Scientists develop bio-methanation tech for integrated treatment of sewage, organic solid waste

Scientists have developed a new high-rate bio methanation technology for the integrated treatment of sewage and organic solid waste with concomitant generation of biogas, bio manure and reusable water, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) said on Friday.

The technology has decentralised application across India, it said.

Solid and liquid wastes are the major challenges being faced by big cities and by areas witnessing rapid urbanisation and these need to be tackled by sustainable technology.

An integrated treatment of sewage along with organic solid waste can help evolve a sustainable technology to overcome solid and liquid waste disposal issues.

A Gangagni Rao, chief scientist, and S Sridhar, senior principal scientist at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), have jointly developed this high-rate bio methanation tech based on Anaerobic Gas lift Reactor (AGR) technology for the treatment of organic solid waste and concomitant generation of biogas and bio manure along with nanofiltration (NF) setup.

This integrated and sustainable sewage and organic solid waste treatment system can be used for treating groundwater and wastewater and generating potable and reusable water respectively. The technologies, supported by the 'Waste Management Technology' programme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have received national patents individually.

Instead of sending the organic solid waste and liquid waste to common bigger facilities in the city, those can be treated at source in a decentralised manner.

Urban and local bodies and gated communities comprising around 50,000 to 1,00,000 population can benefit from this technology, said Rao and Sridhar.

An integrated model plant comprising of AGR and NF technologies has been established at CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad, for simultaneous treatment of sewage and organic solid waste for the generation of value-added products such as biogas, bio manure, and reusable water. The technology is field-tested and working continuously for the past two years.

This integrated approach of sewage and organic solid waste treatment can be used where municipalities with around 50,000 to 1,00,000 population generate approximately two to four million litres of sewage daily and five to 10 metric tonnes of organic solid waste each day, DST statement added.

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