BDU to launch waste-to-energy recycling project on campus

Bharathidasan University is all set to ensure zero waste discharge from its 680-acre Palgalaiperur premises by recycling solid and liquid waste generated inside the campus. As an offshoot of the ambitious project, which intends to recycle the waste in an eco-friendly manner, the university is planning to meet the energy needs of the hostel kitchen by way of producing non-conventional energy from the waste.
While a night soil-based bio gas plant will be raised at the university, the project will also be contributing to some of the green projects on the campus as treated water from it will be used for irrigation. A separate committee called ‘clean and green initiative’ has been formed for the purpose by vice-chancellor P Manisankar with V Rajesh Kannan from the micro biology department as its coordinator.


Kannan said that a prototype of the project was already functional on the Kajahmalai campus of the university in the city and that solid and liquid waste from the hostels would be collected in a large semi under-ground chamber. Bio gas produced from the fermentation process would be diverted to the kitchen in the hostels. Water from the chamber would be used to irrigate the green cover on the campus after treating it in a natural way, he said.
While there are six hostels on the campus accommodating over 4,000 students doing their postgraduation till PhD, waste from the toilet and kitchen, despite being potential energy sources, remained underutilised so far. “We are planning to make it a waste management model to be followed by colleges affiliated to the university”, Manisankar said adding that there are plans to bring waste from all the buildings in the university to the plant. He said that the treated water and manure produced out of the slurry would be utilised for some of the ambitious green projects of the university on the campus.
The V-C said that water from the Cauvery combined drinking water scheme that was being supplied for the past two months was sufficient to meet the daily requirement of the campus. Otherwise, the university has been depending on borewell for its water needs. He said that the ground water table could be maintained now while waste water utilisation would further help enrich it.
“Given the huge spending involved in such ambitious projects, we are keen on cost-effectiveness apart from getting speedy return from it. Hence, we had analysed various technologies by way of inviting proposals and studying technical feasibility and its acceptance worldwide. We are also analysing the possibilities of erecting a common plant for all the 6 hostels instead of two for making it cost effective. Once it is finalised, we will go ahead with the construction,” said the V-C.