Kochi Waste to Energy Project
Benefits of the Project
The expected benefits of Kochi’s waste-to-energy project are numerous.
An international competitive tender was published by Kochi Municipal Corporation through KITCO as transactional advisors in March 2014 for the treatment and disposal of unsegregated MSW at Brahmapuram. The project was on a Public Private Partnership [PPP] basis and required the winning bidder to Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBOFT) the facility for 20 years. Through a very comprehensive bidding and technical evaluation process we have secured the contract in Q1 2016. The total capital expenditure (Rs. 375 CR) for the project will be invested by the company and no government investment is involved in this project.
The project is fully supported by the Corporation, State Government and the Government of India as a key priority for the city and as a benchmark for the rest of India. The corporation is responsible to deliver the required 300 Metric Tonnes of MSW to the facility on a daily basis.
The power generated from the MSW will be purchased by Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) under a secured power purchase agreement as part of the contract. The power generated will be Green energy preventing significant amount of methane and CO2 generation from the existing MSW dumping site. This project will place Kochi in the world map for adopting proven scientific initiative for carbon reduction through sustainable MSW management solution.
The MSW from Kochi possess several technical and practical challenges when conversion to effective energy generation source. The higher moisture content, seasonal variations in waste profile and low calorific value are some of the key challenges. The detailed waste analysis from the source, day to day content profiling, Calorific value testing, moisture content, inert material variation and the seasonal organic and moisture variation profile over the past 2 years provided the company with a statistical profile of the Kochi‘s MSW. The technological solutions were carefully selected by our technical expert panel to ensure robust operations with efficiency.
The unsegregated waste is verified and profiled before transferring to the collection bay and the MSW is initially treated through a proven state of the art German Bio Drying process for a period of over 20 days to remove the moisture from the organic materials and convert it to usable fuel. This technology uses minimal energy with effective drying through eco-friendly patented natural process.
This technology is well proven globally as this process efficiently dries the entire organic mass including the internally trapped water molecules. The segregation is fully automated as the dried MSW will be easier to segregate with automated verification process followed by manual confirmation ensuring removal of chlorinated plastics, recyclable materials and inert materials from the Refused Derived Fuel (RDF). The RDF will be stored based on varying calorific values in different automated chambers prior to blending and feeding in the Gasification process.
The controlled RDF from the blending process will be fed through the automated Gasifier to generate syngas ‘which will be utilised as a fuel source in the Steam power generator. Gasification is proven globally as a robust method in the MSW to Energy generation process when RDF is controlled adequately. Our British Gasifier is a new generation Gasifier with higher efficiency and operational robustness.
The inbuilt emission treatment system is supported by world-class emission controls which fully complies with the much stringent EU emission and pollution control guidelines. The plant is designed to set world class emission standards in Kochi through this project. The emission levels from the plant will comfortably meet all Indian standards and exceeds European requirements. The leachates and the ash residues from the process will be treated within the facility and no further land, air and water pollution will be induced from this plant. Each element of the technology and its providers were carefully selected to meet Kochi‘s unique MSW requirements by our experts.
The project is technically and financially viable, making it an absolute stepping stone in India‘s CO2 reduction effort through scientific waste management and green energy production. This sustainable MSW solution will enable the city of Kochi to match world class standard and this will prevent a large number of social and health concerns including stray dogs, food borne diseases, insect and rodent proliferation.
Transform Kochi: Kochi is a naturally beautiful city with an excellent commercial and Tourism potentials. The beauty of the city is tarnished by its ever growing waste, pollution, stray dogs and mosquito problems. A sustainable waste management system will eliminate a wide range of such concerns and the public will support to maintain such effective solutions.
Smart City: To be approved and acknowledged as a smart city, appropriate waste management system is a mandatory requirement
Stray Dogs: One of the biggest issue facing Kerela over last few years is the issue with stray dogs. A proper waste management system will significantly decreases the availability of food waste accessible to stray dogs
Tourism: Even though Kochi is a major tourist destination due to its history, backwaters, and lagoons and so on, the tourism is not flourishing due to poor waste management. The foul odour from waste, unclean water, mosquitoes and stray dogs directly affect the cities tourism. After the Cochin city is cleaned up, it can expect to flourish in the tourism industry, generating jobs and boosting the economy.
Mosquitoes: Over the last few decades, mosquitoes has been a curse on the Cochin city. The unclean water and poor waste management has significantly increased the number of mosquitoes, and problems related to mosquitoes.
Restore Brahmapuram: The current waste handling facility and land fill at Brahmapuram practically destroyed the area in and around Brahmapuram. It has directly affected the communities within that region. The environment is heavily polluted through the emission of methane, sulphur dioxide and other polluting gases. The leachate from the facility is contaminating the Kadambrayar and Chitrapuzha River. The new project will stop further contamination of the land and will facilitate restoration of the existing contaminated land fill.