IIT Kharagpur researchers develop tech for solid waste management

Kolkata: A research team at IIT Kharagpur has developed a technology which can generate energy from solid waste with high moisture content.

The new technology - Hydro Thermal Carbonization (HTC) - can convert municipal solid waste to biofuel, soil amendment and absorbents, the premier institute said in a statement.

Lead researcher Brajesh Kumar Dubey said the key to the success of the technology in Indian conditions lies in designing proper industrial scale reactor with improved heat integration system.

"The moisture in the waste is used to the advantage of the process which uses water for the reaction. The biofuel generated as the recovered output can help curb air pollution," Dubey explained.

The technology can be used by the civic bodies to effectively manage solid waste, he maintained. Once the organic waste is entered into the process, the "outputs generated are all usable", Sagarika Panigrahi, another member of the research team, said.

"All outputs can be used for one purpose or the other, including the water which can be converted to biogas or methane," she added.