Wealth from Waste: Waste Biomass Valorization Opportunities in India Dr Christopher Tuck c.tuck@nottingham.ac.uk
Nottingham University
Carbon Neutral Laboratory
Centre for Sustainable Chemistry
Background PhD Title Selective Oxidation of Lignin in High Temperature Water Prof. Martyn Poliakoff s research group Business Science Fellow (Green Chemistry) working in the Business Partnership Unit of Chemistry in collaboration with Sustein Ltd
Background PhD Title Selective Oxidation of Lignin in High Temperature Water Prof. Martyn Poliakoff s research group Oxidation of lignin in supercritical water Business Science Fellow (Green Chemistry) working in the Business Partnership Unit of Chemistry in collaboration with Sustein Ltd
Waste Biomass/Biomass byproducts Cheaper than energy crops Large scale Production does not require additional land/fertilisers/fossil fuels Avoids food vs fuel conflicts
Waste Biomass Agricultural field residues Agricultural process residues Municipal solid waste
Waste Biomass Agricultural residual biomass has existing uses These include: Fodder Energy Soil quality
Nearly all waste has some value Potential for increasing this value by targeting more profitable conversion routes There are still large scale waste products which add no value or even incur some sort of cost
Nearly all waste has some value Potential for increasing this value by targeting more profitable conversion routes There are still large scale waste products which add no value or even incur some sort of cost
Waste Valorization Routes Average bulk chemical 1000 Transport Fuel 200-400 Cattle feed 70 200 Generating Electricity 60-150 Value $/tonne biomass Landfill Negative value of ~ $400 tonne Tuck, C. O., Perez, E., Horváth, I.T., Sheldon, R. A., Poliakoff, M. (2012) Valorization of biomass: deriving more value from waste Science, 337, 695.
Waste Biomass Agricultural field residues Agricultural process residues Municipal solid waste
Field Residues Rice wheat system (RWS) Rice grown from June to October Wheat from November to March Crop residues are disposed of before new crop is planted
Field Residues Poor degradability Low fodder value Increased use of combine harvesters Lack of feasible disposability options Prabhat K. Gupta (2004) Residue burning in rice wheat cropping system: Causes and implications
Crop Residues 45, 60, 63 Mtonnes estimated to have been burnt in 1994, 2005, 2010 CO 2 emissions, smog, atmospheric pollution, respiratory problems Provide incentives for collection of residues Baling, collecting, and 5 km transport = 650 Rs/tonne of straw
Crop Residues A cheap source of biomass for conversion to fuels or chemicals
However Questions over sustainability removal/burning of residues reduces soil quality Agricultural residues are seasonal A steady stream of waste is preferable
Municipal Solid Waste in India 110000 170000 tonnes/day in 2011 By 2041 400000 tonnes/day Sustainable Solid Waste Management in India Ranjith Annepu (2012) A Global Review of Solid Waste Management World Bank (2012)
32% 18% 50% Organics Inert Recycleables
Potential resource of up to 31 million tonnes per year Steady stream Majority of MSW is sent to dumping grounds
Year Area of Land Occupied / Required for MSW Disposal (sq.km) City Equivalents 1947 2001 240 50% of Mumbai 1947 2011 380 90% of Chennai 1947 2021* 590 Hyderabad 2009 2047* 1400 Hyderabad + Mumbai + Chennai *Based on a business as usual scenario
Landfill fires emit 20,000 tonnes of pollutants a year in Mumbai alone Emissions included furans, dioxins, NO x, and Carbon monoxide Decomposing organic matter also emits methane, which has over 20 times more potent global warming potential than CO 2
Organic matter leads to pests and insects Vectors for diseases including Dengue fever, Cholera, and Bubonic plague
Solutions? Burn MSW for power? India has begun to invest in waste to energy plants
Waste to Energy: Advantages Recovers energy from the biomass fraction of the waste Greatly reduces the volume of material that must be landfilled
Waste to Energy: Disadvantages MSW has a high moisture content due to high organic % High proportion of paper, plastics and cardboard must also be incinerated Waste pickers lose their livelihood Value is lost from recycleables Opposition from local residents due to fears over emissions
Organic fraction should be the target! Separation at source is the best solution Lack of compliance Space is an issue multiple bins More refuse collections Technical solutions?
Waste autoclave technology Pre-treatment step Separates the MSW into an organic fraction, and both cleans and sterilises the recycleables Already being used to treat hazardous/medical waste in India
Waste autoclave technology Wilson Steam System Greater than 10 years optimisation Most efficient autoclave process identified by Sustein Process guarantee backed by QBE insurance Australia
Pressure = 5 bar Temperature =160 C
Mechanical + heat treatment
Plant is can meet it s own energy requirements with 1/4 of the organic fibre
Wilson Steam Advantages Clean and sterile stream of recycleables Organic fibre Odour is greatly reduced Modular approach, each 2 autoclave module can process 150000 tonnes p/a
Organic fibre
Thanks for listening! Waste is a resource in the wrong place! Mahatma Gandhi Acknowledgements: Martyn Poliakoff Sustein Wilson Steam Gerald Busca