In a bid to keep the city clean and green, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has proposed to install gas turbines at Pirana Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) within the next seven to eight months. This will be a paradigm shift in the way sewage is being treated using conventional fuels.

AMC has proposed to install two turbines at the 106 million liters per day (MLD) Pirana treatment plant.

The turbine will generate electricity from Methane gas produced naturally at the treatment plant. This will save the cost of diesel as well as borrowed electricity used to run the plant.According to a senior engineer of AMC’s sewerage and water supply department, the turbines will save almost Rs36 lakh in cost of diesel and electricity bill.

“The cost of diesel has gone up drastically during the last 10 years, so our consultants advised us to opt for a cost-effective alternative,” said the engineer.”The cost of installing the turbine will be around Rs1.2 crore, and this will be squared off within four years through the electricity the turbine will generate,” said the engineer.

Methane gas, which is a by-product at the plant, was just left to burn naturally in these plants and only the sludge was used as fertiliser. Now AMC has decided to utilise this gas to generate electricity.

“We used to have engines running on the plant’s bio-gas, but they require 70% methane content, which becomes impossible during monsoons,” he said.The engineer said that the content of methane reduces drastically during monsoons due to lack of sunlight. The methane content in the bio-gas remains at 50%, which is of no use for the engines. Hence, engines are run on diesel during monsoons.

On the other hand, the new turbines can use the low methane gas and it can also be used throughout the year. After installation of the methane-based turbine, the electricity so produced will be used to run the plant. “Apart from the 750 KW turbine, we have also planned to install a bigger 1250 KW turbine at the 180 MLD plant at Pirana,” he said. Source by DnaIndia