Railways commissions first Waste to Energy Plant at Bhubaneswar

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Indian Railways has commissioned country’s first governmental Waste to Energy Plant having capacity of 500 Kg waste per day at Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop, Bhubaneswar, in East Coast Railway. Member Rolling Stock,  Rajesh Agarwal, inaugurated this plant on January 22,2020, along with GM, East Coast Railway. This Waste to Energy Plant has been constructed in three months.

This Waste to Energy Plant, a patented technology called Polycrack, is first-of-its-kind in Indian Railways and fourth in India. It is world’s first patented heterogeneous catalytic process which converts multiple feed stocks into hydrocarbon liquid fuels, gas, carbon and water. The total plant installation cost is Rs 1.79 crore and the estimated income from the byproducts will be Rs 17.5 lakh per annum. 

Polycrack Plant can be fed with all types of Plastic, Petroleum sludge, Un-segregated MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) with moisture up to 50%, E–Waste, Automobile fluff, Organic waste including bamboo, garden waste etc., and Jatropha fruit and palm bunch. Waste generated from Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop, Coaching Depot and Bhubaneswar Railway Station will be feeder material for this plant, according to a PIB release.

The process is a closed loop system and does not emit any hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere. The combustible, non-condensed gases are re-used for providing energy to the entire system and thus, the only emission comes from the combustion of gaseous fuels. The emissions from the combustion are found to be much less than prescribed environmental norms. This process will produce energy in the form of Light Diesel Oil which is used to light furnaces.