IIT Madras-developed solid waste combustor commissioned at BHEL factory

NEW DELHI: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has developed a municipal solid waste combustor pilot plant based on rotary furnace technology with the objective to process unsegregated municipal solid waste (MSW) efficiently. The combustor is deployed at a Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited factory in Trichy, Tamil Nadu.

According to a statement from IIT Madras, the municipal solid waste combustor it developed is fully indigenously built and is capable of processing up to one ton of unsegregated municipal solid waste per day. The combustor will generate steam as output with clean gaseous emissions. Ash will be produced as a by-product too.

IIT Madras researchers developed the MSW combustor as part of the BHEL project called Ucchatar Avishkaar Yojana(UAY) under the union education ministry. IIT Madras researchers developed the MSW combustor at the National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD).

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V Kamakoti, director of IIT Madras inaugurated the MSW combustor unit today, May 27, 2022, at BHEL Trichy. IIT Madras associate professor R Vinu from the chemical engineering department led the project. He participated in the inauguration event.

"Waste Management is becoming an important issue that necessitates solutions that can scale and also help in quick and safe disposal. The first-of-its-kind Solid Waste Combustor developed by IIT Madras not only addresses the scale and safe disposal issues, but also generates heat resulting in a waste-to-wealth creation,” said Kamakoti.

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