Nagpur Woman’s Eco-Friendly Tech Turns Up To 10 Tonnes Of Plastic Into Fuel Per Day
Alka Zadkaonkar innovated a pollution-free technology in 2003 that converts plastic to fuel using de-polymerisation.
Image Credits: The Better India
Alka Zadkaonkar innovated a pollution-free technology in 2003 that converts plastic to fuel using de-polymerisation.
In the early 2000s, Nagpur based Alka Zadkaonkar developed a possible solution to the perennial problem of plastic waste. She developed a plant that could transform plastic into fuel without any pollution. This could include plastic waste of any kind — broken buckets, pet bottles, tetra paks, eWaste or plastic bags.
Alka Zadgaonkar, former professor and head of the department of applied chemistry at Raisoni College of Engineering. “Plastics are made with polymerisation, so I thought that if we could use de-polymerisation to transform it back into its origin, we could work around the problem of wastage,” Alka, now 59, tells. She told this idea to her husband, Dr Umesh, who she credits as being her biggest support. He encouraged her to dig deeper into this idea.
Alka knew that a ban on plastic bags etc will not solve the issue of plastic waste. What is needed is a better way to manage the waste. This is the thought process behind Alka’s invention.
It essentially involves depolymerisation rather than pyrolysis, which efficiently breaks down the molecular chain of plastics and converts the material into hydrocarbons. It uses a lower temperature, 375°C, as opposed to 600°C in pyrolysis, thereby producing better energy to efficiency ratio, alongside reducing costs of production and increasing profits. The wax formation in this process, as compared to 15% in pyrolysis, is only 5%, leading to minimal clogging of key components and thus reducing the costs of cleaning and maintenance.
The news of Alka’s invention gained media traction and in 2003 the Indian Oil Corporation’s R&D Department approached the couple. They conducted a few demos which proved to be successful and declared possible end-users of this fuel. However, these plans never worked out and Alka and Dr Umesh found themselves in endless legal battles.
In 2005, a plant was set up in Nagpur. Again there were legal issues. The plant began with a capacity to convert around 5 tonnes of plastic per day, and currently, this has been scaled up to 10 tonnes. Before the pandemic, the Nagpur plant was selling 5,000 litres of fuel to nearby industries. In 2018, the plant was shifted to Mumbai on the behest of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
After spending years fighting tiring legal battles, the Zadgaonkars have retreated to a low-profile and peaceful life in Nagpur. But their contributions to pioneering the solution of plastic waste management can certainly not be overstated.
Credits: The Better India
Read the full story here.
