GEDA helped co-finance the project.”

Naroda Enviro Projects Ltd (NEPL), a section-25 company, spearheaded the project by setting up a common effluents treatment plant in its premises.

The process

The firm collects degradable waste like sesame seeds, sugar syrup, decomposed fruits and vegetables, herbal waste, banana skin, potato skin, oil sludge and rejected bread from industries like Samrat Namkeen, Rasranjan, Azad Food, Gwalia Sweets, Monginis and Modern Bread.

Everyday, it gets 2 to 6 tonnes of waste. Using a manual crusher, the refuse is turned into slurry and sent to an underground digester where the decomposed material generates methane. The gas is channelled into a dual fuel generator, which also uses 20 per cent diesel, to generate electricity. The power is used to light up the common effluent treatment plant at night.

That’s not all. The plant also generates 245 kg of organic fertiliser each day. Sold at Re 1 per kg, it yields Rs 89,425 each year.

Cleaner production

NEPL trustee Shailesh Patwari said, “The fertiliser is in demand even in Hong Kong. We began the project in 2002 to ensure cleaner production at Naroda GIDC. The waste generated by the industries were earlier discarded outside the units, creating filthy and unhygienic surroundings. When we tested the waste, we realised that it had calorific value and released gases. The pilot project was set up here for Rs 10 lakh. The Gujarat Energy and Development Agency (GEDA) bore 75 per cent of the cost. The rest was paid by the estate.

 “The research and development on waste was conducted in Vadodara. Today, the success of this project has motivated other industrial estates in the state to implement it on their premises,” said Patwari

Carbon credits

The project can be implemented at hospitals, hotels, vegetable markets or any place that produces waste. Since the project utilises methane — a relatively potent greenhouse gas — it will help the user earn carbon credits.

To gather more waste, the NEPL has now approached the AMC. The request is under process. Meanwhile, the firm continues to light up the path for other industrial estates, the green way.