Hyderabad Market Uses Rotting Vegetables to Power 170 Stores, 100 Streetlights

Hyderabad’s Bowenpally Market, or the Dr BR Ambedkar Vegetable Market, is a stellar example of sustainability. The market generates almost 10 tonnes of organic waste daily. Until a few years ago, this waste was just entering landfills. Not anymore.

Now, this waste is converted into biogas, which is further converted into electricity. Every single gram of vegetable, fruit and flower waste collected at the market is converted to electricity and biofuel. 

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The plant generates around 500 units of electricity and 30 kg of biofuel daily. This electricity is used to power the administrative building, the water supply network, more than 100 streetlights and 170 shops. The biofuel is used in the canteen kitchen. According to reports, the market is saving Rs 2.5 lakh per month in electricity. 

The plant was installed in 2020 by Hyderabad-based Ahuja Engineering Services Pvt Ltd. The technology is provided by the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, a government research centre also based in Hyderabad. 

How does it work?

Waste collected from across the market is collected daily by a team hired on contract. Once brought to the plant, it is shredded and soaked in a ‘Feed Preparation Tank’ to be converted into a slurry. This then undergoes a bio-methanation process.

The biogas is then supplied to a generator in separate tanks which powers the water pumps, lights and cold storage rooms.

Watch this video to learn more about the Bowenpally market:

(Edited by Divya Sethu)

Sources

‘Hyderabad’s Bowenpally market’s vegetable waste generates electricity, biofuel’ by Ridhima Gupta for The New Indian Express, Published on 18 January 2021