25% Of Total Waste Can Be Converted Into Green Coal, Says Keystone Energy's MD

India generates around 700 million tonnes of annual municipal and agricultural waste that is increasingly becoming an environmental hazard.

While focussing on cleaner fuel is a necessity, the sustainable disposition of this waste is even more crucial for the preservation of the climate and earth.

According to Saurabh Kumar, founder and managing director of Keystone Energy Systems LLP., around 25% of the total waste generated can be converted to high-calorific green coal that can then replace the coal used in power, steel, and cement plants. Green coal is produced by the processing of agro- and municipal waste under torrefaction.

Green coal is produced through the torrefaction technology, which, in the absence of air or oxygen, thermochemically converts waste at high temperatures into highly carbonised output.

The continuous process operates 24x7 and doesn't utilise any external fuel, as the gas generated during the process is reused in the process to fully meet the additional heat demands needed for the continuous process to work.

Keystone Energy Systems is looking to set up 20 plants in three years’ time, totaling a capacity of over 3,500 tonnes per day. Out of these, 10 plants that will process agricultural waste (parali) will be located in north India.

“Torrefaction is going to be the way forward,” said Kumar. The company has filed for a patent on its innovative ‘STP Sludge to Green Coal’ torrefaction technology, proving that Keystone Energy Systems' torrefaction technology is engineered and designed to handle a variety of inputs such as STP sludge, MSW, RDF, and agro waste.

The company has already set up a pilot plant for the Delhi Jal Board and a 100-tonnes-per-day proof-of-concept plant at Warangal in Telangana. Additionally, the company is all set to commission a new plant in Uttar Pradesh.