The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) is set to sign MoU with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) on July 10, 2024, to establish its first waste-to-charcoal plant at the Bandhwari landfill. This project, also set for Faridabad, has been finalized by Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, officials confirmed.
MCG Commissioner Narhari Singh Bangar announced that the plant would convert 600 metric tons of city waste into 200 metric tons of coal once fully operational. “Trial and testing of the Urban Waste to Charcoal Plant were conducted earlier this month, with NTPC bearing the capital expenditure. MCG will provide the land and the waste collected from across the city. The plant will produce 200 metric tons of green charcoal daily from the city’s waste,” said Bangar.
The project, having undergone several successful tests, was approved to commence next month during a final meeting in Delhi. Garbage transportation vehicles deployed by MCG will transport waste from various parts of the city to the plant. Faridabad will also get a similar plant, with Khattar approving the project.
Officials disclosed that the Urban Waste to Charcoal Plant, established by NTPC, is expected to be completed within 18 months. A recent test successfully converted 50 metric tons of waste into green charcoal. This initiative follows the cancellation of Ecogreen Energy’s contract for solid waste management, which had previously left MCG in a bind over new waste processing tenders. With this development, MCG will no longer be responsible for the landfill site, thus eliminating the burden of tenders and processing units currently under scrutiny.
Former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had laid the foundation stone for a Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plant at Bandhwari on December 10, 2021, with a completion target of 2024. Officials noted that NTPC had launched a similar successful project in Varanasi earlier this year.
The new plant will utilize torrefaction technology, involving the thermochemical treatment of feedstock at 300 to 350 °C to break carbon polymer bonds and release volatile gases in the absence of oxygen. This process, conducted in a sealed reactor, results in easier-to-clean flue gases and produces torrefied charcoal, which is hydrophobic with a high heating value similar to conventional coal.
Bangar explained that the waste-to-charcoal plant poses fewer pollution risks compared to WTE plants due to anoxic heating and low emissions. The torrefied charcoal process requires less expensive flue gas treatment and has higher power generation potential. In contrast, WTE plants need scientific landfill disposal of fly ash and specialized pollution control measures due to the generation of dioxins and furans.
The MCG Commissioner also highlighted several challenges MCG faces in waste management, including processing legacy waste, non-segregation of waste by generators, and the failure of bulk waste generators to achieve 100% onsite processing. The lack of land for transfer stations and fresh waste processing, along with the delay in the WTE plant’s installation, has hindered the waste management system’s overall efficiency and effectiveness.
Ecogreen had previously signed a concession agreement with the Haryana government in August 2017 for municipal solid waste management and the establishment of a 15MW WTE plant in Bandhwari. Officials noted that once operational, the WTE plant would have the capacity to produce 25MW of energy daily, with two boilers processing 750 tonnes each per day.
This new initiative marks a significant step towards sustainable waste management in Gurugram and Faridabad, leveraging advanced technology to convert urban waste into valuable resources.
