USEFUL WASTE - Sludge in city's rivers may soon become manure
Chennai:
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Government agencies are trying to make the most out of muck. Scientists from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on Tuesday met government agencies in the city to introduce a technology they say can convert sewage into organic manure.
Sewage being illegally let into the Adyar and Cooum has been an impeding efforts to clean up the rivers. Now the corporation, Metrowater, the state public works department and Chennai River Restoration Trust plan to reverse this and make some use of the byproduct.
Once sewage or sludge is dredged out of the rivers, a process called hygienisation will convert the waste into organic manure. It has been done before: A sewage sludge hygienisation facility set up by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation is operational in Gujarat. Ahmedabad is setting a plant and Nagpur is likely to follow suit.
The process involves exposing the sewage to gamma radiation that kills the pathogens.
“It will look like an airport conveyor belt where sewage in boxes goes through a round of gamma irradiation and comes out pathogen-free,“ BARC's senior scientist, technical coordination wing, Daniel Chellappa said. “About 99% of sewage is in liquid form and less than 1% of it is solid.The dry component is rich in organic content. After hygienisation, by adding nutrients, the dry part can be used as manure or bio-fertiliser.“
A 100mld plant can generate ample manure, and will require an investment of `10 crore to `15 crore. It can be used in parks or given to farmers. A kilogram of biofertiliser fetches `20 to `50.
“We are going to discuss the feasibility details of this technology ,“ a corporation official said.
