POST B- Converting Plastic to Fuel

Land solid waste is known to be one of the major contributors of world pollution, and its an area that some countries both developing and non-developing struggle to find a solution to. Even though some countries such as Sweden with its ability to recycle 99% of its waste with its state of the art machines, other countries like India with its 1. 3 billion population compared to 9.6 million of the former is not having much luck. It’s no news then India is one of the largest polluters of landfill.

The urban India generates around 188,500 tonnes of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) -68.9 million tonnes per year- and waste generation increases by 50% every decade (Annepu R). and the Landfill space dedicated to them is depleting as every days goes by, with many cities faced with having more waste than they can hold. This is due to the lack of the right kind of infrastructure to implement the waste separation methods that has lead to most of the by-products from the recycling process being diverted to water and air, adding more to the pollution cycle.

A municipal solid waste open dump site near Jaipur, Rajasthan, India Credit: Ranjith Annepu — A municipal solid waste open dump site near Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Credit: Ranjith Annepu

The main reasons for the decline of infrastructure are the depreciation in financial input to the recycling programs and lack of Data and awareness of the problem at hand. That being said efforts are being made to look into cheaper alternatives by allowing ‘Waste to Energy’ companies from China and South East Asia to establish their presence in the country, which would allow India to gain access to their technology for more knowledge and expertise in this area.

As part of this increased understanding, a pilot program has been initiated in the State of Pune, under the Indian civic government body, Pune Municipal Corporation. The focus of the program is to convert plastic, one of the large waste culprits into fuel for power generators. “Rudra Environmental Solutions, the company behind the technology seek to convert 9000 kg of plastic a month into 5400 litres of fuel “(Waste Plastic to fuel pilot project in India), the process follows Gasolysis which is the decomposition of a condensed substance by heating, it does not involve reaction with oxygen, a catalyst for carbon emissions, to generate poly fuels, the result is high heat value without effecting the environment. “The residue from the plant comes out in the form of tart that can be used for road-repairing” making this an environmental friendly alternative to waste recycling.

Rudra Environmental Solutions will collect the waste plastic from the ward and sell the resultant fuel

In the many attempts involved in coming up with better waste management, the use of Gasolysis by Rudra Environmental Solutions is shedding a possible light to a more economical solution which could be used by other developing countries and lead ourselves to a better future of living.