Bhubaneswar: In an effort to reduce dependence on conventional fuels and strengthen waste-to-resource initiatives, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has initiated plans to establish a 50 tonne-per-day (TPD) green waste processing plant to produce smokeless charcoal for commercial and household use.
The proposed facility will utilise the city’s horticultural and green waste and is being planned as part of a larger 200 TPD municipal solid waste (MSW) processing project at Bhuasuni, where bio-mining operations are currently underway to clear accumulated legacy waste, The New Indian Express reported.
According to sources, around 150 tonnes of municipal solid waste at the integrated facility will be processed and converted into different value-added products, while a separate 50 TPD unit will focus exclusively on converting green waste into charcoal.
BMC officials said the city generates significant quantities of horticultural and green waste each day and the civic body is already moving ahead with another initiative to process such material.
As part of these efforts, a 25 TPD biomass briquettes facility is being developed at Palasuni and is expected to become operational within the next one to two months.
However, officials noted that the Palasuni facility is designed mainly for woody biomass and cannot efficiently process green leaves and other softer horticultural residues.
At present, Bhubaneswar does not have a dedicated system for scientific treatment of mixed waste and ligno-cellulosic waste streams such as leaves, branches, green waste and other biomass residues for conversion into usable products.
A BMC official said the absence of such infrastructure has created the need for an integrated processing facility that can efficiently utilise waste and reduce dependence on external disposal mechanisms.
Officials said the proposed charcoal project reflects the growing interest in converting waste into useful products at a time when alternative fuel solutions are receiving greater attention globally.
Under the proposed process, green biomass will undergo controlled carbonisation, where thermal decomposition will convert waste into charcoal or biochar while also generating by-products including syngas and bio-oil.
BMC Deputy Commissioner N Ganesh Babu said the resulting charcoal would be smokeless and offer high energy value, making it suitable as a renewable alternative to conventional coal across industrial, commercial and domestic applications.
He added that implementation of the project will begin after finalisation of land allocation and selection of the executing agency through the bidding process.
