Plastic usage in packaging has grown multifold in recent years. Now mostly items come with plastic packaging or multi-layer packaging. Single-use plastic is also in trend. Plastic is one of the greatest innovation by human kind but it also has very negative imapact on our environment. It is yet to become sustainable.
The amount of plastic waste India generates will become unmanageable if we soon do not use alternatives to plastic or learn to recycle the plastic waste. Samudhyoga Waste Chakra is here for our resuce. They recycle plastic waste in an eco-friendly manner without creating any harmful emissions.
Environment-Friendly Initiative
Samudhyoga Waste Chakra is a Chennai-based initiative established in 2019. It uses advanced technology that derives value from liquid and solid waste in a digitized, decarbonized, and decentralized way. Most recycling units recycle plastic in a non-eco-friendly way. Samudhyoga Waste Chakra plans to change the prevailing situation.
Plastic Waste Management
Five members together created Samudhyoga Waste Chakra. The team participated in a competition organized by US Embassy in collaboration with IIT Madras called the ‘Carbon Zero Challenge.’ Soon after that, the group began to look at the scenario of plastic waste management in our country. They realized that only 8-9% of plastic was recycled globally. Otherwise, waste was disposed of haphazardly.
Further research helped them understand that most plastic wastes generated included packaging waste, including multi-layered packaging (MLPs). The mechanical recycling infrastructure present in India cannot recycle this waste.
Receiving Funds
The team received funds of Rupees 1 crore in 2019 from Engineers India Limited, which helped them start their project. Samudhyoga Waste Chakra will save the ocean and Earth from millions of microplastics by properly converting the plastic waste into oil. The initiative works on two technologies- Decentralised Zero Emission Energy-efficient Pyrolysis and EcoFert.
Decentralised Zero Emission Energy-Efficient Pyrolysis
The DZEEP or Decentralised Zero Emission Energy-efficient Pyrolysis requires approximately 2,500 square feet of land to function. It converts 1000 kilograms of plastic to 800 liters of oil with high performance and zero emissions through pyrolysis. In the south of Chennai, a pilot project is going on. The plant will cost one crore rupees. It will produce about 200 liters of oil and recycle 250 kilograms of plastic per day. The oil can be used for operating generators with an appropriate proportion of diesel and as furnace oil for the production of steam in boilers.
EcoFert Technology
Samudhyoga Waste Chakra’s second technology is EcoFert. It processes the urine and recycles into useful materials. It can recycle water by processing urine and making toilets a sustainable sanitation technology. The technology can recover 850 liters of water, one kg of struvite, and 100 liters of ammonia from 1,000 liters of urine.
The system presently has been implanted at the Engineering Design Department of IIT Madras. The system can save up the water consumption of 10000 people every day. The unit also produces 50 liters of ammonia daily. The recovered water is used for gardening and flushing purposes.
Saving Gas and Current Focus
The team consists of capable environmental engineers as well. A gas system has been developed buy them that removes the harmful gases and is combusted. The combusted gas gets converted into simpler compounds. The initiative hugely invests in automation. The recovered gas gets used to save energy reducing the power consumption from electrical grids.
Currently, Samudhyoga Waste Chakra is working to use the liquid and solid waste collected from domestic areas. The plant can prevent 250 kg of plastics from reaching the oceans per day. Additionally, it can produce 200 liters of oil with zero emissions for industrial use. Mad4India wishes Samudhyoga Waste Chakra all the best for all future endeavors.
If you loved this story, read a story about 5 important sustainable living activities to engage your kids, Make them recycle, reuse and reduce.
To know more about Samudhyoga Waste Chakra, please check – Website and LinkedIn.
To know more about Keshav Vijay, please check – LinkedIn.
Featured Image Source – Website
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