WR installs 1st biogas plant at Mumbai Central, will convert waste into cooking gas
The plant can process 500 kg of organic waste in a day
In yet another step towards its commitment to ‘go green’, Western Railway (WR) has installed a biogas plant at Mumbai Central station that will convert organic waste into cooking gas.
This is the first time WR has installed such a system at any of its stations.
“It is a matter of pride that we have set up a solid waste disposal and management system (biogas) at Mumbai Central outside the Coach Care Centre as part of our environmental initiative,” an official said.
The plant has the capacity to handle 500 kg of waste or organic food and can generate gas equivalent to a regular-size cylinder. It has been built at a cost of approximately Rs 50 lakh, the official added.
2/2 The waste for Solid Waste Management system will be from trains,Mumbai Central stn & base kitchen.Capacity of plant to handle organic waste is 500 kg/day. It will help recycle wet garbage which is otherwise not accepted by the civic body & turn it into solid disposable waste pic.twitter.com/DNXqYDGzF7
— Western Railway (@WesternRly) May 24, 2018
“To run the plant, we are collecting waste from trains at the Mumbai Central station and coaching depot along with the base kitchen at Mumbai Central,” he said.
Chief spokesperson of the Western Railway Ravinder Bhakar said, “If the plant is operated at its maximum capacity, it can produce gas of equivalent quantity of an LPG cylinder every day. But due to the low quantity of waste being generated at present, the plant can generate just over 1/4 of an LPG cylinder.”
The biogas plant will not only help in producing environment-friendly gas for cooking purposes, but will also help in garbage-handling system, he said.
3/3 If Solid Waste Management Plant is operated at maximum capacity, gas generation shall be around 1 cylinder per day. Another major advantage of this plant shall be that the system of garbage handling will improve. #Cleanliness #GreenEnergy#SwachcaRailway pic.twitter.com/qvTdZbIKXl
— Western Railway (@WesternRly) May 24, 2018
The waste collected from the allocated points will be segregated into biodegradable waste, such as unused food, vegetable waste, cattle dung, rotten fruits, fruit peels, etc. and non-biodegradable material like plastic bottles, polythene bags, paper, wooden parts, egg shells, etc.
The organic waste is then easily used as per the norms prescribed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to create biogas.
