Managing waste by fueling cement kilns !

Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
Recently a team lead by Chief Minister’s Infrastructure Advisor Pradeep Singh visited several cement plants located in Raipur and Hyderabad. The team visited Ambuja and RCC cement plants in Raipur , Gulbarga and Hyderabad. Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) Riyaz Ahmad Wani representatives of various cement plants like Khyber Cement, Itefaq Cement, J&K Cements Ltd, Illahi Cements, SAIFCO Cements, TCI MAX also accompanied CM’s advisor. The idea of this trip was to see how the cement plants outside J&K are efficiently using Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) in the cement plants. Few weeks before this trip SMC on the advice of Pradeep Singh had organized a meeting of around two dozen cement and brick kiln owners of Kashmir wherein some experts threw light on use of RDF in cement plants. Bhopal based waste management expert Imitiaz Ali gave a detailed presentation to the gathering on this topic. It was decided only after the said meeting that some cement plant owners be taken to visit few cement plants outside state so that they themselves see how RDF is efficiently working as an alternate source of fuel in cement plants.
What is RDF ?
Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) is obtained from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) after the same is segregated and processed. This is the product of processing municipal solid waste to separate the noncombustible from the combustible portion, and preparing the combustible portion into a form that can be effectively fired in a kiln.  After segregating the waste from bio-degradable part it is dried to remove moisture. The waste is then shredded. RDF consists of Plastics waste, slow-biodegradable items like wood etc. National Green Tribunal (NGT) has permitted some states to use this technology. Karnataka which is struggling with huge solid wastes produced in Bangalore and Mangalore alone have also been given green signal by NGT to make RDF as an alternate fuel. There are some concerns expressed during production of RDF such as cost effectiveness of the process for power generation. Some toxic and heavy metal e-wastes which shouldn’t be put to incinerators, hence careful segregation is important. Also metal, glass, bio-degradable waste need to be removed. That is why Municipalities and agencies undertaking solid waste management must do effective waste segregation particularly by way of door to door collection of waste in a segregated manner. This will help effective management of Municipal Solid waste as well which is a matter of great concern for environmentally fragile state of Jammu & Kashmir. Toxic and polluting gases are emitted by RDF during power generation. RDF can be used as alternative fuel in Thermal power plant, cement factories to make them cost effective. There are several studies which have showed that the content of nitrogen in RDF is lower than in fossil fuels (0.3-0.5% versus 1.5-2%), It means that oxides of Nitrogen (NOX  emissions)  from RDF are lower for fossil fuel (coal, petroleum products etc).As per studies carried out by Mumbai based Rochem Green Energy  Pvt Ltd the calorific value of RDF is 3250 K cal / Kg while as Coal has 4000 K cal / Kg. So there is not much difference between the two. The ash content is less in RDF 13 % , while as Coal has 30 % ash content. The cost of coal is Rs 5to 6 / Kg while as RDF would cost Rs 1 to 2  / Kg across Indian states. The carbon content in coal is 34.69 % while as RDF has 37 % carbon content.
Conclusion :
An estimated 450 -500 metric tons of solid waste is generated daily in Srinagar city alone. Out of this waste not even 5 percent is segregated. SMC takes this waste to Achan landfill site in Srinagar outskirts. One can find  huge garbage heaps (cells) at Achan with thousands of metric tons of garbage in it. This garbage can be treated through mechanical segregation and Bio Remediation in a phased manner. After segregation, the non-biodegradable (plastic polythene waste) can be converted into RDF. The organic part can be converted into compost. The solid waste collected on daily basis is to be segregated at source so that effective material is available for RDF. This is only possible when people are made aware about the segregation process. There is great role of NGOs who can go to residential colonies and handhold people in ensuring proper segregation of waste. The waste is to be collected  into two trash bins which will be then lifted on daily basis by specially designed vehicles and other local bodies. Similar process can be undertaken in Jammu city as well.
Right now all the unsegregated waste is dumped at Bagwati Nagar dump site of Jammu city from last many decades. RDF can be manufactured in major towns like Jammu ,Udhampur , Kathua , Baramulla, Sopore, Anantnag as well . Government has already clubbed 3 to 4 smaller towns into clusters and hopefully we may be able to get the RDF from these clusters from March or April this year if Government is really serious about it. Private enterprises and waste management companies who make RDF from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) have not shown much interest in J&K Urban Local Bodies bid process in-spite of the fact that three pre bid meetings took place in Srinagar and Delhi. If there are very less bureaucratic hurdles I am sure these organizations will be ready to work here. Unless Government and municipal authorities  coordinate efficiently with the private enterprises and companies involved in this whole work, municipal waste will not be managed in our state for years to come. This will lead our state towards a big disaster in coming years. I would suggest J&K Government particularly Deputy CM, Administrative Secretary Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD), CMs Advisor Pradeep Singh to invite private enterprises to visit our various municipal landfill sites so that they access the ground situation here.
Unless private enterprises who are into  RDF business feel secure and get cooperation from our Government, nobody will even participate in the bidding process. The role of our Government agencies vis a vis waste management has been very discouraging from last several years and this attitude needs to be changed. Cement companies who are the ultimate users of RDF should also be taken into confidence. RDF should be manufactured on pilot basis locally and then it should be tested in cement kilns to test its efficiency. National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have already approved use of RDF in cement plants and we hope locally produced RDF will be the best source of fuel for our cement plants in future.
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