1. FUTURE CITIES
TURNING TRASH INTO CASH
A radical waste to energy scheme
Team Members:
1. Mohamed Zeeshan
2. Sachin Bhat
3. Subhash Saravanan
4. Vamsi Krishna
5. Vignesh Shekhar
Team Name: Josephites1
E-mail: mohamedzeeshan5@gmail.com

2. Source: Central pollution control board 2010-2011
It is estimated that Urban India generates 55 million tonnes of
Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) annually.
MSW generation in top 10 cities
6800
6500
4500
4200
3700
3670
2300
1600
1300
1200
MSWINTONS/DAY
Key points
 India is set to surpass China’s total
population by 2025.
 Volume of MSW generated will increase
proportionally.
 The waste is collected in large land fills
without proper planning
 Only 1.4% of the MSW collected is
disposed of properly.
 The waste presently dumped on open
land causes a myriad of environmental,
health and development problems.

3. Demand for electricity in urban areas far exceeds the availability.
All India generating capacity in MW
(31/07/2013)
153848
4780
39623
27542
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
160000
180000
Thermal Nuclear Hydro Renewable
Key points
 India is the 4th largest energy consumer in
the world
 City dwellers face constant power outages
 Industries, Hospitals, Schools and colleges
affected
 Significant impact on the income of daily
wage workers
 Only 12% of energy is derived from
renewable sources
 There is a need to supplement the existing
systems with the means to supply for
increasing demand
Source: Central Electricity Authority

4. Turning excess waste into usable energy is a step forward in mitigating
these issues
Waste to energy
Renewable source
Raw materials readily available
Zero pollution
Efficient waste reduction
Implementation
Waste to be collected door to door and
from all other public places in an efficient
manner
Collected waste to be pyrolised to create
syngas
Burning syngas will create heat required to
generate power
Advantages
Ensures the cleanliness in the city
Reduces the risk of leachates from landfills
polluting groundwater
Supplements conventional energy
generation
Residues left behind can be used in
making roads, fertilizers etc.

5. The composition of MSW across urban India is consistent, hence Waste
to energy (WtE) is viable
 Almost half of the solid waste generated
in urban India is organic
 This high percentage of organic matter
hits the sweet spot for various WtE
schemes
 WtE is similar to thermal energy
generation
 Instead of fossil fuels it aims to take
advantage of the carbon present in the
organic matter
 From the graph, it is observed that MSW in
India has a high moisture content

6. Segregation Collection Treatment Generation
A bird’s eye view of the solution proposed
• Segregation of the wastes
is the most essential stage
• It will be done in the
household level as well as
in public spaces
• It will employ colour coded
waste bins and bags
• The following colour code is
to be used
Organic Paper
Plastic Metal
Glass Hazardous
• Collection of the waste will
be on a door-to-door basis
• The collected trash will be
transported to the
treatment facility in closed
vehicles
• This system particularly
helps in formally employing
the rag pickers in the cities
• The collected waste is
transferred to the landfill
area
• The treatment facility will
be in-situ
• This stage requires
segregation of the
collected waste into
degradable, recyclable
and other inert wastes
• The organic waste is
converted chemically into
a gas which is used in
generationWill employ
3000+ workers
• Heat energy can be derive
by burning this gas (syngas)
• This heat energy is used to
generate electricity and/or
provide for heating systems
• According to the MNRE its is
estimated that WtE can
yield an approximate 1500
MW of power on a national
scale

7. Pyrolysis
Syngas
Energy
Wet
waste
Dry
waste
Treatment
Method
 The waste is segregated into degradable, recyclable, and inert
wastes.
 The wet degradable waste is dried using blowers.
 This would result in reduction of the weight by half.
 The dry waste is subject to PYROLYSIS.
 Pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic
material at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen.
 This results in the production of syngas which is a flammable
mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
 The syngas is used to drive dynamos to generate electricity.
 The generated power will vary with the quantity of waste.
 Processing 300 tons per day will yield an average of 3 MW per
hour.
Surplus energy

8. Impact of the proposed solution
Criteria to measure the impact
 Total power generated
 By-products of the process
 Revenue generated
 Generation of new jobs
Immediate impact
 The proposed solution will seek to improve or resolve
the intermittent power supply in urban centres
 The by-products at the end of the process will aid in
providing raw materials and/or additives for various
products in different sectors
 Selling of the segregated recyclables and residual
matter will generate additional revenue
 An estimated 500,000+ jobs to be created across
urban India for technical graduates as well as for
illiterates

9. Scalability
 The initial phase incorporates MSW only
 The technology is present to include sewage treatment as well which can be
incorporated in subsequent phases.
 Deployment of digesters, incinerators and biogas generation plants in later phases will
increase overall efficiency.
 The scaled up project not only helps the public sector but also manufacturing, transport
and agricultural sectors.
 The mainstream deployment of the proposed system is shown below.

11. The challenges and risks involved
Concept Risks
• Financially, the initial investment cost is
high
• The technology used to implement the
plan has to be imported
Implementation challenges
• The general public may not comply to the
strict onsite garbage segregation norms
• A “No Littering” policy is difficult to
implement
Mitigation factors
These issues can be resolved by forming a
Public Private Partnership between the
Government and Private firms
Camps and movements to help raise
awareness and educate the public
should be initiated

12. References
 2009-10 Annual Report the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)
 The Hindu, “India's population to surpass China's by 2025”
 "ALL INDIA REGIONWISE GENERATING INSTALLED CAPACITY OF POWER". Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of
Power, Government of India.
 The New York Times, “Drowning in a sea of garbage”.
 The New York times, “A City That Turns Garbage Into Energy Copes With a Shortage”.
 Greenearth
 Wikipedia
 Central pollution control board
 The World Bank Data Bank